Taraaweeh prayers, - Dought & clear, - The virtues of Qiyaam (prayerat night) during Ramadaan

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What is the virtues of Qiyaam (prayer at night) during Ramadaan ?
Praise be to Allaah.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to encourage us to pray at night in Ramadaan, without making it obligatory. Then he said, ‘Whoever prays at night in Ramadaan out of faith and the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.’ When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, this is how things were (i.e., Taraaweeh was not prayed in congregation), and this is how they remained during the khilaafah of Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him), until the beginning of the khilaafah of ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him).”
‘Amr ibn Murrah al-Juhani said: “A man from Qudaa’ah came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! What do you think if I testify that there is no god except Allaah, and that you, Muhammad, are His Messenger, and I pray the five daily prayers, and fast in the month (of Ramadaan), and pray at night in Ramadaan, and pay zakaah?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever dies on that will be among the siddeeqeen (those who tell the truth) and the martyrs.’”
Laylat al-Qadr and its timing
2 – The best of its nights is Laylat al-Qadr, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays at night during Laylat al-Qadr {and manages to “catch” it} out of faith and the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.”
3 – According to the most correct opinion, it is the twenty-seventh night of Ramadaan. Most of the ahaadeeth state this, such as the hadeeth of Zurr ibn Hubaysh, who said: “I heard Ubayy ibn Ka’b saying – and it was said to him that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: ‘Whoever follows the Sunnah will ‘catch’ Laylat al-Qadr!’ – Ubayy (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: ‘May Allaah have mercy on him, he did not want people to take it for granted and only stay up to pray on one night. By the One besides Whom there is no other god, it is in Ramadaan – he was swearing without a doubt – and by Allaah, I do know which night it is. It is the night in which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to pray (qiyaam). It is the night the morning of which is the twenty seventh, and the sign of it is that the sun rises on that morning white and without rays.’”
In another report, this was attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). (Reported by Muslim and others).
Praying qiyaam in congregation
It is allowed to pray qiyaam in congregation, indeed it is better than praying individually, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did himself and explained its virtues. Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “We fasted Ramadaan with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he did not lead us in qiyaam at all until there were only seven days left, when he led us in prayer until a third of the night had passed. When there were six days left, he did not lead us in qiyaam. When there were five days left, he led us in prayer until half the night had passed. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I wish that you had continued until the end of the night.’ He said, ‘If a man prays with the imaam until he finishes, it will be counted as if he prayed the whole night.’ When there were four nights left, he did not lead us in qiyaam. When there were three nights left, he brought together his family, his wives and the people, and led us in qiyaam until we were afraid that we would miss al-falaah. I asked, ‘What is al-falaah?’ he said, ‘Suhoor. Then he did not lead us in qiyaam for the rest of the month.’” (Saheeh hadeeth reported by the authors ofSunan).
The reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not continually lead the people in praying qiyaam in congregation
5 - The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not lead them in qiyaam for the rest of the month because he feared that it would then become obligatory, and they would not be able to do it, as is stated in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah reported inal-Saheehaynand elsewhere. Following the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), that fear was no longer a factor, because Allaah had completed the religion. The reason for not praying qiyaam in congregation during Ramadaan no longer applied, and the previous ruling, that congregational prayer is something prescribed in Islam, remained in effect. So ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) revived the practice, as is recorded inSaheeh al-Bukhaariand elsewhere.
Women can pray qiyaam in congregation
Women can attend the prayers too, as is stated in the hadeeth of Abu Dharr referred to above. Indeed, it is permissible to appoint an imaam just for them, apart from the imaam of the men. It was proven that when ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) gathered the people to pray qiyaam, he appointed Ubayy ibn Ka’b to lead the men and Sulaymaan ibn Abi Hathmah to lead the women. ‘Arfajah al-Thaqafi said: “ ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to command the people to pray during the night in Ramadaan, and he would appoint an imaam for the men and an imaam for the women. I was the imaam for the women.”
I say: this is fine in my view so long as the mosque is big enough so that they will not disturb one another.
