Ramadhaan – A Date with Dr. Zakir
Episode 14
Qiyaam ul Layl
[Part 2]
(Duration – 21 Minutes)
Yusuf Chambers: So we’ve made this special show and I’d like to answer as many questions as possible on the topic from our viewers. Hundreds and hundreds of e-mails as usual and you know it never changes does it….Alhumdulillah
Dr. Zakir: Alhumdulillah
Yusuf Chambers: The first couple of questions from our viewers again. Question no. 1 is the Taraweeh prayer a Sunnah or is it a Fard, can a person miss it?
Dr. Zakir: As far as the question is concerned that is Taraweeh or is Qiyaam ul Layl during Ramadhaan, is it Fard or is it a Sunnah
Yusuf Chambers: Hmmm….
Dr. Zakir: As we discussed earlier. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) said it’s mentioned in
Sahih Bukhari Vol. No. 3, in the Book of Taraweeh, Hadith No. 2012
And it gives how Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) offered in the mosque Qiyaam ul Layl during Ramadhaan and people joined him the next day the news spread and when he came the next day the full mosque was filled, the third day it was overflowing and fourth day purposely though the mosque was overflowing he did not come out for Qiyaam ul Layl for the Taraweeh which people call. And when he came for the Fajr Aalaah he said that “not that he did not know that people were waiting for me but I purposely didn’t come because I didn’t want offering the Qiyaam ul Layl in Ramadhaan is a Fard”
So from this hadith we come to know that it is not a Fard. But the other hadith of
Sahih Bukhari Vol. No. 3, the Book of Taraweeh, Hadith No. 2009 the beloved Prophet said that
“Anyone who offers the night prayer in Ramadhaan with belief and seeking Allah’s reward, all his past sins will be forgiven”
So based on this we come to know though its not a Fard but it’s a very important Sunnah, it’s Sunnate Muaqada that means a very highly recommended Sunnah of the Prophet though it’s not a Fard it’s Sunnate Muaqada very highly recommended Sunnah and no Muslim should miss it unless he really has a valid reason he should as far as possible offer it and seek Allah’s reward so all his sin will be forgiven
Yusuf Chambers: JazakAllah Khair. Next question from our viewer, many Imaams recite the Qur’an in a very fast way during the Taraweeh or Qiyaam ul Layl they also perform Ruku and Sujood in a fast manner which makes it difficult for the followers to supplicate properly. Is it allowed to pray in this manner?
Dr. Zakir: It is very common that many for the mosques because they want to finish to full Qur’an in the month of Ramadhaan in Taraweeh and they want to make it as short as possible so people finish it, they do recite fast and very often we see that they go in the Ruku and Sujood very fast and many a times once I was in one of the mosques and when the Imaam went in the Sujood, I went after him he got up again went again I was yet in my first Sujood and he was doing second Sujood… Allahu Akbar.
So it is right or is it wrong
It’s mentioned in Sahih Bukhari Vol. No. 1, in the Book of Salaah, Hadith No. 757 that
“Once the Prophet enters the Mosque and there is another man who follows him, he offers the Salaah and after offering Salaah that man he wishes the Prophet ‘Assalamu Wa Alaykum’ the Prophet greets back and says that “Go back and pray because you have not prayed” the man goes back and comes back to the Prophet, the Prophet says “Go back and pray you have not prayed” again the person goes to the third time prays and then comes back the Prophet again says “Go back and pray for you have not prayed” for the third time so the man says “I cannot pray better than this O Prophet, please teach me how to pray” so then the Prophet says that after saying the Takbir you recite while standing in the Qiyaam as much of the Qur’an that you know by heart what ever you know by heart you recite then you bow down go in your Ruku until you are at ease and then say ‘Glory be to Allah’ Subhana Rabbiyal Azeem then stand up straight until you are at ease then go into Sujood with calmness until you are at ease and then say ‘Subhana Rabbiyal A’laa’ ‘Glory be to Allah whose the most High’ thrice then get up again until you are at ease and then continue your prayer like that”
That means all specially your Ruku and your Sujood and when you get up from your Ruku and in between the Sujood you should be at ease you cant go up and down fast if you do that it is as though your prayer has nto been accepted as though you have not prayed.
