Should Taraweeh prayer be offered individually or in congregation? Is completing the Qur’aan in Ramadaan bid’ah?

I have heard from some people that it is recommended to pray taraweeh
indivually as the prophet preyed it individually except 3 times, is
this true? I also heard that it is a bid'ah to recite the whole Quran
during taraweeh in ramadan as the prophet never did this, is this
true.
~
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is prescribed to offer the night prayers in Ramadaan in
congregation or individually, but it is better to do it in
congregation than to do itindividually. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) led his companions in offering these
prayers in congregation on several nights.
It is proven in al-Saheehayn that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) led his companions in prayer (Taraweeh) for
several nights, then on the third or fourth night he did not come out
to them. When morning came he said: "Nothing prevented me from coming
out to you except the fact that I feared that it would be made
obligatory for you."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1129. According to the version narrated by
Muslim (761): "But I feared that night prayers would be made
obligatory for you and you would not be able to do them."
Offering Taraweeh prayer in congregation is something that is
established by the Sunnahof the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah
be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
stated the reason why he did not persist in offering this prayer in
congregation, which is that he feared that it might be made
obligatory. This reason cased to be applicable after the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, because when he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, the wahy
(revelation) ceased and there was no longer any worry that it might be
made obligatory. Once thereason, which was the fear of it being made
obligatory, disappeared with the cessation of the wahy, then the fact
that itis Sunnah to offer this prayer in congregation resumed.
See al-Sharh al-Mumti' by Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 4/78.
Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This indicates that prayingqiyaam in Ramadaan is one of the Sunnahs of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and is
recommended and encouraged. It was not introduced by 'Umar ibn
al-Khattaab, rather he revived something that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) lovedand approved of.
Nothing stopped him from doing itregularly except the fear that it
might be made obligatory upon his ummah. He (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was kind and compassionate towards his ummah.
'Umar knew from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) that the obligatory duties would not be increased or
decreased after his death (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
so he revived this practice and enjoined it upon the people. That
happened in 14 AH, and 'Umar has the honour of being the one who
revived this Sunnah.
Al-Tamheed, 8/108, 109
After the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) prayed Taraweeh
in small groups and individually, until 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) united them behind a single imam.
It was narrated that 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn 'Abd al-Qaari' said: I went
out with 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) one
night in Ramadaan to the mosque, and the people were scattered, with
one man praying by himself and another with a group of men following
his prayer. 'Umar said: "I think that if I gather thembehind one
reader, it will be better." Then he decided to unite them behind Ubayy
ibn Ka'b. Then I went out with him on another night, and the people
were praying behind their reader. 'Umarsaid: "What a good innovation
this is. But the prayer that they forget about and sleep is better
than the one they are offering." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1906.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said, when refuting the view of thosewho
quoted 'Umar's words "What a good innovation this is" as meaning that
innovation (bid'ah) is permissible:
With regard to qiyaam in Ramadaan, the Messengerof Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) introduced thisto his ummah, and he
led them in prayer for a number of nights, becauseat his time they
used to pray in congregation and individually. But he did not persist
in leading them in one congregation, lest that be made obligatory for
them.

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Ruling on seeking refuge with Allaah before reciting al-Faatihah in the prayer

