" You are indeed the best nation that has ever been raised up for
mankind:you enjoin in the doing of what is right and forbid
the doing of what is wrong and believe in Allah."[The Quran 3:110].
THE VIRTUES OF RAMADAAN.
Firstly:
Allaah has enjoined upon the Muslims fasting the month of Ramadaan, and He
has promised a great reward to those who fast.Because the virtue of fasting
is so great, Allaah has not specified the reward for it, rather He said - in
a hadeeth qudsi - "... except for fasting, for it is for Me, and I shall
reward for it."
The virtues of the month of Ramadaan are many. For example, that which
Allaah has promised those who fast, namely the gate of al-Rayyaan. This is
the name which was narrated in the hadeeth whose authenticity is agreed
upon. Sahl (may Allaah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "In Paradise there is a gate called
al-Rayyaan, through which those who used to fast will enter on the Day of
Resurrection, and no one but they will enter it. It will be said, 'Where are
those who fasted?' They will get up, and none will enter it but them. When
they have entered, it will be locked, and no one else will enter."
(al-Bukhaari, 1763; Muslim, 1947).
Among the ahaadeeth which explain the reward for fasting are the
following:
It was narrated from Abu Salamah that Abu Hurayrah said: "The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever fasts
Ramadaan out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be
forgiven.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Eemaan, 37).
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
"The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
'Allaah says: "Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting;
it is for Me and I shall reward for it." Fasting is a shield and when one of
you is fasting he avoid sexual relations with his wife and quarreling. If
somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.' By
the One in Whose hand is my soul, the unpleasant smell coming out from the
mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allaah than the smell of
musk. The fasting person will have two moments of joy: one when he breaks
his fast, and the other when he meets his Lord; then he will be pleased
because of his fasting.'"
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1771)
Secondly:
It is known that Paradise has many gates, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"'Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens), which they shall enter and
(also) those who acted righteously from among their fathers, and their
wives, and their offspring. And angels shall enter unto them from every
gate"
[al-Ra'd 13:23]
"And those who kept their duty to their Lord (Al-Muttaqoon - the pious)
will be led to Paradise in groups till when they reach it, and its gates
will be opened (before their arrival for their reception) and its keepers
will say: Salaamun 'Alaykum (peace be upon you)! You have done well, so
enter here to abide therein"
[al-Zumar 39:73]
In the saheeh ahaadeeth it says that there are eight gates:
It was narrated from Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "In Paradise there
are eight gates, among which is a gate called al-Rayyaan, which none will
enter but those who fast." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3017).
It was narrated from 'Ubaadah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever bears
witness that there is no god but Allaah alone, with no partner or associate,
and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that 'Eesa is the slave of
Allaah and His Messenger, and a word which Allaah bestowed on Maryam and a
spirit created by Him (cf. al-Nisa' 4:171), and that Paradise is true and
Hell is true, will have the right to be admitted by Allaah to Paradise
through whichever of the eight gates he wishes, because of his good deeds."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3180; Muslim, 41)
One of the bounties that Allaah has bestowed upon this ummah is that He
opens all the gates of Paradise during the month of Ramadaan, not just one
gate.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Ramadaan
begins, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed,
and the devils are chained up."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3035; Muslim 1793)
We ask Allaah to make us among those who will enter Paradise. May Allaah
bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Question:
What is the reward for giving iftaar to one who is fasting?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated that Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever gives
iftaar to one who is fasting will have a reward like his, without that
detracting from the reward of the fasting person in the slightest.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 807; Ibn Maajah, 1746. Classed as saheeh by Ibn
Hibaan, 8/216 and by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 6415.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said: What is meant by giving him iftaar is
giving him enough to satisfy him. Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p.194
The righteous salaf were keen to provide food for others and they thought
that this was one of the best of righteous deeds.
One of the salaf said: For me to invite ten of my companions and feed
them food that they like is dearer to me than freeing ten of the sons of
Ismaa’eel from slavery.
