Ramadan is the month of great blessings for muslims. It offers great deal of reward to us for every good deed we do. The reward for every good deed done is many folds in month of Ramadan than in any other month. Apart from the regular 5 times prayer a day, there are few special prayers or acts of worship that Muslims do by following sunnah of Muhammad s.a.w.w. among those voluntary prayers, salat-ut-taraweeh is one.
There has been many debates over tarweeh with different aspects because the word “taraweeh” is not present neither in Quran nor in Hadith. But there are many ahadith that are authentic and prove this special worship of the month of Ramadan done by Muhammad s.a.w.w.
Similarly, there are issues raised over the number of rakahs prayed as taraweeh within the prayer of isha. Some say it is 20 some make 8 as standard.
The third important issue raised by people is the offering of taraweeh as jamat, because it was not offered as jamat during the life time of Muhammad s.a.w.w.
Despite of all these issues, the prayer taraweeh is one important and specially Ramadan worship. The traditions that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.w offered taraweeh nawafil are many.
The real issue is raised when people get confuse over the total number of nafal to be prayed as taraweeh. There is no restriction, but Muhammad s.a.w.w offered 8 rakats more often. So if one offers 8 rakats and other offers 20, this is their choice and no one can put fatwa on the other. The four imams of muslims have discussed this issue in detail and have given their opinion based on the sunnah.
1.mam Abu Haneefa
Imam Muhammad said: “ Abu Haneefah informed us, who said, it was narrated to us by Abu Jafar, who said the Prophet would pray thirteen raka’aahs between Salaatul-Ishaa and the Fajar Prayer, eight raka’aahs being voluntarily, three raka’aahs being Witr, and two raka’aahs (sunnah) of the Fajar Prayer.”
Muwatta Imam Muhammad, On the Issue of performing Salaam concluding with the Witr
2. Imam Malik
الذي آخذ به لنفسي في قيام رمضان هو الذي جمع به عمر بن الخطاب الناس إحدىٰ عشرة ركعة وهي صلاة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم و لا أدري من أحدث هذا الركوع الكثير
I chose 11 Rakah of Qiyam e Ramadhan and Umar bin al Khattab Gathered people on this prayer and this is the Prayer of Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, and I don't know from where people innovated these so many more Rak`ah.
(Kitab Al tahajjud hadeeth no: 890 by Abdul Haq Al Shabeeli 581 h)
.
according to Allamah Ayini Hanafi it is said stance of Imam Malik is 11 Rakah see Umda tul qari 11/126 under the hadeeth 2010
according to Shaykh Ibne Tamiyah stance of Malaki Madhab is 36 Rakah as said by Shaykh in Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 64
3. Imam Shafi Rahimullah
وليس في شيء من هٰذا ضيق ولا حد ينتهى إليه لأنه نافلة فإن أطالوا القيام وأقلوا السجود فحسن وهو أحب إلي وإن أكثروا الركوع و السجود فحسن
There is no problem in this (prayer of taraweeh/qiyam al ramadaan) and there is no limit is (number of rakah) because this is nafil prayer, If Rakat are less and Qiyam is long then it is good and i like this view, and If There are More Rak`ah even it is good.
(Mukhtasir qiyam ul Layl al Maroodhi page 202,203)
and it is written in Tirmidhee that Sha`fiee ra saw people of Makkah praying 20 raka`ah.
4.Imam Ahmad bin Humble
A) Ishaq bin Mansoor asked regarding Rakah, he said
قد قيل فيه ألوان نحواً من أربعين ، إنما هو تطو
40 Raka`ah are narrated in this case, this is only nafil prayer
Mukhtasir qiyam al layl page 202
B) Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (23/113):
But the correct view is that all of that is good, as was stated by Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him). There is no set number of rak’ahs for qiyaam during Ramadaan, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set a number. End quote.
c) Tirmidhee said same that Imam Ahmad did not set the number of Rakah “ولم يقض فيه بشيء”
so you can pray as much as you want, you should not fight in this case.
Conclusion
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (23/113):
One group said that it is proven in al-Saheeh from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet did not pray more than thirteen rak’ahs in Ramadaan or at any other time, and some people were uncertain about this report, because they thought that it contradicted the saheeh hadeeth and because of the practice of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the actions of the Muslims.
But the correct view is that all of that is good, as was stated by Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him). There is no set number of rak’ahs for qiyaam during Ramadaan, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set a number. End quote.
Similarly, the practice of offering taraweeh in jamat is criticized by many by calling it a bidah. A hadith and few scholarly clarifications can make this matter clear too.
