Hajj & Umrah, - *The virtuesof the ten days of Thul-Hijjah- II

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Types of worship and deeds to be performed during the ten days:
One must understand that these days are a great blessing from Allaah to His slave, which is appreciated properly by the actively righteous. It is the Muslim's duty to appreciate this blessing and make the most of the opportunity, by devoting these ten days to paying more attention to striving hard in worship.
Among His blessings to His slaves, Allaah has given us many ways in which to perform righteous deeds and worship Him, so that the Muslim may be constantly active and consistent in his worship of his Lord.
Among the righteous deeds which the Muslim should strive to perform during the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah are:
1.The performance of Hajj and Umrah, which are the best of deeds that may be done. And what indicates their superiority are a number of narrations, one of which is the saying of the Prophet:"Performance of 'Umrah is an expiation of the sins committed between it and the previous 'Umrah, and the reward of the Hajj which is accepted by Allaah, Most High, is nothing but Paradise."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
2.Fasting: It is recommended to fast on the nine days and especially on the ninth day of Thul-Hijjah. There is no doubt that the act of fasting is one of the best deeds, and it is from what Allaah, Most High, has chosen for himself, as in the Sacred Hadeeth:"Fasting is for Me )Allaah(, and it is I who give reward for it.Verily, someone gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for my sake..."]Al-Bukhaari, Muslim, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa'i and Ibn Maajah[
Also, from Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudriwho said that the Messenger of Allaahsaid:"No servant )of Allaah, Most High( fasts one day in the way of Allaah, except that Allaah, the Most High, removes his face from the fire because of it )the distance of traveling( seventy years."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
The Prophetsaid:"Fasting the Day of ‘Arafah will be credited with Allaah by forgiving one's sins of the previous year and the following year."]Muslim[
3.Uttering the mention of Allaah: It is recommended to utter Takbeer )"Allaahu akbar"(, Tahmeed )"Al-hamdu Lillaah"(, Tahleel )"La ilaaha illallaah"( and Tasbeeh )"Subhaanallaah"( during the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah in the Mosque, at home, on the street and every place where it is permitted to mention Allaah and mention His name out loud, as an act of worship and as a proclamation of the greatness of Allaah, Most High. He The Most High, Says )what means(:"...And mention the name of Allaah on known ]i.e., specific[ days..."]Quran 22: 28[
4.Performing more good deeds in general, because good deeds are beloved by Allaah and will bring a great reward from Him. Whoever is not able to go to Hajj should occupy himself at this blessed time by worshipping Allaah, praying, reading Quran, supplicating, giving charity, honoring his parents, upholding the ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of worship.
5.Offering sacrifice. One of the good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allaah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice, by choosing a high-quality animal. It is the Sunnah of our father Ibraaheem- from when Allaah The Most High, redeemed his son by the great sacrifice )of an animal in his place(. The Prophetslaughtered )sacrificed( two horned rams, black and white in color, and heslaughtered them with his own hands, mentioned the name of Allaah )saying Bismillaah(, said Takbeer )Allaahu-Akbar(, and placed his foot on their sides )while slaughtering them(. ]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
6.Sincerely repenting. One of the most important things to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allaah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin.
Repentance means coming back to Allaah and foregoing all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes, out of regret for what has passed, giving it up immediately and being determined never to return to it, and to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing what Allaah loves. The Prophetsaid:"Verily Allaah has a sense of 'Ghayrah' )honor, prestige and anger over violation(, and Allaah's sense of Ghayrah is provoked when a person does that which Allaah has made prohibited."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
7.It is incumbent for the Muslim )who is not making Hajj( to make every effort to perform the ‘Eed Prayer wherever it is performed, and to be present for the Khutbah )sermon( and benefit.
He must know the wisdom behind the legislation of this ‘Eed )celebration(. It is a day of thankfulness and performing deeds of righteousness. So, he must not make it a day of wildness, pride and vanity. He should not make it a time of disobedience and increase in forbidden things such as music, singing, uncontrolled amusement and the like - those things which could cause the cancellation of the good deeds done in these ten days )of Thul-Hijjah(.
There is much to be gained, so make the most of the opportunity afforded by these invaluable and irreplaceable ten days. Hasten to do good deeds, before death strikes, before one regrets his negligence and failure to act, before one is asked to return to life but only when prayers will never be answered, before death intervenes between the hopeful one and the things he hopes for, before one is trapped with his deeds in the grave.