Many of the salaf used to give up their iftaar for others, such as
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), Dawood al-Taa’i,
Maalik ibn Dinar and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Ibn ‘Umar used only to break his fast
with orphans and the poor and needy.
There were among the salaf those who used to offer food to their brothers
whilst fasting, and they would sit and serve them, such as al-Hasan and Ibn
al-Mubaarak.
Abu al-Siwaar al-‘Adawi said: Men from the tribe of Banu ‘Adiyy used to
pray in this mosque and not one of them would break his fast on his own; if
they found someone to join them they would eat with him, otherwise they
would take their food out to the mosque and eat with the people, and the
people would eat with them.
From the ‘ibaadah of providing food for people stem many other acts of
worship such as creating love and friendship towards those who are given the
food, which is a means of entering Paradise, as the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You will not enter Paradise until
you truly believe, and you will not truly believe until you love one
another.” Narrated by Muslim, 54. It also fosters the practice of sitting
with righteous people and seeking reward by helping them to do acts of
worship for which they gain strength by eating your food.
DUA TO OFFER FOR YOUR HOST:WHEN YOU BREAK YOUR FAST AT HIS PLACE:
"Aftara Ind-akumu -Saimoona wa Akala Ta'ama-kumul-Abrar wa sallat
'Alaikumul-maliakato."
This means:
" The fasting people have broken their fast with you and virtuous persons
have eaten food provided by you while the angels have supplicated for
you".[Abu Daud reported this on sound authorities).
Question:
What is your opinion on those who make many kinds of foods and sweets during
Ramadaan?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Extravagance in all things is something that is blameworthy and is not
allowed,especially in food and drink. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah)
likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)”
[al-A’raaf 7:31]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The son
of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach; for the son of Adam
a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back straight. If you must fill
it, then one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2380; Ibn Maajah, 3349. Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1939).
Extravagance in food and drink includes many evils:
The more a person enjoys the good things of this world, the less will be
his share in the Hereafter.
Al-Haakim narrated that Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “The more people eat their fill in this world, the more hungry they
will be on the Day of Resurrection.”
Narrated by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya, who added that Abu Juhayfah never filled his
stomach until he departed this life.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al_Saheehah, 342.
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: By Allaah, if I wanted I
could wear the finest clothes among you, and eat the best food, and have the
most luxurious life. But I heard that Allaah will condemned people for some
of their actions and said (interpretation of the meaning):
“You received your good things in the life of the world, and you took your
pleasure therein. Now this Day you shall be recompensed with a torment of
humiliation, because you were arrogant in the land without a right, and
because you used to rebel against Allaah’s Command (disobey Allaah)”
[al-Ahqaaf 46:20]
Heelat al-Awliya’, 1/49
That distracts a person from many deeds of obedience and worship, such as
reading Qur’aan, which is what the Muslim should focus on during this
blessed month, as was the practice of the Salaf.
But women end up spending a large part of the day on preparing food, and a
large part of the night on preparing sweets and drinks.
If a person eats too much he becomes lazy and sleeps a great deal, so he
wastes a lot of his time.
Sufyaan al-Thawri (may Allaah have mercy on his) said: If you want your
body to be healthy and to sleep less, then eat less.
Eating too much also makes the heart heedless.
It was said to Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him): Does a man find
any softness and humility in his heart when he is full? He said, I do not
think so.
And Allaah knows best.
Is Taraaweeh Prayer eleven,twenty or thirty -six rakahs?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
We do not think that the Muslims should be so sensitive with regard to
issues that are the matter of scholarly differences or make them the cause
of division and fitnah among the Muslims.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, when speaking
about the matter of one who prays ten rak’ahs with the imam, then sits down
and waits for Witr and does not complete the Taraaweeh prayers with the
imam:
It grieves us deeply that we find in the Muslim ummah a group which
differs concerning matters in which differences of opinion are acceptable,
and they take these differences as a means to cause division. Differences
within the ummah existed at the time of the Sahaabah, yet they remained
united. The youth in particular and to all those who are committed to Islam
must remain united, because they have enemies who are laying in wait.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 4/225
Two groups have gone to extremes with regard to this matter. The first
group denounced everyone who prays more than eleven rak’ahs and said that
doing so was bid’ah. The second group denounced those who do only eleven
rak’ahs and said that they are going against scholarly consensus (ijmaa’).