“It is related from 'A'isha, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out in the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque and some men began to follow his prayer. The following morning they talked about it and the next night some more people prayed together with his prayer. The third night there were many people in the mosque and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out and prayed and they followed his prayer. on the fourth night, the mosque was not large enough to hold them, but he only came out for the Subh prayer. When he finished Fajr, he faced the people and did the tashahhud. Then he said, 'As for what follows, your position was not hidden from me, but I was afraid that it (the night prayer) would become obligatory for you and you would be unable to do it.' When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died that was how things stood."”
The scholars say:
Imam Ibne Katheer said:
Mujahid and As-Suddi said that this is the linguistic meaning, for all new matters are called Bid`ah. Muslim recorded the Messenger of Allah saying,
(.every innovation (in religion) is a Bid`ah.)
There are two types of Bid`ah, religious, as mentioned in the Hadith:
(...every innovation is a Bid`ah and every Bid`ah is heresy.)
And there is a linguistic Bid`ah, such as the statement of the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab when he gathered the Muslims to pray the Tarawih prayer in congregation (which was also an earlier practice of the Prophet ) and said, "What a good Bid`ah this is.''[Tafsir of Surah al-Baqrah ayah 117]
b) Imaam Ibn Abdul Birr in Tamheed gives the same understanding
This indicates that praying qiyaam in Ramadaan is one of the Sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and is recommended and encouraged. It was not introduced by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, rather he revived something that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) loved and approved of. Nothing stopped him from doing it regularly except the fear that it might be made obligatory upon his ummah. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was kind and compassionate towards his ummah. ‘Umar knew from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that the obligatory duties would not be increased or decreased after his death (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so he revived this practice and enjoined it upon the people. That happened in 14 AH, and ‘Umar has the honour of being the one who revived this Sunnah.
c) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said
With regard to qiyaam in Ramadaan, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) introduced this to his ummah, and he led them in prayer for a number of nights, because at his time they used to pray in congregation and individually. But he did not persist in leading them in one congregation, lest that be made obligatory for them. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, sharee’ah was established (and would not change after that). When ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) became caliph, he united them behind one imam, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, who united the people in one congregation on the orders of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him). ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) was one of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, of whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I urge you to adhere to my Sunnah and the way of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs after me; cling tightly to it.” So what he did was Sunnah but he said, “What a good innovation this is,” because it was an innovation in the linguistic sense, as they were doing something that they had not done during the life of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), i.e., gathering to do this, but it is Sunnah in the shar’i sense.”[Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 22/234, 235]
Hence, to offer taraweeh is sunnah and one must not indulge himself into matters that are not related to the act of worship anyway.
There has been many debates over tarweeh with different aspects because the word “taraweeh” is not present neither in Quran nor in Hadith. But there are many ahadith that are authentic and prove this special worship of the month of Ramadan done by Muhammad s.a.w.w.
Similarly, there are issues raised over the number of rakahs prayed as taraweeh within the prayer of isha. Some say it is 20 some make 8 as standard.
The third important issue raised by people is the offering of taraweeh as jamat, because it was not offered as jamat during the life time of Muhammad s.a.w.w.
Despite of all these issues, the prayer taraweeh is one important and specially Ramadan worship. The traditions that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.w offered taraweeh nawafil are many.
The real issue is raised when people get confuse over the total number of nafal to be prayed as taraweeh. There is no restriction, but Muhammad s.a.w.w offered 8 rakats more often. So if one offers 8 rakats and other offers 20, this is their choice and no one can put fatwa on the other. The four imams of muslims have discussed this issue in detail and have given their opinion based on the sunnah.
1.mam Abu Haneefa
Imam Muhammad said: “ Abu Haneefah informed us, who said, it was narrated to us by Abu Jafar, who said the Prophet would pray thirteen raka’aahs between Salaatul-Ishaa and the Fajar Prayer, eight raka’aahs being voluntarily, three raka’aahs being Witr, and two raka’aahs (sunnah) of the Fajar Prayer.”
Muwatta Imam Muhammad, On the Issue of performing Salaam concluding with the Witr
2. Imam Malik
الذي آخذ به لنفسي في قيام رمضان هو الذي جمع به عمر بن الخطاب الناس إحدىٰ عشرة ركعة وهي صلاة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم و لا أدري من أحدث هذا الركوع الكثير
I chose 11 Rakah of Qiyam e Ramadhan and Umar bin al Khattab Gathered people on this prayer and this is the Prayer of Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, and I don't know from where people innovated these so many more Rak`ah.
