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Allah (SWT) has mandated to His servants acts of worship and
made them of various kinds so as to provide them with means to pick and choose, and that
others will not be bored with one act. Thus, we seek nearness to Him, through mandatory
and non-mandatory deeds. Among the non-mandatory deeds, or
Sunnah, is the establishment of nighttime prayers (salaatul lail), and Allah has praised
those who observe them. "Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord,
prostrate and standing." (Al-Qur'an 25:64) "Their limbs do forsake their beds of
sleep, the while they call on their Lord in fear and hope and they spend (in charity) out
of the sustenance which we have bestowed on them." (Al-Qur'an 32:16)
These two verses indicate the basis for nightly prayer in the Holy Qur'an and the good
return awaiting those who observe it. In a hadith, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) says:
"The best prayer after the obligatory ones is the night prayer." (Muslim)
Elsewhere he says: "O people! disseminate the salutations of peace As-Salaam
'Alaikum; feed the needy food, and join the blood ties among the next of kin; and observe
night prayer while people are at sleep, you will enter paradise peacefully."
(Tirmidhi)
One of the night prayers, is Witr, the odd numbered bedtime prayer. It should be the last
prayer said before retiring. The minimum Witr is one rak'ah and the maximum is eleven
raka'ats. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever wants to pray Witr with one rak'ah should
do it and whoever wants to pray Witr with three raka'ats should do it." (Abu
Dawud/Nasa'e). However, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was always consistent with eleven
raka'ats for night prayers, according to his wife, 'Aishah (RAA) who reported: "The
Prophet never observed prayers after `Isha (night obligatory prayer) and
before Fajr (morning prayer), more than eleven raka'ats. He saluted after every two
raka'ats, and he prayed Witr with one raka'at". (Jama'ah, except Tirmidhi).
In a different procedure, one may make four raka'ats, and salute, and continue with
another four and salute, then he caps them with three raka'ats of Witr. 'Aishah (RAA)
reported: "The Prophet used to pray four raka'ats and one cannot describe their
beauty, and their length, (he salutes) then makes another set of four raka'ats, one cannot
describe their beauty and length, he then caps it with three raka'ats." (Agreed upon)
TARAWEEH
The Ramadan nightly prayer has a special merit over other nights. The Messenger of Allah
said: "Whoever observes night prayer in Ramadan as an expression of his faith and to
seek reward from Allah, his previous sins will be blotted out." (Muslim)
In this hadith, faith means faith in what Allah has promised the observers of night
prayers. To seek reward mean, the observer's intent is not for eye service or seeking
special recognition from someone. Taraweeh is derived from the Arabic root word, Raaha,
which means to rest, relax and use as recreation. It is so called because the believers
used to prolong it. After every four raka'ats they would stop for rest and relaxation and
resume until Taraweeh was complete.
Taraweeh In Jamaa`ah
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was the first to establish the Sunnah of congregational,
jamaa`ah prayer of Taraweeh in the Masjid. Then he did not continue with the Sunnah for
fear that it might be made mandatory on the Ummah in Ramadan, and they might not be able
to do it. In the books of Bukhari and Muslim, 'Aishah (RAA) has been reported as saying:
"The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) observed Taraweeh prayer in the Masjid one night
and people prayed with him. He repeated the following night and the number of participants
grew. The companions congregated the third and fourth night, but the Messenger did not
show up. In the morning he told them, "I saw what you did last night, but nothing
prevented me from joining you except my fear that it might be made mandatory on you in
Ramadan."
This hadith is a clear indication that the Taraweeh in congregation was not an innovation
of 'Umar (RAA), the second Caliph, despite his saying to the contrary. For it has been
related that: "Umar bin Al-Khattab attended the Masjid at night in Ramadan and saw
people praying individually in every corner of the Masjid with a few in groups. He did not
like the sight a bit.
'Umar said, `I thought it would be better to gather these under one Imam'. So, he combined
them under 'Obayi bin Ka'ab and Tamimu Ad-Dari to alternate and lead the believers in
eleven raka'ats of night prayer. The next day `Umar was in the Masjid which was full with
Taraweeh prayers. He was delighted. He said: `Well, this is the best Bid'ah
(innovation).'"
`Umar's use of the word Bid'ah in this report has been presented and
unjustifiably cited as justification for concocting up various so called
good innovations. In truth, the Caliph 'Umar's act to gather the believers in Jama'ah is
not bid'ah. For it was the Messenger of Allah himself who started jama'ah by praying in
congregation the first and second day, then stopped only as he feared it would become
mandatory. After his death, the fear of Taraweeh becoming mandatory (Fard) was not only
remote, it was impossible. With the death of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), there will be no
more revelation to change any law or rule by abrogation.
Number of Raka'ats in Taraweeh
As for the number of Raka'ats in Taraweeh and Witr, the worthy ancestor, Salaf as-Saalih
disagreed on the amount of Raka'ats. These numbers are mentioned for Raka'ats: 39, 29, 23,
19, 13, and 11 Raka'ats. Of all the numbers mentioned, none is sounder than 11 Raka'ats.
'Aishah (RAA) was asked how was the prayer of the Prophet (PBUH)? She replied: "He
did not pray in Ramadan or some other times more than eleven Raka'ats."
(Muslim/Bukhari)
However, there is nothing wrong with praying more than 11 Raka'ats. Perhaps that is why
different numbers are observed. The Prophet himself was asked about night prayer and he
said: "It may be done in two Raka'ats, and if anyone fears the appearance of morning,
he should pray one Rak'ah as a Witr for what he has already prayed." (Bukhari/Muslim)
As this hadith indicates, if a person is to pray individually at night, by daybreak he
would have prayed one hundred and one Raka'ats, or more. In their desire to pray more
Raka'ats, some people make Taraweeh in extreme speed. That is wrong, especially when the
speed leads to a breach of certain rules of prayer. In that case, the prayer will not be
valid. Similarly, it is undesirable for an Imam to pray with such speed whereby the
followers will have difficulty observing the necessary deeds in Salaat.
Neglecting Taraweeh
No one should neglect Taraweeh without a good reason, for it is a part of physical and
spiritual training. Its observation, soon after Iftar, insures timely and proper digestion
of food. Besides, there are spiritual rewards awaiting the observers of this prayer. No
one would like to leave the Masjid before the prayer is over.
Everybody should attend the Masjid prayers, including women, provided they are properly
covered. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Prevent not the women servants of
Allah, from going to the Masjid of Allah." However, when they attend the Masjid they
should wear no perfume, nor raise their voices, and or show their beauty. Allah (SWT)
States: "...they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must
ordinarily) appear thereof..."
(Al-Qur'an, 24:31)
What ordinarily appears, refers to the outer garments, for when the
Messenger (PBUH) commanded women to attend Eid prayer, Umm 'Atiyah (RAA) said: "O
Messenger of Allah, some of us do not have the outer garment (Jilbab). The Messenger of
Allah told her to let a sister (who has more than one) give her one to wear." (Agreed
upon)
It is Sunnah that they pray behind the men in the rear lines. The Messenger has been
reported as saying: "The best lines for men are the front lines and the worst lines
for men are the rear lines. The best lines for women are the rear and the worst lines of
women are the front line. (Muslim)
Women should leave the Masjid as soon as the Imam says: As-Salaamu 'Alaikum. They should
not delay without a valid reason. In a hadith by Umm Salmah (RAA), she said: "When
the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saluted to end prayer, the women would stand up to leave and
the Messenger would remain in his place for a while." Umm Salmah (RAA) said: Allah is
the best knower, but perhaps the Messenger did that so women would leave before men could
overtake them". (Bukhari)
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