LESSONS OF RAMADAN. LESSON 4. NIGHT PRAYERS IN RAMADAN
Allah Almighty ordered people to worship Him and established various rituals so that worship would not be tiresome for them. Otherwise, for some of God’s servants it would become so burdensome that they would cease to fulfill their duties and would doom themselves to eternal misfortune. Among these rituals there are obligatory ones that must be performed without making any omissions and without showing carelessness, and there are additional ones that allow a person to make up for what he has missed and even closer to the Lord.
It is narrated from the words of Abu Hureira that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “All-good and Almighty Allah said:“ I have already declared war on the one who is at enmity with My saint! Of all the deeds by which My servant approaches Me, I love the obligatory prescriptions the most. And by means of additional prescriptions, My slave continues to approach Me until I love him. If I love him, I will become the hearing with which he hears, and the sight with which he sees, and the hand that he grabs, and the foot with which he steps. If he asks Me for anything, I will certainly bestow it on him; if he begins to seek refuge with Me, I will certainly grant him it, and nothing of what I do makes Me hesitate to the extent of the need to take the soul of a believer who does not want death, for I do not wish him harm ”(al-Bukhari) …
One of these religious prescriptions is namaz. During the day and night, Allah ordered to perform five obligatory prayers, which on the Scales on the Day of Judgment will be equal to fifty. In addition to these prayers, Allah has established additional prayers for believers that make up for omissions and bring the slave closer to the Almighty. The most important of them are two rak’ats before dawn prayer, four rak’ats before midday prayer and two rak’ats after it, two rak’ats after sunset and after evening prayers. But the most glorious of all the additional prayers is the night prayer. His superiority is spoken of in many Quranic verses: “They spend their nights prostrating themselves and standing in front of their Lord” (Sura 25 “Discernment”, ayah 64); “They tear their sides from the beds, crying out to their Lord with fear and hope, and spend from what We have given them. Not a single person knows what delights are hidden for their eyes as a reward for what they did “(Sura 32” Bow to the Earth “, verses 16-17).
An authentic hadith says: “The best namaz after the obligatory is the night namaz” (Muslim). Another hadith says: “O people! Greet one another with peace, feed the needy, maintain family ties, pray at night when other people are asleep, and you will safely enter Paradise ”(at-Tirmidhi, a good and reliable hadith).
Witr belongs to the night prayers, which consists of an odd number of rak’ahs. It is known from reliable legends that Vitr prayer can be performed in various forms. It can consist of one rak’ah, and this is its shortest form. In the hadith of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Vitr is the duty of every Muslim. Whoever desires can do it from seven rak’ahs, who wants from five, who wants from three, and who wants from one. And the one who is overcome by sleep, let him nod his head (that is, let him perform namaz, nodding his head) ”(Abu Dawood, al-Nasai and Ibn Majah, authentic hadith).
Another hadith narrated by Aisha says: “At night, he performed ten additional rak’ahs and ended them with a witr of one rak’ah. After that, he performed two additional rak’ahs at dawn, and a total of thirteen rak’ahs were obtained ”(al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Imam at-Tahavi reported that Umar b. al-Khattab performed a witr of three rak’ahs, reciting taslim only after completing the last of them. Imam al-Bukhari narrated the hadith of Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, pronounced taslim after the first two rak’ahs of vitr and sometimes gave some orders before the start of the third rak’ah.
During vitr, it is allowed to perform five rak’ahs in a row, sitting down to read tashahhud only after the last rak’ah. We have already mentioned the hadith on this matter. In the hadith of Aisha it is reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, performed thirteen rak’ahs at night. At the same time, he performed vitr from five rak’ahs, sitting down only after the last (al-Bukhari and Muslim). It is allowed to perform vitr from seven rak’ahs in a row, since the hadith of Umm Salama says: “The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, performed a vitr of five or seven rak’ahs, without interrupting them with either greeting or conversation.” (Ahmad, al-Nasai and Ibn Maja).
It is possible to perform vitr of nine rak’ahs, eight of which are performed in a row. Aisha’s hadith says: “The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, performed a vitr of nine rak’ahs, sitting down only after the eighth. He remembered Allah, praised Him, cried out to Him, and then got up without taslim and performed the ninth rakat. Then he sat down, remembering Allah, praising Him and calling out to Him, after which he pronounced taslim so that we could hear him “(Ahmad and Muslim).
It is possible to perform eleven rak’ahs during vitr, reciting taslim after every two and completing the entire rite with one rak’at. It is narrated from the words of Aisha that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, performed a vitr of eleven rak’ahs, reciting taslim after every two and ending it with one rak’at (al-Bukhari, Muslim, etc.). It is allowed to recite taslim after every four rak’ahs, ending the vitr with three rak’ats in a row.