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Night Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Praying Qiyaam al-Layl in congregation at times other than in the month of Ramadaan

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Is it permissible for a group of men to gather to perform Qiyaam al-Layl on a regular basis (almost every night) at times other than in the month of Ramadan?
Praise be to Allaah.
If people want to gather to perform Qiyaam al-Layl in the mosque in congregation at times other than Ramadaan, this is a kind of bid’ah.
But there is nothing wrong with a person praying it in congregation at times other than Ramadaan in his house occasionally, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led Ibn ‘Abbaas, Ibn Mas’ood and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan in congregation in his house. But he did not do that as a regular Sunnah (Sunnah raatibah) and he did not do it in the mosque.
Seeal-Sharh al-Mumti’by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, part 4, p. 82
It should be noted that this jamaa’ah (prayer in congregation) which takes place at times other than Ramadaan should not happen by agreement or prior announcement. If it so happens that a Muslim sees another Muslim praying Qiyaam al-Layl and he joins him without prior agreement – as happened in the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas, for example, when he woke up and joined the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) one night – there is nothing wrong that. But if it is a meeting by prior agreement to perform Qiyaam al-Layl on a regular basis, almost every night – as described in the question – this is bid’ah, as stated at the beginning of the answer.
We will quote the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him). He said:
“I stayed overnight in the house of my maternal aunt Maymoonah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) slept for a part of the night… and during the night, he got up and performed a light ablution from a hanging water skin, and stood up for the prayer. I, too, performed a similar ablution, then I went and stood on his left. Perhaps Sufyaan said, on his left and he drew me to his right. He prayed as much as Allah wished, then he lay down and slept until the sound of his breathing could be heard. Later on the muezzin came to him and told him that it was time for prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went with him for the prayer without performing a new ablution.” Sufyaan said to 'Amr that some people said, “The eyes of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sleep but his heart does not sleep.” ‘Amr said, “I heard ‘Ubayd bin ‘Umayr saying that the dreams of Prophets were wahy (revelation), then he recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning):‘he [Ibraaheem] said: “O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offering you in sacrifice to Allaah)”’ [al-Saaffaat 37:102].”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 138

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Night Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Saying lengthy du’aa’ during Taraaweeh prayer

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Some imams recite lengthy du’aa’s in the mosques during Ramadaan and others recite short du’aa’s. Which is correct?
Praise be to Allaah.
What is correct it to make it neither too long nor too short. Making it so long that it causes hardship to people is not allowed. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard that Mu’aadh ibn Jabal was making the prayers too long for his people, he spoke to him angrily in a manner that he had never used when advising someone and said to Mu’aadh: “O Mu’aadh, are you putting people off?” (al-Bukhaari,al-Adab, 6106; Muslim,al-Salaah, 465). What the imam should do is to adhere to the Sunnah.
Undoubtedly making the du’aa’ too long causes hardship to the people and exhausts them, especially those who are weak. Some people may have work to do, or they may not want to finish before the imam but it is difficult for them to stay with the imam. So we advise our brother imams to follow a moderate course, and to omit the du’aa’ sometimes so that the people will not think that the du’aa’ is obligatory.
Kitaab al-Da’wah, 5, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/198

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Night Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * MakingWitr resemble Maghrib

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You wrote in article 'Night time praying during Ramadan' that The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying witr as three rakahs, and explained this by saying: Do not make it resemble Salaat al-Maghrib. Therefore the person who wants to pray three rakahs 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 rakahs, which is the best way; or by not sitting after the first two rakahs .
I also pray 3 rakas of witar but i make it different from salat al maghrib by raising hands for takbir before dua e Qanot.Is it correct?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Before answering this question, we would like to say that we appreciate your eagerness to follow the Sunnah, and we ask Allaah to make us and you among those who listen to the word and follow it properly.
What you have said – may Allaah guide you – about not wanting to make Witr resemble Maghrib by raising your hands for the Takbeer before reciting Du’aa’ al-Qunoot, is not what is meant by the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the hadeeth narrated by al-Haakim (1/304), al-Bayhaqi (3/31) and al-Daaraqutni (p. 172), and which was classed as saheeh by al-Haakim according to the conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim. According to this hadeeth the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not pray Witr with three rak’ahs that resemble Maghrib.” What he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) meant, as the scholars have explained, was that we should not sit to recite the first Tashahhud in a manner that resembles Maghrib.
SeeFath al-Baariby Ibn Hajar, 4/301. al-Haafiz said: Its isnaad is saheeh according to the conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim. See also‘Awn al-Ma’bood, commentary on hadeeth no. 1423;Salaat al-Taraaweehby al-Albaani, p. 97.
Raising the hands for Takbeer before reciting Du’aa’ al-Qunoot makes no difference in fact, because there are four places in which the hands should be raised during prayer:
1 – When saying Takbeer al-ihraam (takbeer for starting the prayer)
2 – When bowing in rukoo’
3 – When standing up from rukoo’
4 – When standing up after the first tashahhud
It is not prescribed for the worshipper to raise his hands at any point other than these four.
SeeFataawa Arkaan al-Islamby Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him), p. 312
And Allaah knows best.

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