TARAWIH PRAYERS
Offering Prayers in Mosques - Sunnah or Anti-Sunnah?
TARAWIH Optional
Salat (prayers) offered after the 'Isha prayers, every night during
the month of Ramadan.
Notes:
1. Offering Tarawih Prayers in the Mosques is NOT the Prophet's
Sunnah. 2. The realities are the Prophet (s.a.s.) had strongly
discouraged that practice by his words and by his actions. 3. During
the rule of the first Khalif Muslims did not observe that practice. 4. It
was regarded as Bida - an added Innovation. 5. The Qur'an reveals
and Allah Commands us to abstain from whatever His Prophet forbids, see
59: 7. 6. The Ijma (Consensus among Islamic scholars) has to be
based upon the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah of the
Prophet and not the other way around. 7. Think! Will your next
generations to come be able to keep up with this Added Innovation if you
do continue? 8. Allah (swt) perfected the Deen Islam for us (see 5:3), Allah did
mention Tahajjud but not the Tarawih in the Revealed text.
9. There are Muslims who do recite Tarawih Prayers in their homes and their
actions have valid supports. 10. Absorbing is better than Listening:
Allah's Apostle made a
small room (with a palm leaf mat). Allah's Apostle came out (of his house) and
prayed in it. Some men came and joined him in his prayer. Then again the next
night they came for the prayer, but Allah's Apostle delayed and did not come out
to them. So they raised their voices and knocked the door with small
stones (to draw his attention). He came out to them in a state of anger, saying,
"You are still insisting (on your deed, i.e.
Tarawih prayer in the mosque) that I thought that this prayer (Tarawih) might
become obligatory on you. So you people, offer this prayer at your homes, for
the best prayer of a person is the one which
he offers at home, except the compulsory (congregational) prayer."
Al-Bukhari 8: 134 (The above text is reproduced from
the computer CD 'ALIM')
The following text was added on
October 14, 2004:
The entire
text of the above Hadeeth in Arabic and English is found in the published book
SAHIH AL-BUKHARI Volume 8, Book 78 'THE BOOK OF AL-ADAB (GOOD MANNERS)', Page
81, Hadeeth No. 6113, Narrated by Zaid bin Thabit. The same Hadeeth is repeated
in Volume 9, Book 96 'HOLDING FAST TO THE QUR'AN AND THE SUNNAH', Page 240,
Hadeeth No. 7290 Narrated by Zaid bin Thabit who was the personal secretary of
the Prophet (s.a.s.).
Both
these Hadeeths do end with this noteworthy passage:-
"Therefore,
O people! Perform your Salat (prayers) at your homes, for the best prayer
of a person is what is performed at his home except the compulsory
(congregational) prayer."
The following verse of the
Qur'an guides the believers to follow the "People in authority from among us" as
long as they do not teach us or command us to follow that which is contradictory
or disputable to what has been revealed to us by Allah (s.w.t.) or what His
Prophet had preached or acted upon during his life.
"O you who believe! Obey
Allah, and obey the messenger and those of you who are in authority; and if you
have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the messenger if
you are (in truth) believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more
seemly in the end." Qur'an
4: 59.
ALLAH
(S.W.T.) ALONE KNOWS THE TRUTH....
May Allah Guide the Ummah to
HIS DEEN
based upon HIS
REVEALED WORDS. Ameen
Source:
http://www.mostmerciful.com/tarawih-prayers.htm
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