Let us listen to what Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said:
Here we say that we should not go to extremes or be negligent. Some people
go to extremes in adhering to the number mentioned in the Sunnah, and say
that it is not permissible to do more than the number mentioned in the
Sunnah, and they aggressively denounce those who do more than that,saying
that they are sinners.
This is undoubtedly wrong. How can they be sinners, when the Prophet SAWS
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), upon being asked about night
prayers, said that they are to be done two by two, and he did not specify
any particular number? Of course the one who asked him about the night
prayer did not know the number, because if he did not know how to do it, it
is even more likely that he did not know the number. And he was not one of
those who served the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) so
that we might say that he knew what happened inside his house. Since the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him how to do it
but did not say how many times, it may be understood that the matter is
broad in scope, and that a person may pray one hundred rak’ahs then pray
Witr with one rak’ah.
With regard to the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), “Pray as you have seen me praying”, this does not apply in
absolute terms even for these people. Hence they do not say that a person
should pray Witr with five rak’ahs sometimes and with seven rak’ahs
sometimes and with nine rak’ahs sometimes. If we understand it in absolute
terms, then we would have to pray Witr with five rak’ahs sometimes and with
seven rak’ahs sometimes and with nine rak’ahs sometimes. But what is meant
by the hadeeth is pray as you have seen me praying with regard to how to
pray not how many rak’ahs, unless there is a text to state what the number
is.
Whatever the case, a person should not be strict with people with regard
to a matter that is broad in scope. We have even seen some brothers who are
strict on this matter accusing the imams who pray more than eleven rak’ahs
of following bid’ah, and they leave the mosque, thus missing out on the
reward of which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes (the
prayer), the reward of qiyaam al-layl will be recorded for him.” (Narrated
by al-Tirmidhi, 806; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
646). Some of them even sit down after completing ten rak’ahs, thus breaking
up the rows of worshippers by sitting there, and sometimes they start
talking and disturb the people who are praying.
We have no doubt that their intentions are good and they are doing their
best to come to the right conclusion, but that does not mean that they are
correct.
The other group does the opposite. They sternly denounce those who pray
only eleven rak’ahs and say that they have gone against scholarly consensus.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the
right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the
believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in
Hell — what an evil destination!”
[al-Nisa’ 4:115]
All the generations who came before you only knew the number as
twenty-three rak’ahs, and they denounce anyone who says anything different.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 4/73-75
With regard to the evidence quoted by those who say that it is not
permissible to do more than eight rak’ahs in Taraaweeh, they quote the
hadeeth of Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, who asked ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah
be pleased with her), “How did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) pray during Ramadaan?” She said: “He did not pray
more than eleven rak’ahs in Ramadaan or at other times. He would pray four,
and do not ask how beautiful and long they were, then he would pray four,
and do not ask how beautiful and long they were, then he would pray three. I
said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, will you sleep before you pray Witr?’ He said,
‘O ‘Aa’ishah, my eyes sleep but my heart does not.’”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1909; Muslim, 738
They said: This hadeeth indicates that the Messenger of Allaah was
consistent in his prayers at night in Ramadaan and at other times.
The scholars refuted this use of the hadeeth as evidence by saying that
this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did, but the fact that he did something does not imply that it is
obligatory.
The evidence that there is no set number for prayers at night – which
include Taraaweeh – is the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar according to which a man
asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
about prayer at night. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “Prayers at night are to be offered two by two (two rak’ahs at a
time). If any of you fears that the time of dawn is approaching then let him
pray one rak’ah as Witr.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 846; Muslim, 749)
If we look at what the scholars of the prominent schools of thought said,
you will clearly see that this matter is broad in scope and that there is
nothing wrong with doing more than eleven rak’ahs.