So if you pray in this fast manner Taraweeh where Ruku, Sujood and fast ..fast.. it is as thought you have not prayed, so it is best that you pray it slowly with calmness and if you really fell that you cant offer 20 then offer 8 rakaat with peace with ease and with calmness the best is that with peace, ease and calmness and long… Taraweeh should be long it should not be having competition with the other mosques which we have many a times when there are many mosques they compete who is going to finish the Taraweeh fast
Yusuf Chambers: Yes, Yes that’s very unfortunate but it’s true. Well next question is, is it compulsory that the Imaam should recite the complete Qur’an in the nights of Ramadhaan in Taraweeh, is it necessary that the followers should listen to the whole of the Qur’an in Taraweeh. So two parts of the question
Dr. Zakir: There is no hadith in which the Prophet has mentioned or the Sahaba that it is compulsory to recite the full Qur’an. It is preferable it is Mustahab it’s better because you know if you recite as much as of the Qur’an in the month of Ramadhaan its good for you so many people may not be reciting at homes so atleast during the Qiyaam ul Layl in Ramadhaan the people atleast listen to the Qur’an so its preferable it’s not a Fard.
And but natural if it’s recited in the Qiyaam ul Layl it’s obligatory for the Mu’tadi for the people praying behind to listen but it’s not a Fard that you should recite the full Qur’an but most of the mosques majority of the mosques complete the Qur’an because it is good MashaAllah. There are some mosques which I know that it becomes difficult for people to listen because if you have to recite the full Quran in the full month of Ramadhaan it is about one Juz a day somewhere close to that and it becomes difficult so there are some mosques which pray half Juz on an average so they finish half the Qur’an in full month of Ramadhaan next Ramadhaan they finish the next half all is acceptable but it is preferable to finish the full Qur’an you know unless that there are small children and they cannot offer so one or two mosques have it Alhumdulillah no problem but preferable to finish the full Qur’an but it’s not compulsory.
Yusuf Chambers: Next question where should a woman pray Taraweeh and we have answered partly answered this question, at home or in the Masjid if she prays at home, can she lead the congregation or a congregation of women.
It’s mentioned in Sahih Al Targheeb [Vol. 1 Book of Salaah] Hadith no. 336 where the beloved Prophet said that
“The best mosque for a woman is her innermost room innermost chamber, the best place for a woman to pray is her inner room that’s the best”
And in another hadith Musnad Ahmad,Vol. No. 6, Hadith no. 27202
Which is also mentioned in
Sahih Al Targheeb [Vol. 1 Book of Salaah Hadith no. 335]
“Once a lady asked the Prophet, I would love to pray with you the lady said and the Prophet replied “I know you’d love to pray with me but your prayer in your inner room would be better than praying in your house, the prayer in your house would be better than praying in the courtyard, your praying in your courtyard would be better than praying in the mosque where you live where around your people, your praying in the mosque where you live around the people is better than praying in my mosque”
That means for a woman the best prayer is the inner room
Yusuf Chambers: MashaAllah
Dr. Zakir: And there are various hadith that praying in your room is better than your house, house is better than the courtyard, courtyard better than the mosque in your area, the mosque is better than the mosque of the Prophet.
Though the Prophet said it’s mentioned in
Sahih Muslim Vol. no. 2 hadith no. 3210 that
“Praying in my mosque is equivalent to a 1,000 prayers”
That means if you pray in the mosque of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) it’s equivalent to praying a 1,000 times in any other mosque but this hadith is mainly referring to the men because no two Sahih Hadith can contradict, so this hadith mainly refers to the men, for the woman the best place is her house specially her inner room.
