2] How the Salaf Observed Ramadhan A Message to Every Muslim On the Occasion of this Blessed Month

2]
Brother and sister Muslims,may the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah
be upon you.
I send you this message filled with love and greetings. I send it to
you from a heart that loves you for the sake of Allah and I ask Him to
bring us together in the abode of His Benedictions and Mercy.
On the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan, I extend to you this
advise as a humble gift which I hope you will accept with an open mind
and that in turn, you advise me. May Allah protect you and take care
of you.
How do we receive the blessed month of Ramadan? Allah the Almighty says,
"You who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those before you that you may attain piety" [Qur'an
2:183].
My esteemed brothers andsisters:
Allah has distinguished Ramadan from other months with many merits and
virtues which include:
*. The bad breath from the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter to
Allah than the fragrance of musk.
*. The angels ask forgiveness for those fasting until they break their fast.
*. Allah beautifies His Paradise each day and says, "My righteous
servants are about to be spared suffering and harm, then they will be
sent to you."
*. The devils are chained during the month.
*. The doors of Paradise areopened while those of Hell are locked.
*. The night, Laylat al-Qadr,which is better than a thousand months
occurs in this month. Whoever is deprived of the good of this night
has indeed been deprived of goodness altogether.
*. Those fasting receive forgiveness on the last night of Ramadan.
*. Allah saves people from Hellfire during each nightof Ramadan.
My esteemed brother and sister:
How then do we receive the month containing these merits and virtues?
Is it by occupying ourselves with playfulness and spending our nights
with non-beneficial things? Or do we feel burdened and panic at its
arrival? We seek refuge with Allah from such attitudes. The righteous
servants of Allah welcome it with repentance and true determination to
reapits benefits and fully utilizeits precious time. They ask Allah to
help them perform their acts of worship in the best manner. I
therefore present to you my dear brothers and sisters, the righteous
deeds that are stressed during Ramadan.
1. Fasting (Sawm):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said, "Every good deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied. He will
receive ten-fold to seven-hundred-fold reward for a good deed. Allah
the Glorious and Majestic has said 'but fasting is exceptional, for it
is done for Me and I will give reward for it, since one abandons his
passion and food for My sake. There aretwo occasions of joy for one
who fasts, joy when he breaks it and joy when he meets his Lord; and
the breath (of an observer of fast) is sweeter to Allah than the
fragrance of musk." [Related by AI-Bukhari and Muslim].
Undoubtedly, this great reward will not be for those who only abstain
from food and drink, but as the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever does not
abandon obscene speech and evil action, Allah does not need his
refraining from eating and drinking." [Related by Al-Bukharij. The
Prophet (pbuh) also said, "Fasting is a shield. When anyone of you is
fasting on a day, he shouldneither indulge in obscene language, nor
raise his voice; rather if anyone reviles him or quarrels with him, he
should say, 'I am fasting."' [Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Therefore when you fast, servant of Allah, let your hearing, sight,
tongue and all your limbs fast, so that your fasting and non-fasting
days are not the same.
2. Praying Qiyam Al-Layl:
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh.) said, "He who observes the fast of the
month of Ramadan with sincere faith and hope for the reward of Allah
will have his past sins forgiven." [Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Also, Allah says,
"And the servants of Allah most gracious are those who walk on the
earth with humility, and when the ignorant address them,they say
(Peace); Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord
prostrating and standing" [Qur'an 63-64].
Thus, waking up in the night to pray qiyam al-layli.e. performing
prayer in the middle of the night, was a regular act of the Prophet
(pbuh) and his Companions. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said,
"Do not abandon qiyam al-layl, for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) never
left it. If he was not well or he felt heavy, he prayed sitting."
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, used to pray at night what he wished, until it
was in the middle of the night, when he would wake up his family to
pray;

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1a] Is it better for men and women who come to do‘umrah to pray Taraweeh in Makkah and Madinah in the hotel or in the Haram?