Al-Sarkhasi, who is one of the imams of the Hanafi school, said:
It is twenty rak’ahs, apart from Witr, in our view.
Al-Mabsoot, 2/145
Ibn Qudaamah said:
The favoured view according to Abu ‘Abd-Allaah (i.e., Imam Ahmad, may
Allaah have mercy on him), is that it is twenty rak’ahs. This was the view
of al-Thawri, Abu Hanfeefah and al-Shaafa’i. Maalik said it is thirty-six.
Al-Mughni, 1/457
Al-Nawawi said:
Taraaweeh prayer is Sunnah according to scholarly consensus. Our view is
that it is twenty rak’ahs with ten tasleems, and it is permissible to pray
it individually or in congregation.
Al-Majmoo’, 4/31
These are the views of the four imams concerning the number of rak’ahs of
Taraaweeh prayer. All of them said something more than eleven rak’ahs.
Perhaps the reasons why they said something more than eleven rak’ahs include
the following:
1- They thought that the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah did not mean that this
was the specific number.
2- A greater number was narrated from many of the salaf.
See al-Mughni, 2/604; al-Majmoo’, 4/32
3- The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
pray eleven rak’ahs and make them very lengthy, so much so that it used to
take him most of the night. Indeed, one night in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led his companions in praying
Taraaweeh, he did not end his prayer until just before dawn, and the
Sahaabah feared that they would miss suhoor. The Sahaabah (may Allaah be
pleased with them) loved to pray behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and they did not feel that it was too long. The scholars
thought that if the imam made the prayer so long, this would be too
difficult for the members of the congregation and that might put them off.
So they thought that the imam should make the recitation shorter and
increase the number of rak’ahs.
The point is that the one who prays eleven rak’ahs in the manner narrated
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is doing well
and is following the Sunnah. Whoever makes the recitation shorter and
increases the number of rak’ahs is also doing well. A person who does either
of these two things is not to be denounced. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
said:
If a person prays Taraaweeh according to the madhhabs of Abu Haneefah,
al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad, with twenty rak’ahs, or according to the madhhab of
Maalik, with thirty-six rak’ahs, or with thirteen or eleven rak’ahs, he has
done well, as Imam Ahmad said, because there is nothing to specify the
number. So the greater or lesser number of rak’ahs depends on how long or
short the qiyaam (standing in the prayer) is.
Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 64
Al-Suyooti said:
What is narrated in the saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth is the command to
observe night prayers during Ramadaan, which is encouraged without
specifying a particular number. It is not proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed twenty rak’ahs of Taraaweeh, rather
that he prayed at night, with an unspecified number of rak’ahs. Then he
delayed it on the fourth night lest it become obligatory for them and they
might not be able to do it. Ibn Hajar al-Haythami said: There is no saheeh
report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed
twenty rak’ahs of Taraaweeh. The narration which suggests that he “used to
pray twenty rak’ahs” is extremely weak (da’eef).
Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 27/142-145
So you should not be surprised that people pray Taraaweeh as twenty
rak’ahs. There have been generation after generation of those imams (who
used to pray twenty rak’ahs), and all of them are good.
And Allaah knows best.
With the very best of good wishes,
Musa Amadu Pembo
Glasgow,
Scotland
UK.
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Da’wah is to convey the message with wisdom and with good words. We should
give the noble and positive message of Islam. We should try to emphasize
more commonalities and explain the difference without getting into
theological arguments and without claiming the superiority of one position
over the other. There is a great interest among the people to know about
Islam and we should do our best to give the right message.
May Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,guide us all to His Sirat Al-Mustaqim (Righteous
Path).May He protect us from the evils of this life and the hereafter.May
Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,grant us entrance to paradise .
We ask Allaah the Most High, the All-Powerful, to teach us that which will
benefit us, and to benefit us by that which we learn. May Allaah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family
and
companions..Amen.
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