(Kitab Al tahajjud hadeeth no: 890 by Abdul Haq Al Shabeeli 581 h)
.
according to Allamah Ayini Hanafi it is said stance of Imam Malik is 11 Rakah see Umda tul qari 11/126 under the hadeeth 2010
according to Shaykh Ibne Tamiyah stance of Malaki Madhab is 36 Rakah as said by Shaykh in Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 64
3. Imam Shafi Rahimullah
وليس في شيء من هٰذا ضيق ولا حد ينتهى إليه لأنه نافلة فإن أطالوا القيام وأقلوا السجود فحسن وهو أحب إلي وإن أكثروا الركوع و السجود فحسن
There is no problem in this (prayer of taraweeh/qiyam al ramadaan) and there is no limit is (number of rakah) because this is nafil prayer, If Rakat are less and Qiyam is long then it is good and i like this view, and If There are More Rak`ah even it is good.
(Mukhtasir qiyam ul Layl al Maroodhi page 202,203)
and it is written in Tirmidhee that Sha`fiee ra saw people of Makkah praying 20 raka`ah.
4.Imam Ahmad bin Humble
A) Ishaq bin Mansoor asked regarding Rakah, he said
قد قيل فيه ألوان نحواً من أربعين ، إنما هو تطو
40 Raka`ah are narrated in this case, this is only nafil prayer
Mukhtasir qiyam al layl page 202
B) Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (23/113):
But the correct view is that all of that is good, as was stated by Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him). There is no set number of rak’ahs for qiyaam during Ramadaan, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set a number. End quote.
c) Tirmidhee said same that Imam Ahmad did not set the number of Rakah “ولم يقض فيه بشيء”
so you can pray as much as you want, you should not fight in this case.
Conclusion
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (23/113):
One group said that it is proven in al-Saheeh from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet did not pray more than thirteen rak’ahs in Ramadaan or at any other time, and some people were uncertain about this report, because they thought that it contradicted the saheeh hadeeth and because of the practice of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the actions of the Muslims.
But the correct view is that all of that is good, as was stated by Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him). There is no set number of rak’ahs for qiyaam during Ramadaan, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set a number. End quote.
Similarly, the practice of offering taraweeh in jamat is criticized by many by calling it a bidah. A hadith and few scholarly clarifications can make this matter clear too.
“It is related from 'A'isha, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out in the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque and some men began to follow his prayer. The following morning they talked about it and the next night some more people prayed together with his prayer. The third night there were many people in the mosque and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out and prayed and they followed his prayer. on the fourth night, the mosque was not large enough to hold them, but he only came out for the Subh prayer. When he finished Fajr, he faced the people and did the tashahhud. Then he said, 'As for what follows, your position was not hidden from me, but I was afraid that it (the night prayer) would become obligatory for you and you would be unable to do it.' When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died that was how things stood."”
The scholars say:
Imam Ibne Katheer said:
Mujahid and As-Suddi said that this is the linguistic meaning, for all new matters are called Bid`ah. Muslim recorded the Messenger of Allah saying,
(.every innovation (in religion) is a Bid`ah.)
There are two types of Bid`ah, religious, as mentioned in the Hadith:
(...every innovation is a Bid`ah and every Bid`ah is heresy.)
And there is a linguistic Bid`ah, such as the statement of the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab when he gathered the Muslims to pray the Tarawih prayer in congregation (which was also an earlier practice of the Prophet ) and said, "What a good Bid`ah this is.''[Tafsir of Surah al-Baqrah ayah 117]
b) Imaam Ibn Abdul Birr in Tamheed gives the same understanding
This indicates that praying qiyaam in Ramadaan is one of the Sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and is recommended and encouraged. It was not introduced by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, rather he revived something that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) loved and approved of. Nothing stopped him from doing it regularly except the fear that it might be made obligatory upon his ummah. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was kind and compassionate towards his ummah. ‘Umar knew from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that the obligatory duties would not be increased or decreased after his death (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so he revived this practice and enjoined it upon the people. That happened in 14 AH, and ‘Umar has the honour of being the one who revived this Sunnah.
c) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said
With regard to qiyaam in Ramadaan, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) introduced this to his ummah, and he led them in prayer for a number of nights, because at his time they used to pray in congregation and individually. But he did not persist in leading them in one congregation, lest that be made obligatory for them. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, sharee’ah was established (and would not change after that). When ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) became caliph, he united them behind one imam, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, who united the people in one congregation on the orders of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him). ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) was one of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, of whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I urge you to adhere to my Sunnah and the way of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs after me; cling tightly to it.” So what he did was Sunnah but he said, “What a good innovation this is,” because it was an innovation in the linguistic sense, as they were doing something that they had not done during the life of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), i.e., gathering to do this, but it is Sunnah in the shar’i sense.”[Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 22/234, 235]
Hence, to offer taraweeh is sunnah and one must not indulge himself into matters that are not related to the act of worship anyway.
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