have asked this earlier butdid not get a satisfactory answer. My
question is about Taraweeh Prayer inRamadan. You have answered to me
in a question before that Taraweeh should not be more that 11 rakat.
It has been authentically reported that MuhammadSAAW prayed Taraweeh 3
times in Ramadan and it consisted 11 Rakah. Also the book by Shaykh
Naasir-ud-Din Al-Albani (May Allah have mercy on him)، Qiyam and
Taraweeh states that Taraweeh should be 11 Rakah. The sunnah is 11
Rakat. Now the question which is confusing and often becomes a
discussion among brothers is whether the number of Rakat in Taraweeh
should be 11 Rakat or 20 Rakat. Some people during Ramadan go to
masjids where the Imam does 11 Rakats andother go to Masjids wherethe
Imam does 20 Rakats.In most of the Hanafi Masjids around the US the
Imam does 20 Rakat. The point to note is whether 20 Rakat or 11 Rakat
the Imam completes the entire Qurran during Ramadan. The people are
very sentitive about this issue and this issue becomes a topic in
gathering in the United States. The people who pray 20 Rakat blame the
other groug praying 11 asbeing wrong and the group praying 11 Rakat
blames the group praying20 as wrong. This is a big fitnah in the US.
This leadsto disunity. People alwaysquote that in Prophets Mosque the
Imam prays 20 Rakats and also in Masjid-ul-Haraam in Mecca the Imam
prays 20 Rakat. Also those who during Ramadan go to Saudi Arabia for
Umrah say that the Imam prays 20 Rakat. This is a confusion.
Please answer and explain to me the following issues:
1. The sunnah is to pray 11 Rakat then why is Prophets mosque in
Medina and also in Masdid-ul-Haram the imam leads the people to pray
20 Rakat? Why? Whyis this different from the sunnah?
2. Why are the number of Rakat of Taraweeh in Prophets mosque and
Masjid-ul-Haraam 20 Rakat? Please explain to us so.
Praise be to Allaah.
We do not think that the Muslims should be so sensitive with regard to
issues that are the matter of scholarly differences or make them the
cause of division and fitnah amongthe Muslims.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, when
speaking about the matter of one who prays ten rak'ahs with the imam,
then sits down andwaits for Witr and does not complete the Taraaweeh
prayers with the imam:
It grieves us deeply that we find in the Muslim ummah a group which
differs concerning mattersin which differences of opinion are
acceptable, and they take these differences as a means to cause
division. Differenceswithin the ummah existed at the time of the
Sahaabah, yet they remained united. The youth in particular and to all
those who are committed to Islam must remain united, because they have
enemies who are laying in wait.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti', 4/225
Two groups have gone to extremes with regard to this matter. The first
group denounced everyone who prays morethan eleven rak'ahs and said
that doing so was bid'ah. The second group denounced those who do only
eleven rak'ahs and said that they are going against scholarly
consensus (ijmaa').
Let us listen to what Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Here we say that we should not go to extremes or be negligent. Some
people go to extremes in adhering to the number mentioned in the
Sunnah, and say that it is not permissible to do more than the number
mentioned in the Sunnah, and they aggressively denounce those who do
more than that, saying that they are sinners.
This is undoubtedly wrong. How can they be sinners, when the
ProphetSAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), upon being
asked about night prayers, said that they areto be done two by two,
and he did not specify anyparticular number? Of course the one who
asked him about the night prayer did not knowthe number, because if he
did not know how to do it, it is even more likely that he did not know
the number. And he was not one of those who served the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) so that we might say that he knew
what happened inside his house. Since the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) told him how to do it but did not say how many
times, it may be understood thatthe matter is broad in scope, and that
a person may pray one hundred rak'ahs then pray Witr with one rak'ah.
With regard to the words of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah
be upon him), "Pray as you have seen me praying", this does not apply
in absolute terms even for these people. Hence they do not say that a
person should pray Witr with fiverak'ahs sometimes and with seven
rak'ahs sometimes and with nine rak'ahs sometimes. If we understand it
in absolute terms, then we would have to pray Witr with five rak'ahs
sometimes and with seven rak'ahs sometimes and with nine rak'ahs
sometimes.:->
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