And there is a hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud Vol. no. 1 Book of Salaah, Hadith no. 591
Umme Warqa (May Allah be pleased with her)
Yusuf Chambers: Ameen
Dr Zakir Naik: “She comes to the Prophet and says that I would like to have a Mu’adhin in my house and the Prophet gave her permission”
The next hadith Sunan Abu Dawud Vol. no. 1 Book of Salaah, Hadith no. 592 it says that Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam)
“He went to her house after appointing the Mu’adhin and he asked her to lead the prayer in congregation and the women in the house they joined her and the narrator says that he saw the Mu’adhin he was a old person”
It’s further mentioned in a Sahih Hadith of Baihaqi [Vol. 1 Book of Salaah] Hadith no. 1922
“Hazrat Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) who’s the wife of the Prophet she says, she led the congregation of the women, she was the Imaan but she stood in the middle of the row”
And another hadith in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaibah [Vol. 1 Book of Salaah] Hadith no. 4953
“Umme Salma who was also the wife of the Prophet (May Allah be pleased with her) even she says that she led…she was the Imaam of the congregation of the women and she was standing in the center in the first row”
So here it indicates that the women they can pray but it is better for them to pray in the inner room better than going in the mosque but they are permitted to go in the mosque as we discussed earlier that praying in the mosque is permitted but for them the inner room is better than the house the house is better than the courtyard, the courtyard is better than the mosque close to them than the mosque of the Prophet but they can pray they can go to the mosque, if they pray at home they can have congregation there’s no problem at all and a woman can lead the congregation according to the various hadith mentioned.
Yusuf Chambers: with women….
Dr. Zakir Naik: Yes!
Yusuf Chambers: Next question Dr. Zakir, is it okay for a person who is following an Imaan in a congregation or Salaah to hold the Qur’an infront of him whilst the Imaam is reciting
Dr. Zakir Naik: As far as holding the Qur’an for a Mu’tadi while offering Qiyaam ul Layl in Ramadhaan and we do see that sometimes people hold and we see the live telecast of the Qiyaam ul Layl in Ramadhaan from the Haram we see them holding the Mushaf the copy of the Qur’an, is it allowed?
When we realize that if a person hold the Mus’haf the copy of the Qur’an he’s unable to follow that keep his right over his left hand which is a requirement for the salaah, he cant put his right hand over the left hand so he’s not following one of the requirement of the Salaah.
Furthermore it will be a distraction for him to turn the page over you know if the Imaam keeps on reciting it’s distraction.
Furthermore it will also prevent him from looking at the place of Sujood normally your eyes should be looking at the place of the Sujood that’s what the hadith says so if looking at the Mus’haf they cannot look there and it will prevent them from various other actions of Ruku it will be uncomfortable…Sujood uncomfortable so it is not advisable for a person to hold the Mus’haf while the Imaam is reciting
He should just listen to the Qur’an what he knows by heart Alhumdulillah what he doesn’t know he should pay attention and try and listen as the Qur’an says that whenever you hear the Qur’an…hear the Qur’an then pay attention to it and listen to it.
So that’s what we should do it’s not advisable to hold the Mus’haf
Yusuf Chambers: Okay… that’s well answered thank you very much totally agree with you on that one. Alhumdulillah. Another question for you Dr. Zakir the viewer says, I pray Taraweeh in the mosque behind the Imaam but I want to pray more Rakaat in Tahajjud, should I avoid witr behind the Imaam or should I pray the witr behind the imam and later repeat my witr?
Dr. Zakir: As far as the practice and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) is concerned, our beloved Prophet said it’s mentioned in
Sunan Abu Dawud Vol. no. 1 Book of Salaah, Hadith no. 1370 the beloved Prophet he said that
“When the people asked him to stay long and pray more so he said that a person who prays with the Imaam until he ends it is as though he has prayed for the full night”
And the other hadith of Sahih Bukhari Vol. No. 3, in the Book of Salaah, Hadith No. 472 which says that
“When the person asks the Prophet about Qiyaam ul Layl the Prophet said that you have to pray two rakaat, followed by two rakaat then two rakaat, then two rakaat and when you fear dawn coming then pray one rakaat”
And then the other hadith says that you can pray as much as you wish.
So based on these two hadith, the best a person can have two options, one is that he has to pray till the end of the Imaam he cant come away from the Salaah and not offer witr because then he will not be as the Prophet said, he would not be like a person whose prayed till the end along with the Imaam as the hadith of Abu Dawud, 1370 it says, that if he prays till the end along with Imaam as though he has prayed the full night, so the best is that he prays along with the Imaam also prays witr and then afterwards later on if he wants to offer Tahajjud, Tahajjud is same as Qiyaam ul Layl, Tahajjud means waking up again so he goes and sleeps and wakes up again, he can again pray but he should not offer witr because there’s not 2 witr, there is only one witr or the other option is that he prays along with the Imaam and when the Imaam in the last rakaat of witr mainly ends his salaah this person should get up and pray one more rakaat so when he prays one more rakaat, it doesn’t become witr and when he goes home prays the Tahajjud and then prays the witr, here he’s following the hadith he’s praying till end with the Imaam so he gets the sawaab of praying for the full night and then he goes home and then he prays and the witr is normally the last prayer preferable so he goes home and he again prays the Tahajjud and after Tahajjud he can prays the witr that’s the second option which is preferable but the first is also fine.