Number of rak’ahs of qiyaam
7 – The number of rak’ahs is eleven, and it is preferable in our opinion not to exceed this number, following the practice of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because he never did more than that in his life. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was asked about how he prayed in Ramadaan. She said, “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never prayed more than eleven rak’ahs (of qiyaam), whether during Ramadaan or any other time. He would pray four, and don’t ask me how beautiful or how long they were. Then he would pray four, and don’t ask me how beautiful or how long they were. Then he would pray three.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Muslim and others).
8- A person may do less than that, even if it is only one rak’ah of witr, because of the evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this and spoke about it.
With regard to him doing it: ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was asked how many rak’ahs the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray in witr? She said, “He used to pray four and three, or six and three, or ten and three. He never used to pray less than seven, or more than thirteen.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, Ahmad and others).
With regard to him speaking about it, he said: “Witr is true, so whoever wishes can pray five, and whoever wishes can pray three, and whoever wishes can pray one.”
Reciting Qur’aan in qiyaam
9 – As regards reciting from the Qur’aan during qiyaam, whether in Ramadaan or at other times, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set a limit or state what was too much or too little. His recitation used to vary, sometimes it would be long, at other times short. Sometimes in every rak’ah he would recite the equivalent of ‘Yaa ayyuha’l-muzammil, which is twenty aayaat; sometimes he would recite the equivalent of fifty aayaat. He used to say, “Whoever prays at night and reads one hundred aayaat will not be recorded as one of the negligent.” According to another hadeeth: “…and reads two hundred aayaat, will be recorded as one of the devout and sincere believers.”
When he was sick, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited the seven long soorahs in his night prayers, i.e.,al-Baqarah,Aal ‘Imraan,al-Nisaa’,al-Maa’idah,al-An’aam,al-A’raafandal-Tawbah.
In the account of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan praying behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in one rak’ah he recitedal-Baqarah,al-Nisa’andAal ‘Imraan, and he recited them in a slow and measured tone. It is proven with the soundest (most saheeh) of isnaads that when ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) appointed Ubayy ibn Ka’b to lead the people in praying eleven rak’ahs in Ramadaan, Ubayy used to recite aayaat by the hundreds, so that the people behind him would be leaning on sticks because the prayers were so long, and they did not finish until just before Fajr.
It is also reported in a saheeh account that ‘Umar called the readers during Ramadaan, and told the fastest of them to recite thirty aayaat, the moderate ones to recite twenty-five aayaat, and the slowest ones to recite twenty aayaat.
However, is a person is praying qiyaam by himself, he can make it as long as he wishes; if others agree with the imaam, he may also make it as long as he wishes. The longer it is, the better, but a person should not go to extremes and spend the whole night in qiyaam, except on rare occasions, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said: “The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.” If a person is praying as an imaam, he should make it only as long as is easy for the people behind him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it short, because among them are the young and the old, the weak, and those who have pressing needs. But if he is praying alone, let him make it as long as he likes.”
The timing of qiyaam
10 – The time for praying qiyaam is from after ‘Isha until Fajr, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has added one more prayer for you, which is witr, so pray it between Salaat al-‘Isha’ and Salaat al-Fajr.”
11 – Praying at the end of the night is better, for those who can manage it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever is afraid that he will not get up at the end of the night, let him pray witr at the beginning of the night, but whoever feels that he will be able to get up at the end of the night, let him pray witr at the end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed [by the angels???], and that is better.”
12 – If it is the matter of choosing between praying in congregation at the beginning of the night and praying alone at the end of the night, it is preferable to pray with the jamaa’ah, because that is counted as if one had prayed the whole night through.
This is what the Sahaabah did at the time of ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him). ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Abd al-Qaari said: “I went out with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab to the mosque one night during Ramadaan, and saw the people scattered throughout the mosque, some praying individually, and some praying in small groups. He said, ‘By Allaah, I think that if I gathered all of them behind one reader it would be better.’ So he resolved to do that, and he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka’b. Then I went with him on another night, and the people were all praying behind their reader, and ‘Umar said, ‘What a good innovation this is. What they sleep and miss – meaning the latter part of the night – is better than what they are doing,’ – the people used to pray qiyaam at the beginning of the night.”
