his family to pray; then he would say to them"prayer.. prayer," and
would recite this verse of the Qur'an, "Enjoin prayer on your people,
and be constant therein. We ask you not to provide sustenance: We
provide it for you. But the fruit of theHereafter is for
righteousness" [Qur'an 20:132].
Ibn Umar used to recite,
"Is one who worships devoutly during the hours of the night,
prostrating himself or standing (in adoration), who takes heed of the
Hereafter, and who places his hope in theMercy of his Lord like one
who does not?" [Qur'an 39:9].
He said that was referring to Uthman Ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased
with him).Ibn Abi Hatim said Ibn Umar said that it was due to the
length of the prayerof the commander of the faithful, Uthman, at night
and his recitation to the extent that he may have recited the entire
Qur an inone rak'ah.
Alqamah Ibn Qays narrated, "I slept with Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud (may
Allah be pleased with him)one night. He woke up in the early part of
the night and began to pray. He recited with a recitation similar to
that of the neighborhood imam with a medium regular pace. Those around
him could hear him and he continueduntil what remained of thenight's
darkness was equalto the time between the adhan (call) for maghrib
prayer and the end of the maghrib prayer time, i.e. a short time
before daybreak. He then performed witr prayer."
Furthermore, Al-Sa'ib Ibn Zayd narrated in a hadith that the reciter
would recite (the Qur'an) with hundreds of verses such that we
supported ourselves with staves due to the lengthiness of the prayer
and did not leave until the time of fajr (dawnprayer).
Caution: Brother Muslim, you have to complete the tarawih prayer with
the imam in order to be reckoned as one of those who stood (the night)
in prayer. The Prophet (pbuh)said, "Whoever stays with his imam until
he completes the prayer, will have the night written for him as one
who performed qiyam al-layl, i.e. one who stood the night in prayer."
[Related by compilers of sunan books].
3. Charity (Sadaqah):
The Prophet (pbuh) was the most generous of people, and he was most
generous during Ramadan.He was more generous with good deeds than the
blowing wind. The Messenger of Allah also said, "The best charity is
one given during Ramadan." [Related by Al-Tirmidhi from Anas].
Zayd Ibn Aslam narrated from his father as saying,"I heard Umar Ibn
Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) say, 'TheMessenger of Allah
(pbuh) commanded us to donate to charity, so I gave some of my wealth.
Then I said, 'Today I will compete withAbu Bakr if I can ever do so.'
Then I donated half of my wealth. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked
me, 'What did you leave for your family?' He said, 'I said the same as
what I gave out.' But Abu Bakr brought all of his wealth and the
Messenger of Allah(pbuh) asked him, 'What did you leave for your
family?' He replied, 'I left them with Allah and His Messenger,' I
said, 'I will never compete with you for anything again.
Talha Ibn Yahya Ibn Talha narrated, "My grandmother Sa'da bint Awf
AI-Mariyah who was the wife of Talha Ibn Ubaydullah related to me,
'Talha came to me one daydisconcerted. So I asked him, 'Why is it that
I see you with a gloomy face? What is the matter with you? Is there
anything that I can help you with?" He said, "No, you are a faithful
Muslim wife." I said, "Then what is the matter?" He said, "The wealth
that I have has increased and that disturbsme." I said, "Don't worry,
distribute it." She said, 'He divided it until not even a single
diniam was left." Talha Ibn Yahya said: "I asked the custodian of
Talha's property how much the amount was." Hesaid, 'Four hundred
thousand."'
Therefore dear brothers and sisters, charity during Ramadan has
special significance, so hasten to give it out according to your
means. Charity takes many forms.
a) Feeding the Needy:
Allah the Almighty says,
"And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and
the captive, (saying), 'We feed you for the sake of Allah Alone. No
rewards do we desire from you, nor thanks. We only fear a Dayof
frowning and stress from the side of our Lord.' But Allah will deliver
them from the evil of that day, and will spread over them brightness
and a (blissful) joy. And because they were patient and constant,He
will reward them with a garden (and garments of) silk." [Qur'an
76:8-12].
The Salaf used to ensure feeding others and they placed it before many
acts of worship, and it is equally rewarded whetheryou feed a hungry
person or a good Muslim brother of yours. Hence, poverty is not a
condition for feedinga person.
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