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Whoever
prays at night in Ramadaan out of faith and in the hope of reward,
his
previous sins will be forgiven
It
was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays at
night in Ramadaan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his
previous sins will be forgiven.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
37; Muslim, 759.
This
hadeeth is indicative of the virtue of praying qiyaam in Ramadaan,
and shows that this is one of the means of forgiveness of sin.
Whoever prays Taraaweeh as it should be prayed has prayed at night
(qiyaam al-layl) in Ramadaan.
Forgiveness
is conditional upon “faith and hope of reward,” as
stated here.
What is meant by “faith” is that when
the person stands to pray qiyaam, he believes in Allaah, may He be
exalted, and believes in His promise and in the virtue of praying
qiyaam, and in the greatness of its reward with Allaah.
“Hope
of reward” means that he is seeking the reward from Allaah
and is not doing it for any other purpose such as showing off,
etc.
It
was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to encourage them to pray qiyaam during Ramadaan,
without commanding them to do it. Then he said: “Whoever
prays at night in Ramadaan out of faith and in the hope of reward,
his previous sins will be forgiven.”
So
the Muslim should be keen to pray Taraaweeh, and should be patient
in completing the prayer with his imam. He should not neglect
any part of it, or leave before his imam, even if his imam does
more than eleven or thirteen rak’ahs, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
prays qiyaam with the imam until he finishes, it will be recorded
that he spent the night in qiyaam.”
It is only a few
nights, which the wise man makes the most of before they are gone.
Abu Dawood said: It was said to Ahmad while I was listening:
Can qiyaam – i.e., taraaweeh – be delayed until the
end of the night?
He said: The way of the Muslims is dearer to
me.
If
a person is keen to pray whatever rak’ahs he wants to at the
time of the pre-dawn (suhoor time), then he should not pray witr
again at the end of his prayer, rather it is sufficient for him to
pray witr with his imam in taraaweeh, because of the hadeeth of
Talq ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “There cannot be two witrs in one night.”
With
regard to the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) – according to which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Make the last of
your prayers at night witr” – this is to be understood
as referring to one who prays at the end of the night and did not
pray witr at the beginning of the night.
The
command here is to be understood as a recommendation, not an
obligation. It is not essential to conclude the prayer at the end
of the night with witr, based on the fact that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed at the end of the
night, after his witr.
Abu Dawood said: I said to Ahmad: Does
praying after witr invalidate witr? He said: No.
Abu Dawood
said: I heard Ahmad say concerning one who prayed witr at the
beginning of the night then got up to pray qiyaam:
He said: He
should pray two rak’ahs.
It was said: Does he not have
to pray witr?
He said: No.
He said: I heard someone ask
him about someone who wanted to pray after witr – should he
pray two by two ?
He said: Yes, but after witr he should lie
down.
The
imam should take care to pray properly in taraaweeh. He should
pray with proper focus and humility, reciting in a proper manner
and being at ease in rukoo’ and sujood. He should beware of
rushing lest he fail to attain the proper level of khushoo’
(focus and humility) and lest he make the weak, elderly and sick
among the people behind him get too tired.
Al-Saa’ib
ibn Yazeed said: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab commanded Ubayy ibn
Ka’b and Tameem al-Daari to lead the people in praying
eleven rak’ahs of qiyaam. He said: The reciter used to
recite the soorahs that contain more than a hundred verses, until
we would lean on sticks because of having to stand for so long,
but we did not leave until dawn was approaching.
When
the worshipper has said the tasleem at the end of witr, he should
say: Subhaan al-Malik al-Quddoos (Glory be to the Sovereign, the
Most Holy) three times, elongating the vowels and raising his
voice the third time, because it is proven that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that.
There
is nothing wrong with women attending Taraaweeh prayers so long as
there is no risk of fitnah, and they go out looking decent, not
making a wanton display of themselves in attractive clothes or
wearing makeup, and they pray with proper focus and humility,
keeping the houses of Allaah free from idle talk and evil speech
such as backbiting, malicious gossip or talking about their
household affairs, so that they will be free of sin and will earn
the reward of Allaah.
And Allaah knows best.
From:
Ahaadeeth al-Siyaam by al-Fawzaan, p. 59.
O
Allaah, accept this (worship) from us, for You are the
All-Hearing, All-Knowing, and accept our repentance, for You are
the Acceptor of Repentance, the Most Merciful
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