Zayd ibn Wahb said: “‘Abd-Allaah used to lead us in prayer in Ramadaan, and he used to finish at night.”
13 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying witr as three rak’ahs, and explained this by saying: “Do not make it resemble Salaat al-Maghrib.” Therefore the person who wants to pray three rak’ahs for witr must find a way to make it different (from Maghrib). There are two ways he can do this: either by giving salaam after the first two rak’ahs, which is the best way; or by not sitting after the first two rak’ahs (i.e., praying three rak’ahs non-stop). And Allaah knows best.
Recitation during three rak’ahs of witr
14 – It is Sunnah to reciteSabbih bi ismi Rabbika al-‘A’laain the first rak’ah,Qul Yaa ayyuha’l-Kaafiroonin the second rak’ah, andQul Huwa Allaahu ahadin the third rak’ah. SometimesQul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-FalaqandQul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Naasmay be added as well.
It was reported in a saheeh report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) once recited one hundred aayaat ofSoorat al-Nisa’in one rak’ah of witr.
Du’aa’ al-Qunoot
15 – A person may also humble himself before Allaah by reciting the du’aa’ which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to his grandson al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which is:
“Allaahumma’hdinee fiman hadayta wa ‘aafinee fiman ‘aafayta wa tawallanee fiman tawallayta wa baarik lee fimaa a’tayta wa qinee sharra maa qadayt, fa innaka taqdee wa laa yuqdaa ‘alayk. Wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya’izzu man ‘aadayt. Tabaarakta Rabbanaa wa ta’aalayt. Laa majaa minka illa ilayk(O Allaah, guide me along with those whom You have guided, pardon me along with those whom You have pardoned, be an ally to me along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless for me that which You have bestowed. Protect me from the evil You have decreed for verily You decree and none can decree over You. For surety, he whom You show allegiance to is never abased and he whom You take an enemy is never honored and mighty. O our Lord, Blessed and Exalted are You. There is no refuge from You except with You).”
Sometimes one may send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there is nothing wrong with adding other du’aa’s that are known from the Sunnah.
16 – There is nothing wrong with reciting Qunoot after rukoo’, or with adding curses against the kuffaar, sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or praying for the Muslims in the second half of Ramadaan, because it is proven that the imaam used to do this at the time of ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him). At the end of the hadeeth of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Ubayd al-Qaari mentioned above, it says: “… They used to curse the kuffaar in the middle, saying, ‘Allaahumma qaatil al-kafarata alladheena yasuddoona ‘an sabeelik wa yukadhdhiboona rusulak wa laa yu’minoona bi wa’dik. Wa khaalif bayna kalimatihim wa alqi fi quloobihim al-ru’b wa alqi ‘alayhim rijzaka wa ‘adhaabak ilaah al-haqq(O Allaah, destroy the kuffaar who are trying to prevent people from following Your path, who deny Your Messengers and who do not believe in Your promise (the Day of Judgement). Make them disunited, fill their hearts with terror and send Your wrath and punishment against them, O God of Truth).” Then he would send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and pray for good for the Muslims as much as he could, and seek forgiveness for the believers.
After he had finished cursing the kuffaar, sending blessings on the Prophet, seeking forgiveness for the believing men and women and asking for his own needs, he would say: “Allaahumma iyyaaka na’bud walaka nusalli wa najud, wa ilayka nas’aa wa nahfud, wa narju rahmataka rabbanaa wa nakhaafu ‘adhaabak al-jadd. Inna ‘adhaabaka liman ‘aadayta mulhaq(O Allaah, You do we worship, to You do we pray and prostrate, for Your sake we strive and toil. We place our hope in Your Mercy, O our Lord, and we fear Your mighty punishment, for Your punishment will certainly overtake the one whom You have taken as an enemy.” Then he would say “Allaahu akbar” and go down in sujood.