Yusuf Chambers: Okay next excellent! Thank You. Next question how much Qur’an should one recite in each rakaat of Taraweeh?
There is no fixed rule per se, there’s no limitation, but the Prophet did say that as much as you recite is better we have in the hadith of
Mustadrak Al Haakim [Vol. 1 Book of Nafl Prayer] Hadith no. 1160 that the beloved Prophet he said that
“Anyone who recites hundred verses he will be counted amongst those who are obedient”
The next hadith of Mustadrak Al Haakim [Vol. 1 Book of Nafl Prayer] Hadith no. 1161 that
“Anyone who recites hundred verses will not be counted amongst the negligent”
And the Hadith of Sunan Abu Dawud Vol. no. 1 in the Book of Salaah Hadith no. 1393 that
“Anyone who recites ten verses in the Qiyaam ul Layl i.e. the night prayer, he will not be counted amongst the negligent, anyone who recites hundred verses will be counted amongst the obedient and anyone who recites a thousand verses will get huge sum of rewards”
So as much as you recite is better it’s mentioned in
Sahih Muslim Vol. 1 [Book of Salaah] Hadith no. 1697 that
“A Sahaba joins the Prophet and in Qiyaam ul Layl and the Prophet continues and he…as I mentioned earlier he prays Surah Baqara and he thinks that he’s going to end after 100 verses but he continues 200 verses he continues he thinks he’ll end he’ll go in Ruku after Surah Baqara… Prophet continues… after Surah Nisa then he thinks after Surah Nisa I’ll go… then he continues Surah Ale-Imran and continues that means you know more than 5 Juz that’s long how the Prophet prayed.
We also have the hadith which is mentioned in
Muwatta Imaam Malik Vol. 1 in the Book of Prayer Ch. 2, Hadith no. 4
“Where Ubay bin Kaab when he led the Salaah he used to recite hundred verses of the Surah… long verses and here recitation was slow so people used to get tired and lean down on stick and many times it used to continue till close to Fajr salaah very long”
But the Prophet also said
It’s mentioned in Sahih Muslim Vol. No. 1, in the Book of Salaah, Hadith No. 934
That
“When you are leading the prayer in congregation do not lengthen your Salaah too much because there are women there are elderly people behind you they get tired, so you have to shorten your prayer”
And the Prophet he continued and said that
“If you are praying in congregation and you see to it that you don’t lengthen it”
but if you are praying alone, you can pray as much as you wish as the Prophet he prayed more than 5 Juz…so If you are alone you can pray as much as you wish but in a congregation you can lengthen it but don’t make it too much don’t go too much it will cause a problem to the people who are in the congregation the young children the women the elderly people so that should be the size
Yusuf Chambers: Be balanced in other words Alhumdulillah! Next question Dr. Zakir is it permissible to pray Taraweeh at home, okay… if a husband leads the wife and children in Taraweeh will he get the reward equal to those who pray Taraweeh in Congregation in the Mosque or Masjid
Dr. Zakir: Praying in Congregation is preferable than praying alone as I discussed earlier. Praying in the mosque is preferable than praying at home so for the man it’s preferable that he goes to the mosque and join the congregation but as far as the women are concerned their praying in the inner room is better than the house, house is better than courtyard, courtyard better than mosque so it’s preferable for the women to pray at home and if they want they can make a congregation at home that’s the best as we discussed earlier it will be the best. That the women pray at home and they have a congregation but the man it’s preferable that he prays in the mosque.
Yusuf Chambers: Brother and sisters, I truly hope InshaAllah that you have benefited enormously and you’ve learnt lots and lots about the night prayer and I would wish you to continue watching our series Ramadhaan – A Date with Dr. Zakir.
Tomorrow we will be discussing the topic, Ramadhaan – The month of the Qur’an Part 1 so join us again same time tomorrow.
Assalam Wa Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu