Taraaweeh prayers, - Dought&clear, - Is it better for men and women who come to do ‘umrah to pray Taraweehin Makkah and Madinah in thehotel or in the Haram?

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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 to what is preferable in the case of Taraweeh prayer: Is it better to offer it in the mosque in congregation or to offer it at home individually? There are three opinions concerning that:
1.
That offering it in congregation in the mosque is preferable. This is the opinion of the earlier Hanafis, Ahmad ibn Hanbal 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 on him) 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 in it at night, and some men among his Companions followed him in prayer. When he realized that they were doing that, he started praying seated (so that people could not see him and follow him in prayer). Then he came out to them and said: “I know what you did. O people, pray in your houses, for the best of a man’s prayer is 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 in his house.
Al-Shaafa‘i also quoted as evidence the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Thaabit, which he quoted. And al-Shaafa‘i said: The point is further emphasized by the fact that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told them to pray qiyaam in their homes rather than in his mosque despite all the virtue that there is in that.
End quote fromal-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 who followed 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 fromal-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 to pray 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 congregation in 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 that the 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 fromal-Majmoo‘, 4/31
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 to be preferable for a person to pray in his house on his own 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 have mercy 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 fromHaashiyat al-Dasooqi, 1/315
Looking at the state of people nowadays – including many of the good and righteous youth who 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 beginning of 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 this prayer! 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 the motive 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 second opinion, 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 to pray Taraweeh, and he prayed on his own in his house.
How beautiful are the words of Imam Malik, who summed up what we are 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 fromal-Mudawwanah al-Kubra, 1/287
Secondly:
With regard to women praying Taraweeh in their houses, this has already been dealt with in the answer to question no. 3457, where we said that it is better for women to pray qiyaam in their houses, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not prevent your women from going to the mosques, although their houses are better for them.” 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 that Taraweeh 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 on him) as saying:
The Sunnah indicates that it is better for a woman to pray in her house wherever she is, whether she is in Makkah or elsewhere. End quote.
And Allah knows best.

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Zakaath, - Dought&clear, - A contractor who owns real estate and building equipment; does he have to pay zakaah?

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My father owns properties for rent and a piece of land. He owns some of it while he still is paying instalments of this piece of land. As for the properties, he rents them out. But what he gains from this does not reach the specific amount that must be paid as Zakah (2.5%) if this is the right proportion that should be paid as Zakah on properties.
He owns timber as well and two cars. I would like to know what should Zakah be paid on, and how much should my father pay?
My aunt is divorced. And my cousin is a widow and she has orphan children. I think my cousin deserves the Zakah to be given to her. What about my aunt? My aunt has a daughter who is working and they have a quite good income. Should my father give her a part of the Zakah as well? Or should he just give her money as a gift in order to strengthen the womb relations with the family? Bear in mind that my aunt’s daughter does not dress modestly and she uses make up. I do not know if Zakah should be given to them. Please provide us with a detailed answer.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
No zakaah is due on the real estate and land unless the owner intends to trade in them. But that which he intends to use or rent out is not subject to zakaah. Rather zakaah is due on the rent if it reaches the nisaab (minimum threshold), which is the equivalent of 595 grams of silver, when one whole (hijri) year has passed since it was acquired.
The rate of zakaah that must be paid is one quarter of one tenth, i.e., 2.5%,
It says inFataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Ifta(11/358):
With regard to the land that is rented out and the real estate that is rented out, zakaah must be paid on the rent when one year has passed, not on the land or real estate itself. End quote.
But if the owner is spending the rent straightaway, then no zakaah is due on it so long as he has not saved of it the nisaab for a whole year.
Secondly:
The lumber that your father owns because of his work as a contractor is not subject to zakaah.
The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) have stated that the tools of one’s trade are not subject to zakaah, no matter how great their value, because the purpose of having them is to use them and not to deal or trade in them.
The same may also be said of the two cars; there is no zakaah on them so long as he does not intend to trade in them.
See the answer to question no. 74987.
Thirdly:
There is nothing wrong with your father giving zakaah to your paternal aunt and her orphan children, rather it is better to give it to them and that will earn a greater reward than giving it to strangers, because giving zakaah to relatives is better.
It was narrated from Salmaan ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Charity given to a poor person is charity, but charity given to a relative is two things, charity and upholding ties of kinship.” Narrated by Ahmad (15644) and al-Tirmidhi (658); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi.
As for giving zakaah to your paternal aunt and her other daughter, if they have sufficient income then it is not permissible to give zakaah to them, but if their income is not sufficient then they may given of zakaah whatever will suffice them, and anything more than that is voluntary charity and upholding ties of kinship, and it is not permissible to count it as zakaah.
But if your father would inherit from your paternal aunt (his sister) – if she were to die – then he is obliged to spend on her, and in that case it is not permissible for him to give her zakaah.
And he would inherit from her if she has no male child and if her father is deceased.
As for the fact that she and her daughter wear makeup and do not dress properly, we ask Allaah to guide them, and that does not affect the giving of zakaah to them, but what you and your father are required to do is to keep on advising them.
And Allaah knows best.

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Zakaath, - Dought&clear, - Does zakaah have tobe paid on all bought land?

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We bought 3 pieces of land, one of them we intend to build on it soon. The other two pieces we intend to just keep them in order to sell or use them in the future. Six years passed and we did not pay Zakah on any of the three pieces. What shall we do? And how much should we pay?.
Praise be to Allaah.
When a person buys land, one of three scenarios must apply:
1 – That which is intended for living on. This is not subject to zakaah, because it is not for trade or business.
2 – He buys the land with the aim of selling it and seeking to make a profit from it. This comes under the heading of trade goods if one full (hijri) year passes. Then he should see how much it is worth when the year has passed, and pay one quarter of one tenth of its value at the time when the year has passed.
3 – When he wants the land that he buys as an investment, so that he can develop it by building shops or apartment buildings to rent them out. No zakaah is due on the land itself, rather zakaah is due on its revenue. If he receives in rent money that passes the nisaab (minimum threshold), and one year has passed since the rental contract was drawn up, then he must pay zakaah on it. End quote.
Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan(2/309).
And Allaah knows best.

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Zakaath, - Dought&clear, - He owns Iraqi dinars; should he pay zakaah on them?

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I have one million Iraqi Dinars. Its exchange rate with foreign currency is zero. How shall I pay Zakah on this amount?.
Praise be to Allaah.
These bank notes come under the heading of “trade goods”, because they actually have some value in the market, even though they do not have any value in financial institutions.
The one who owns these bank notes should work out their value at the end of the zakaah year, and pay zakaah on them at a rate of 2.5%. This applies if their value reaches the nisaab (minimum threshold) or if he has other cash which completes the nisaab.
The nisaab is the equivalent of 595 grams of silver.
And Allaah knows best.

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