What should be said at the end of witr
17 – It is Sunnah to say at the end of witr (before or after the salaam):
“Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu’aafaatika min ‘aqoobatika, wa a’oodhu bika minka. La uhsee thanaa’an ‘alayka, anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsik(O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your good pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your protection from Your punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot praise You enough, and You are as You have praised Yourself.”
18 – When he gave salaam at the end of witr, he said: “Subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos(Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy), elongating the syllables, and raising his voice the third time.
Two rak’ahs after witr
19 – A person may pray two rak’ahs after witr if he wishes, because it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this. Indeed, he said, “This travelling is exhausting and difficult, so after any one of you prays witr, let him pray two rak’ahs. If he wakes up, this is fine, otherwise these two rak’ahs will be counted for him.
20 – It is Sunnah to reciteIdha zulzilat al-ardandQul yaa ayyuha’l-kaafiroonin these two rak’ahs.

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Fasting, - Doupht & clear, - His grandmother is sick and is unconscious; does she have to offer expiation for not fasting?

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My grandmother has been sick for nearly a year and a half; she is not aware of her surroundings and does not speak and does not ask for food, but when we give her food, she eats. Sometimes she knows who is speaking to her (which is rare), but she does not tell us what she wants from us (she does not say: “I want a bath, may Allaah bless you”). She is sleeping on a bed without moving, and her children help her to move. I want to ask about fasting and prayer; should we pay fidyah on her behalf and do we have to do anything for the time that is past?.
Praise be to Allaah.
If a person reaches a stage of senility and feeble-mindedness, loses his or her mental capacity and is no longer aware, the obligations of fasting and prayer are waived, and he does not have to offer expiation, because one of the conditions of being accountable is that one should be of sound mind.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Pen has been lifted from three: from the sleeping person until he wakes up, from the minor until he grows up, and from the insane person until he comes to his senses.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (4403), al-Tirmidhi (1423), al-Nasaa’i (3432), Ibn Majaah (2041). Abu Dawood said: It was narrated by Ibn Jurayj from al-Qaasim ibn Yazeed from ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) from the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He added “and the senile”.
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
It says in‘Awn al-Ma’bood: Senility refers to when the mind becomes no longer sound because of old age. What is meant here is the old man has lost his mind because of old age. The elderly person may become confused and lose his power of discernment, which means that he is no longer qualified to be regarded as accountable, but he cannot be called insane. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Fasting is not obligatory unless certain conditions are met: (i) being of sound mind; (ii) being an adult; (iii) being a Muslim; (iv) being able to do it; (v) being resident (i.e., not travelling); (vi) being free of menses or nifaas (post-partum bleeding), in the case of women.
With regard to the first, being of sound mind – the opposite is loss of reason, whether it is due to insanity or senility, meaning old age, or an accident which causes a person to lose consciousness and feeling. Such a person does not have to do anything, because he is no longer of sound mind. Based on this, this elderly person who has reached the stage of senility does not have to fast or feed the poor, because he is not of sound mind. End quote fromLiqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh(4/220).
With regard to the past, if she was in this state, and was not aware and could not understand anything, then she does not have to fast or offer expiation.
If she was aware and could understand, but she did not fast because she was sick, then one of two scenarios must apply:
1. If at that time she was hoping to recover from her sickness, but the sickness continued, then she does not have to do anything, because what she had to do was make up the fasts when she recovered, but she did not recover.
2. If at that time there was no hope of recovery, then she should offer expiation for each day, which is feeding one poor person, half a saa’ of the local staple food. If she did not offer this expiation, then you must offer it now from her wealth.
We ask Allaah to heal her and make her well, and to guide and help you.
And Allaah knows best.

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Fasting, - Doupht & clear, - Is it permissible forone who is observing i‘tikaaf to leave the mosque in order to wake his family up for sahoor, then come back?

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If the person who is observing i‘tikaaf comes out of his place of i‘tikaaf to wake his family up for sahoor, and that is because there is no one at home, is this regarded as contrary to the conditions of i‘tikaaf?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The one who enters i‘tikaaf should not leave his place of i‘tikaaf during his i‘tikaaf, except for necessary, unavoidable reasons and to tend to his needs, such as bringing food and drink if there is no one who can bring them for him, and relieving himself if there are no washrooms in the mosque. There is nothing wrong with him going out at the time of sahoor to wake his family up so that they can eat sahoor at the proper time, and to wake them up to pray Fajr if they cannot wake up by themselves and there is no one else who can wake them up, because that comes under the heading of encouraging one another to do good and enjoining them to do what is right. If an obligatory duty cannot be done without a thing, then that thing becomes obligatory. But he should not sit at home after waking his family up; he should go back to his place of i‘tikaaf in the mosque.
And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and Companions.

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Fasting, - Doupht & clear, - He did not fast Ramadan and he thought negatively of Allah, may He be exalted

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Will god ever forgive me? i lost my self and i lost my faith i didn't fast on the last Ramadan and i hated god during that time i thought that he was the cause of all my miseries do i still have a chance to enter Islam again? and will god forgive me or am i doomed?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to accept your repentance, forgive you your sins, open your heart to faith and guidance, and to keep away from your mind all negative thoughts of your Lord and Creator, for there is nothing stranger than a person thinking negatively of his Lord when He has blessed him and bestowed upon him thousands of blessings, the greatest of which are the blessing of Islam and the blessing of reason. For He has chosen him from among His creation and has not made him a disbeliever; He has blessed him by making him a human who thinks rationally and ponders things, unlike animals and those who are insane. And He has created in his body and soul blessings of which no one knows the number except Allah.
One of Allah’s blessings is that He tests His slave with some calamities in order to expiate some of his bad deeds, or to increase him in status, or to remind him that he will return to Him and stand before Him. How often has a person turned away from Allah, then calamity was the means that caused him to turn back to Allah and repent, and ultimately turned out to be a means that led to happiness and joy.
When a person is certain that Allah, may He be exalted, is more merciful to him than anyone else, he will be content with His decree, will bear with patience that with which He tests him, and will hope for relief granted by Him.
Think about the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you; this will increase your gratitude towards Him and will make you recognise His bounty. Remember that no calamity befalls you but there is something good for you in it.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “No exhaustion, sickness, worry, grief, harm or distress befalls a believer, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allah will expiate some of his bad deeds thereby.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5642; Muslim, 2573
At-Tirmidhi (2399) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Calamities will continue to befall the believing man or woman affecting himself or his child or his wealth, until he will meet Allah with no sin on him.”
At-Tirmidhi (2398) and Ibn Maajah (4023) narrated that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah, which people are most severely tested? He said: “The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A person is tested according to his religious commitment. If he is steadfast in his religious commitment, he will be tested more severely, and if he is shaky in his religious commitment, his test will be according to his commitment. Trials will continue to afflict a person until they leave him walking on the earth with no sin on him.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Tirmidhi.
Secondly:
If a person feels resentment towards Allah, may He be exalted, in his heart, or is angry with His decree or thinks negatively of Him – Allah forbid – then let him renew his Islam and utter theShahaadatayn(twin declaration of faith), and let him strive hard and do righteous deeds.
He does not have to make up the fasts that he deliberately omitted, because that is an act of worship that is connected to a specific time; if a person deliberately omitted it at the time it was due, it would not be accepted from him after that. Moreover, Islam erases what came before it of sins.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: What is the ruling on the Muslim who for many years did not fast Ramadan, even though he did some of the other obligatory duties, and he had no impediment that was keeping him from fasting? Does he have to make up the fasts if he repents?
He replied:
The correct view is that he does not have to make up the fasts if he repents, because in the case of every act of worship that is connected to a specific time, if a person deliberately delays it without an excuse, then Allah will not accept it from him.
Based on that, there is no benefit in making it up. But he has to repent to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and do a lot of righteous deeds. And whoever repents, Allah will turn to him in mercy.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 19/87
We ask Allah to increase you in faith and guidance.
And Allah knows best.

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