1a]
We may add another important condition here which was added by some of
the scholars and which is relevant to what the questioner asked about.
This is that for it tobe preferable for a personto pray in his house
on hisown rather than offering the prayer in the Haramain, he should
be one of the people of the Haramain (i.e., a resident of Makkah or
Madinah). The one who comes to the Haram in Makkah to do 'umrah – and,
similarly,the one who comes to Madinah to pray in the Prophet's Mosque
– is not subject to the ruling that praying Taraweeh in his house is
preferable.
Muhammad al-Dasooqi al-Maaliki (may Allah havemercy on him) said:
The recommendation to do it (pray Taraweeh) in one's house is subject
to three conditions: that the mosques should not be left empty, that
he has the motivation to do it and he should not be one of those who
are coming from afar to visit the Haramain. If one of these conditions
is absent, then doing it in the mosque is preferable.
End quote from Haashiyatal-Dasooqi, 1/315
Looking at the state of people nowadays – including many of the good
and righteous youthwho are devoted to worship – we find that praying
Taraweeh in congregation in the mosque is better for them, because
praying in the mosque is very encouraging for them, as it is done at
the beginningof the night, and because of the beauty of the imam's
voice – for those who seek to pray with an imam like this – and
because of the large numbers of people who pray. And also because
there are many distractions in the home that lead people to become
lazy in offering the prayer. Hence we think that calling on ordinary
people nowadays to pray Taraweeh at home is an invitation to abandon
thisprayer! Where are those who have memorized anything of the Qur'aan
among those people? What else will these people be doing if they are
not praying in the mosque at the beginning of the night? Where is
themotive that will make them get up at the end of the night to pray
qiyaam?
If we assume that the correct view concerning this matter according to
some people is the secondopinion, then let this apply only to the
elite, not the common folk; perhaps this is what was meant by those
among the salaf who favoured this opinion. Hence 'Umar ibn al-Khattab
(may Allah be pleased with him) gathered the people together in the
mosque topray Taraweeh, and he prayed on his own in his house.
How beautiful are the words of Imam Malik, who summed up what weare
trying to say. When Ibn al-Qaasim asked him about whether it is better
for a man to pray qiyaam in Ramadan with the people or on his own in
his house? He replied: If he is able to do it in his house, then I
prefer that, but not all the people are able for that.
End quote from al-Mudawwanah al-Kubra,1/287
Secondly:
With regard to women praying Taraweeh in theirhouses, this has already
been dealt with in the answer to question no. 3457 , where we said
thatit is better for women to pray qiyaam in their houses, because the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Do not
preventyour women from going to the mosques, although their houses are
better forthem." Narrated by Abu Dawood. The fact that praying at home
is preferred does not mean that they should not be permitted to go to
the mosques, but that is subject to certain conditions, which are
mentioned in the question referred to.
In the same answer we quoted a fatwa of Shaykh Ibn Baaz which states
thatTaraweeh at home is better for a woman than in the mosque.
In the answer to question no. 12451 , we quoted Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
(may Allah have mercy onhim) as saying:
The Sunnah indicates that it is better for a woman topray in her house
wherever she is, whether she is in Makkah or elsewhere. End quote.
And Allah knows best.

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1] Is it better for men and women who come to do‘umrah to pray Taraweeh in Makkah and Madinah in the hotel or in the Haram?

