3] Ruling on praying tahajjud on Laylat al-Qadr only

3]
What is the ruling on praying tahajjud on Laylatal-Qadr and not on
other nights?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There are reports which speak of the great virtue of doing acts of
worship on Laylat al-Qadr. Our Lord, may He be blessed and exalted,
has told us that it is better than a thousand nights, and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that whoever spends
this night in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward will be
forgiven his previous sins.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"Verily, We have sent it (this Qur'aan) down in theNight of Al-Qadr (Decree).
2. And what will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is?
3. The Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months
(i.e. worshipping Allaah in that night is better than worshipping Him
a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).
4. Therein descend the angels and the Rooh [Jibreel (Gabriel)] by
Allaah's Permission with all Decrees,
5. (All that night), there is peace (and goodness fromAllaah to His
believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn"
[al-Qadr 97:1-5]
And it was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaahbe pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoeverspends this night in prayer out of faith and in the hope of
reward will be forgiven his previous sins." Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1901; Muslim,760.
Out of faith means believing in its virtue and in the reward for that.
In the hope of reward means by seeking the pleasure of Allaah.
Secondly:
The scholars differed as tothe definition of Laylat al-Qadr, and there
are many opinions, more thanforty as it says in Fath al-Baari. The
most likely to be correct is the view that it is one of the
odd-numbered nights among the last ten nights of Ramadaan.
It was narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that
theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Seek Laylat al-Qadr among the odd numberednights of the last
ten nights of Ramadaan." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2017; Muslim, 1169.
Al-Bukhaari included this hadeeth in a chapter entitled: "Seeking
Laylat al-Qadr among the odd numbered nights of the last ten nights
(of Ramadaan)."
The reason why it is hidden is to encourage the Muslim to strive hard
in worship and du'aa' and dhikr during all the last ten nights of
Ramadaan. This is the same reason why the time when du'aa'is answered
on Friday has not been defined, and why the ninety-names of Allaah
have not been defined, concerning whichthe Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoeverlearns them by heart
will enter Paradise." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2736; Muslim, 2677.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The words of Imam al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) -
"Seeking Laylat al-Qadr among the odd numberednights of the last ten
nights (of Ramadaan)" - indicate that it is most likely that Laylat
al-Qadar cannot be in any month other than Ramadaan, and is in the
last ten nights thereof, and is one of the odd-numbered nights, but
not on any particular night. This is what is indicated by a number of
the reports that have been narrated concerning it.
Fath al-Baari, 4/260.
And he said:
The scholars said: The reason why Laylat al-Qadar has been concealed
is so that people will strive to seek it, because if its timing was
known, they would limit their efforts to that night only, as we have
explained previously about the time on Friday (when du'aa's are
answered).
Fath al-Baari, 4/266.
Thirdly:
Based on this, it is not possible for anyone to be certain that a
particular night is Laylat al-Qadr, especially since we know that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to tell his
ummah when it was, then he told them that Allaah had taken away that
knowledge.
It was narrated from 'Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) cameout with the news of Laylat al-Qadr, but two men
among the Muslims started arguing. He said: "I came out to tell you
about Laylat al-Qadr, but So and so and So and so started arguing, so
(that knowledge) was taken away. Perhaps that will be better for you.
So seek it on the (twenty-) seventh and the (twenty-)ninth and the
(twenty-) fifth." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 49.
The scholars of the Standing Committee said:
With regard to singling out one night of Ramadaan as Laylat al-Qadr,
this requires evidence to show that it isthis night and not any
other.:->

2b] Numbers of rak’ahs in Taraaweeh prayer

2b]
most of the night. Indeed, one night in which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) led his companions in
prayingTaraaweeh, he did not end his prayer until just before dawn,
and the Sahaabah feared that theywould miss suhoor. The Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) loved to pray behind the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and they did not feel that it was
too long. The scholars thought that if the imam made the prayer so
long, this would be too difficult for the members of the congregation
and that might put them off. So they thought that the imam should make
the recitation shorter and increase the number of rak'ahs.
The point is that the one who prays eleven rak'ahs in the manner
narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
is doing well and is following the Sunnah. Whoever makes the
recitation shorter and increases the number of rak'ahs is also doing
well. A person who does either of these two things is not to be
denounced. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
If a person prays Taraaweeh according to the madhhabs of Abu
Haneefah, al-Shaafa'i and Ahmad, with twenty rak'ahs, or according to
the madhhab of Maalik, with thirty-six rak'ahs, or with thirteen or
eleven rak'ahs, he has done well, as Imam Ahmad said, because there is
nothing to specify the number. So the greater or lesser number of
rak'ahs depends on how long or short the qiyaam (standing in the
prayer) is.
Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 64
Al-Suyooti said:
What is narrated in the saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth is the command to
observe night prayers during Ramadaan, which is encouraged without
specifying a particular number. It is not proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed twenty rak'ahs of
Taraaweeh, rather that he prayed at night, with an unspecifiednumber
of rak'ahs. Then he delayed it on the fourth night lest it become
obligatory for them and they might not be able to do it. Ibn Hajar
al-Haythami said: There is no saheeh report that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed twenty rak'ahs of
Taraaweeh. Thenarration which suggests that he "used to pray twenty
rak'ahs" is extremely weak (da'eef).
Al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 27/142-145
So you should not be surprised that people prayTaraaweeh as twenty
rak'ahs. There have been generation after generation of those imams
(who used to pray twenty rak'ahs), and all ofthem are good.
And Allaah knows best./