What is the ruling on seeking refuge with Allaahbefore reciting
al-Faatihahin the prayer? Is it obligatory or mustahabb?
~
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to seek refuge with Allaah before reciting al-Faatihah in
the prayer. Narrated by Abu Dawood (775) and classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani.
Secondly:
The scholars differed as to the ruling on seeking refuge with Allaah
before reciting al-Faatihah in the prayer. Some of them were of the
view that it is obligatory. This is the viewof 'Ata', al-Thawri,
al-Awzaa'i and Dawood, aswas narrated by Ibn Hazmin al-Muhalla
(3/247-248), and it was the view favoured by him. It was also narrated
from Ahmad and was favoured by Ibn Battah, as it says in al-Insaaf
(2/119). Among later scholars this view was favoured by Shaykh
al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on them all).
Others were of the view that it is only mustahabb and is not
obligatory. This is the view of the majorityof scholars among the
Sahaabah and Taabi'een and of the Imams Abu Haneefah and al-Shaafa'i,
and Ahmad according to the well known view of his madhhab.
See: Tabyeen al-Haqaa'iq (1/107); al-Majmoo' (3/280-282), al-Mughni
(1/283); al-Fataawa al-Kubra by Ibn Taymiyah (5/332).
Those who say that it is obligatory quoted as evidence the verse in
which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So when you want to recite the Qur'aan, seek refuge with Allaah from
Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one)"
[al-Nahl 16:98]
They said: In this verse there is the command to seek refuge with
Allaah, and the basic principle is that a command means that something
is obligatory, so long as there is no other evidence to indicate that
what is meant in the command is mustahabb.
Ibn Hazm said in al-Muhalla (2/279):
With regard to the view ofAbu Haneefah and al-Shaafa'i, that seeking
refuge with Allaah is not obligatory, this is wrong, because Allaah,
may He beexalted, says: "So when you want to recite the Qur'aan, seek
refuge with Allaah from Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed
one)". When Allaah commands something, it iswrong for anyone to say
without any evidence from the Qur'aan or Sunnah that this is not
obligatory, especially His command to pray for Him to protect us from
the tricks of the shaytaan. So this command is definitelyobligatory,
because avoiding the shaytaan andfleeing from him and asking for
protection against him are things that no one can dispute are
obligatory. Moreover, Allaah has enjoined that upon us when reading
Qur'aan. End quote.
The majority of scholars responded by noting that there is other
evidence which indicates that it is mustahabb rather than obligatory.
This other evidence is:
1 – The hadeeth about theman who did not pray properly. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught him how to pray and
said: "When you go topray, say takbeer, then recite whatever you can
ofthe Qur'aan. Then bow …" Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim (397).
And he did not tell him to seek refuge with Allaah.
Imam al-Shaafa'i said in al-Umm (1/208):
If he omits it by mistake or out of ignorance or deliberately, he does
not have to repeat it or do theprostration of forgetfulness, but I
regard it as makrooh to omit it deliberately. If he omits it in the
first rak'ah, I prefer for him to say it in some other rak'ah. The
only thing that keeps me from telling him to repeat the prayer is the
fact that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
taught a man what is sufficient in prayerhe said: "say takbeer,
thenrecite…", and it is not narrated that he told him to seek refuge
with Allaah or recite the opening du'aa'. This indicates that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
regarded the opening du'aa' as something optional, and that seeking
refuge with Allaah is something that does not invalidate the prayer if
it isomitted. End quote.
2 –It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (4/6):
The majority quoted as evidence that the command means that it is
recommended and not obligatory the fact that the salaf were
unanimously agreed that it is Sunnah. End quote.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas also
favoured the view that it is mustahabb and not obligatory, as did
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (6/383):
What is the ruling on one who forgets to seek refuge with Allaah from
the accursed shaytaan andremembers after finishing the prayer, if he
remembers that he did not say A'oodhu Billaahi min al-shaytaan
il-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed shaytaan)
whilst he was praying/
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Burning pages of the Mus-haf that have become worn out

Is it permissible to burn pages of the Mus-haf if one fears that they
may be mishandled?.
~
Praise be to Allaah.
Yes, if the Mus-haf becomes worn out and there is the fear that it may
be mishandled and may reach a state where itcannot be read and
benefited from, there is nothing wrong with burning it or burying it
in pure earth, because both were done by the Sahaabah (may Allaah be
pleased with them). They buried Mus-hafs and they also burned them,
when the Sahaabah united the people upon a single Mus-haf, which was
the Mus-haf of 'Uthmaan (mayAllaah be pleased with him), and they
burned all other Mus-hafs.
If a Mus-haf has reached a state where it cannot be benefited from
because it has become worn out, then it should either be buried in a
pure place, or be burned. Both were done by the companions of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

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What is meant by reciting Qur’aan in a melodious voice?

Praise be to Allaah.
In the saheeh Sunnah it is encouraged to recite the Qur'aan in a
melodious voice, i.e., making the voice beautiful when reciting it. It
does not mean that one should recite it as if singing, rather what is
meant is that one should make the voice beautiful when reciting. For
example the saheeh hadeeth says: "Allaah never listens to anything as
He listens to a Prophet with a beautiful voice reciting the Qur'aan
out loud" and "He is not one of us who does not recite Qur'aan in a
melodious voice when reciting it out loud." What this means is making
the voice beautiful, as stated above.
The meaning of the hadeeth quoted above refers to listening in a
manner that is befitting toAllaah and it is not like theattributes of
His creation, as is the case with all His other attributes. It may
besaid of His listening that it is like His other attributes, that it
is in a manner that is befitting to Allaah, may He be glorified and
exalted, and there is nothing like unto Him, may He be glorified and
exalted. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "There is
nothing like Him, and He isthe All-Hearer, the All-Seer" [al-Shoora
42:11].Reciting in a melodious tone means reciting out loud and making
the voicebeautiful and with proper focus, so that the heart is moved,
because the aim isto stir the heart with this Qur'aan, so that people
will fear Allaah and so thatthey will find peace and benefit from it.
An example of this is the story of Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari (may Allaah be
pleased with him), when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) passed by him as he was reciting Qur'aan,and he started
listening tohim and said: "You have been given a beautiful voice like
the beautiful voices of the family of Dawood." When Abu Moosa came,
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him about
that and Abu Moosa said: If I had known, O Messenger of Allaah, that
you were listening, I would have made it very beautiful indeed. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not denounce
him for that,which indicates that making the voice beautifuland being
careful in reciting is something that is required, so that both the
reader and the listenerwill focus properly and will both benefit.

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