1]
Is it better for men and women who come to do'umrah to pray Taraweeh
in Makkah and Madinah in the hotel or in the Haram?
~
I know that it is mustahabb to offer Sunnah prayers (such as tahajjud)
at home, but if we are visiting Makkah or Madinah and are staying in
the hotel, is the ruling different? I mean, is it better to offer
Sunnah prayers in the hotel room or in the Haram? With regard to
women, for whom it is regarded as being preferable to offer obligatory
prayers at home – when my family travels with me to Makkah and
Madinah, is it better for them to offer the obligatory prayers in the
hotel or in the Haram?Are we regarded as travelling, as we are staying
in the hotel?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The scholars differed as towhat is preferable in the case of Taraweeh
prayer: Is it better to offer it in the mosque in congregation or to
offer itat home individually? There are three opinions concerning
that:
1.
That offering it in congregation in the mosque is preferable. Thisis
the opinion of the earlier Hanafis, Ahmad ibnHanbal and the majority
of his companions.
We have quoted the evidence presented by those who hold this view, in
the answer to question no. 45781 , where we stated that we regard it
as more likely to be correct.
2.
That praying it individually at home is preferable. This is the view
of Maalik and al-Shaafa'i and most of their companions. Maalik (may
Allah have mercy onhim) quoted as evidence the action of the seniors
among his shaykhs and the senior Sahaabah.
Al-Shaafa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted as evidence the
hadeeth of Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allah be pleased with him), according
to which the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) made a booth out of a reed mat in Ramadan and prayed init at
night, and some men among his Companions followed him in prayer. When
he realized that they were doing that, he started praying seated
(sothat people could not see him and follow him in prayer). Then he
came outto them and said: "I knowwhat you did. O people, pray in your
houses, for the best of a man's prayeris in his house, apart from the
obligatory prayers."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (698) and Muslim (781).
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Maalik said: Rabee'ah and more than one of our scholars would leave
and not pray qiyaam with the people. Maalik said: And I also do that;
and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
did not pray qiyaam except inhis house.
Al-Shaafa'i also quoted as evidence the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Thaabit,
which he quoted. And al-Shaafa'isaid: The point is further emphasized
by the fact that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peaceof Allah
be upon him) toldthem to pray qiyaam in their homes rather than inhis
mosque despite all thevirtue that there is in that.
End quote from al-Tamheed, 8/116
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr also said:
If offering a naafil prayer at home is better than offering it in the
mosque of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in
which one prayer is better than a thousand prayers offered anywhere
else, what can be clearer than this? Hence Maalik and al-Shaafa'i, and
those whofollowed their path, thought that praying alone at home was
better in the case of all naafil prayers. If qiyaam is held in the
mosque in Ramadan, even with the smallest number of people, prayer at
home is still better.
End quote from al-Istidhkaar, 2/73
It should be noted that those imams who said that praying Taraweeh
alone at home is better than praying it in congregation in the mosque
only applied that to the one who has memorised some Qur'aan – or the
entire Qur'aan – and has the motivation topray at home and there is no
fear that he will become lazy and miss the prayer, and that the prayer
in congregation in the mosque will not be affected by his absence. If
these conditions are not met, then there is no doubt, according to
their view, that praying Taraweeh in congregationin the mosque is
better.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Our companions, the Iraqis, al-Saydalaani, al-Baghawi and others among
the Khorasanis said: The difference of opinion has to do with one who
has memorised Qur'aan and for whom there is no fear that he will
become lazy if he prays on his own and thatthe congregation in the
mosque will not be affected if he stays away. If one of these
conditions is not met, then praying in congregation is preferable and
there is no difference of opinion concerning that.
End quote from al-Majmoo', 4/31/

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Hidden under the tongue - the story oftwo slaves

Once a king purchased 2 slaves. One of them was very handsome while the other was very ugly.
The king asked the handsome slave to go andtake a bath. While he was away the king turned to the other slave and said"Your companion has given a very bad account of you, he said that you are a thief and of bad character. Is this correct?"
The slave replied that his companion was a handsome person, and hisexterior beauty must be reflected by inward beauty as well. He could not believe that such a beautiful man could tell a lie. He therefore said "If my companion has a bad opinion about me, there must certainly be something wrong with me. I am afraid he must be correct."
The king observed that beauty was only an Allah given gift, and it did not follow that a person who had a handsome face had a pure heart as well.
The king was greatly impressed with the character and intelligence of this slave. In the meantime, the first slave had returned from his bath.
The king sent the second slave (i.e. the ugly slave tohave a bath) and in his absence told the handsome slave that his fellow slave had given a bad account of him. On hearing this, the slave burst into invectives against his companion and said that he was a rascal and a liar.
The king thus came to theconclusion that the slave with a beautiful face had no inner worth while the slave with an ugly face had much inner worth.
The moral of the story is that beauty is only skin deep. All that glitters is not gold. "Every man is hidden under his own tongue" The tongue reveals the inner intelligence as well as inner vileness . "The safety of a man lies in holding his tongue"
Rasulullaah (s.a.w.s) said:" He who is silent is successful!"/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en