2a] Numbers of rak’ahs in Taraaweeh prayer

2a]
nine rak'ahs sometimes. But what is meant by the hadeeth is pray as
you have seen me praying with regard to how to pray not how many
rak'ahs, unless there is a text to state what the number is.
Whatever the case, a person should not be strict with people with
regard to a matter that is broad in scope. We have even seen some
brothers who are strict on this matter accusing the imams who pray
more than eleven rak'ahs of following bid'ah, and theyleave the
mosque, thus missing out on the reward of which the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever
stands with theimam until he finishes (the prayer), the reward of
qiyaam al-layl will be recorded for him." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
806; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 646). Some
of them even sit down after completing ten rak'ahs, thus breaking up
the rowsof worshippers by sitting there, and sometimes they start
talking and disturb the people who are praying.
We have no doubt that their intentions are good and they are doing
their best to come to the right conclusion, but that does not mean
that they are correct.
The other group does the opposite. They sternly denounce those who
prayonly eleven rak'ahs and say that they have gone against scholarly
consensus. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after
the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than
the believers' way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and
burn him in Hell — what an evil destination!"
[al-Nisa' 4:115]
All the generations who came before you only knew the number as
twenty-three rak'ahs, and they denounce anyone who says anything
different.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti', 4/73-75
With regard to the evidence quoted by those who say that it is not
permissible to do more than eight rak'ahs in Taraaweeh, they quote the
hadeeth of Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan, who asked 'Aa'ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her), "How did the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pray during Ramadaan?" She said:
"Hedid not pray more than eleven rak'ahs in Ramadaan or at other
times. He would pray four,and do not ask how beautiful and long they
were, then he would pray four, and do not ask how beautiful and long
they were, then he would pray three. I said, 'O Messenger of Allaah,
will you sleep before you pray Witr?' He said, 'O 'Aa'ishah, my eyes
sleep but my heart does not.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1909; Muslim, 738
They said: This hadeeth indicates that the Messenger of Allaah was
consistent in his prayers at night in Ramadaan andat other times.
The scholars refuted this use of the hadeeth as evidence by saying
that this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) did, but the fact that he did something does not
implythat it is obligatory.
The evidence that there is no set number for prayersat night – which
include Taraaweeh – is the hadeeth of Ibn 'Umar according to which a
man asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) about prayer at night. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Prayers at night are to beoffered two by
two (two rak'ahs at a time). If any of you fears that the time of dawn
is approaching then let him pray one rak'ah as Witr."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 846; Muslim, 749)
If we look at what the scholars of the prominent schools of thought
said, you will clearly see that this matter is broad in scope and that
there is nothing wrong with doing more than eleven rak'ahs.
Al-Sarkhasi, who is one of the imams of the Hanafi school, said:
It is twenty rak'ahs, apart from Witr, in our view.
Al-Mabsoot, 2/145
Ibn Qudaamah said:
The favoured view according to Abu 'Abd-Allaah (i.e., Imam Ahmad, may
Allaah have mercy on him), is that it istwenty rak'ahs. This was the
view of al-Thawri, AbuHanfeefah and al-Shaafa'i. Maalik said it is
thirty-six.
Al-Mughni, 1/457
Al-Nawawi said:
Taraaweeh prayer is Sunnah according to scholarly consensus. Our view
is that it is twenty rak'ahs with ten tasleems,and it is permissible
to pray it individually or in congregation.
Al-Majmoo', 4/31
These are the views of thefour imams concerning the number of rak'ahs
of Taraaweeh prayer. All of them said something more than eleven
rak'ahs. Perhaps the reasons why they said something morethan eleven
rak'ahs include the following:
1- They thought that the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah did not mean that
this was the specific number.
2- A greater number was narrated from many of the salaf.
See al-Mughni, 2/604; al-Majmoo', 4/32
3- The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
pray eleven rak'ahs and make them very lengthy, so much so that it
used to take him most of the night. Indeed,:->

2] Numbers of rak’ahs in Taraaweeh prayer

2]
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.:->