Ramadan Articles - Blessings of Qiyaam in the Nights of Ramadan – I

Blessings of Qiyaam in the Nights of Ramadan – I
Monday 01/08/2011 Print
1- It was narrated that Abu Hurayrahsaid that the Prophet,, used to
encourage performingQiyaam)voluntary night prayer( inRamadanwithout
firmly enjoining it. Then, he says:"Whoever performs Qiyaam in )the
nights of( Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain the
reward of Allaah, his pastsins will be forgiven."TheProphet,, died
leavingthe situation as such –i.e.Taraaweeh)voluntary night prayer(
was performed individually not in congregation. It continued this way
during the caliphate of Abu Bakrand at the beginning of the caliphate
of 'Umar.
It was narrated that 'Amr ibn Murrah Al-Juhanisaid that a man from the
Qudhaa'ah came to the Prophet,, and said,"'OMessenger of Allaah! If I
testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that
you are Muhammad the Messenger of Allaah, perform the five)obligatory(
prayers, fast the month )of Ramadan(, observe Qiyaam in Ramadan and
pay Zakaah )obligatory charity(?' So, the Prophetsaid:'Whoever dies
onthat will be one of the affirmers of truth and themartyrs.'"
Determining the Night ofAl-Qadr:
2- The best night inRamadanis the Night ofAl-Qadrfor the Prophet,,
said:"Whoever establishes Qiyaam in theNight of Al-Qadr –and manages
to reach it – outof sincere faith and hoping to attain the reward of
Allaah, his pastsins will be forgiven."
3- Most probably, it is thenight of the twenty-seventh day. The
majority ofHadeeths)narrations( support this view. Zirr ibn
Hubayshsaid: Ubayy ibn Ka'bwas told: 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'oodsaid,"He
who stands )for the nightprayer( throughout the year will hit upon the
Night of Al-Qadr!Whereupon, Ubayysaid,
"May Allaah have mercy upon him; he said these words with the
intentionthat people might not rely only on one night. I swear by
Allaah, besides Whom there is none worthy of worship but Him, that the
Night of Al-Qadr is in Ramadan )Heswore without reservation(. By
Allaah, I know the night; it is the night on which the Messenger of
Allaahcommanded us to perform Qiyaam. It is thatwhich precedes the
morning of the twenty-seventh day and its indication is that the sun
rises bright on that day white and without rays."
This was also reported to have been said by the Prophet,. ]Muslim and others[
Permissibility of prayingQiyaamin congregation:
4- PerformingQiyaamin congregation is permissible inRamadan. Rather,
it is better than performing it individually for the Prophet,,
performed it himself and explained its virtue in the narrationof Abu
Tharrin which he says,
"We fasted Ramadan with the Prophetand he did not lead us in Qiyaam at
all. When seven nights remained, he led us in Qiyaam until a third of
the night had passed. When six nights remained, he did not lead us in
Qiyaam. When five nights remained, he led us in Qiyaam until half of
the night had passed. I )Abu Tharr( said,'O Messenger of Allaah, I
wish you had continued until the end of the night.' So, he
said:'Whoever prays with the Imaam till the Imaam leaves will be
rewarded as if he performed Qiyaam all night.'When four nights
remained, he did not lead us in Qiyaam. When three nights remained, he
gathered his family, wives and people and ledus in Qiyaam till we were
afraid to miss Suhoor)pre-dawn meal(. Then, he did not lead us in
Qiyaam for the rest of themonth."]Authentic[ ]At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa'i,
Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah[
The reason why the Prophet,, did not continue to pray it in congregation:
5-The Prophet,, did not lead them inQiyaamthe rest of the month outof
fear that night prayersinRamadanmight become obligatory for them so
they might not be able to perform it as mentioned by 'Aa'ishahin the
twoSaheehs. After the death of the Prophet,, this fear no longer
existed, as Allaah The Almighty had made theSharee'ah)Islamic
legislation( complete. Hence, abandoning congregation in
theQiyaam)voluntary night prayer( ofRamadanno longer applied and the
previous ruling, which is the permissibility of congregation,
remained. That is why it was revived by 'Umaras mentioned in the
authentic narrations of Al-Bukhaari and others.
Permissibility of congregation for women:
6- It is permissible for women to attend it as mentioned in the above
narration of Abu Tharr. Rather, it is permissible for them to have a
differentImaamother than that of men. Itwas proved that when
'Umargathered people forQiyaam, he appointed Ubayy ibn Ka'banImaamfor
men and Sulaymaan ibn Abu HathmahanImaamfor women. It wasnarrated that
'Arfajah Ath-Thaqafi, may Allaah be pleased with him, said,"'Ali ibn
Abi Taalibused to command people to perform Qiyaam in Ramadan and
appoint an Imaam for men and another for women. I )'Arfajah( was the
Imaam of women."This applies if the mosque is vast so that neither of
them would distract the other.