It is reported that Aisha said: “Neither in Ramadan, nor in other months the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not perform more than eleven rak’ahs during additional night prayers. At first, he performed four rak’ahs, and one does not even need to ask how beautiful and long they were. Then he performed four more rak’ahs, and one should also not ask how beautiful and long they were. Then he performed three more rak’ahs. Once I asked him: “O Messenger of Allah! Do you sleep before you commit vitr? ” He replied: “O Aisha! My eyes are asleep, but my heart is not asleep ”(al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The jurists of the Hanbali and Shafi’i sects allow making a vitr of eleven rak’ahs with one tashahhud or two tashahhuds after the last and penultimate rak’ahs.
In Ramadan, the night prayer has additional benefits. It is reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, said: “Whoever stood the nights in Ramadan with faith and hope for reward, those previously committed sins will be forgiven” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). When performing additional prayer in Ramadan, a Muslim must firmly believe in Allah and the reward that awaits the righteous. He should pray only for the sake of Allah, hoping for His reward, and not for the sake of fame, praise, wealth or position in society.
Night prayer in Ramadan can be performed both immediately after the evening prayer and shortly before dawn. It also includes the taraweeh prayer, the name of which comes from the word “raha” meaning “rest”, “tranquility”. This name is explained by the fact that the early Muslims performed this prayer for so long that after the first four rak’ahs they sat down to rest. All Muslims should willingly perform taraweeh, take care of this prayer, firmly believe in the reward from Allah and not succumb to laziness and temptation. Truly, Ramadan lasts only a few days, which the prudent believer should not miss.
It is advisable to perform Taraweeh together with other Muslims in the mosque. The first who performed the group taraweeh prayer in the mosque was the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Muslims were so inspired by this rite that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stopped performing it together with people, fearing that Allah would make it a duty to his followers.
It is reported from the words of Aisha that one night the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, performed namaz in the mosque, and a group of people performed it with him. The next night he performed it there again, and the number of worshipers increased. On the third or fourth night, people gathered to pray with him, but the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not come out to them. When dawn broke, he said: “I saw how you acted, and I did not come out to you only because I was afraid that this prayer would be imputed to you” (al-Bukhari and Muslim). All this happened in Ramadan.
It is also reported that Abu Zarr said: “Once we fasted with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he did not perform night prayers with us until the end of the month was only seven days. That night he prayed with us until a third of the night had passed. The next night he did not pray with us, and when there were five nights before the end of the month, he again prayed with us until midnight. We said, “O Messenger of Allah, why don’t you pray with us for the rest of the night?” He replied: “Indeed, whoever prayed at night with the imam until he completed the prayer, such a reward is recorded as if he had been praying all night” (Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasai and Ibn Majah).
Muslim theologians expressed different opinions about the number of rak’ahs in the Vitr and Taraweeh prayers. Some believed that they consisted of forty-one rak’ah. Opinions have been expressed that they consist of thirty-nine, twenty-nine, twenty-three, nineteen, thirteen and eleven rak’ahs. According to the most reliable opinion, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, did not perform more than eleven or thirteen rak’ahs per night.
It is reported that Aisha was asked: “How did the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, performed namaz in Ramadan?” She replied: “Neither in Ramadan, nor in other months the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not perform more than eleven rak’ahs during additional night prayers” (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Another tradition says that Ibn Abbas said about the night prayer: “The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, performed thirteen rak’ahs” (al-Bukhari).
Narrated from the words of al-Sahib b. Yazeed that Umar b. al-Khattab ordered Ubeyu b. Kaaba and Tamim ad-Dari perform eleven rak’ahs (Malik) with the worshipers.
Our righteous predecessors prayed for a very long time at night in Ramadan. In the hadith al-Sahib b. Yazeed is said to have recited several hundred verses for so long that people began to lean on staves. All of this is not at all similar to how many Muslims perform taraweeh today. They seem to want to get rid of the burden of prayer as soon as possible and pray so quickly that they do not observe calmness in prayer and do not fulfill its obligatory prescriptions. They forget that gravity is one of the pillars of prayer, without which it is considered invalid. As a result, they ruin their worship, waste time, and inconvenience the elderly, weak, and sick people who pray behind them. They sin against themselves and against those who came to worship Allah with them. Therefore, theologians consider it undesirable to hastily perform namaz, which does not allow other worshipers to perform the desired actions during prayer. If the worshipers do not even fulfill the obligatory requirements of prayer, then their efforts are futile and useless.
It is highly desirable for men to perform taraweeh prayer in the mosque so that their reward is complete and perfect. One should not leave the mosque before the imam completes the night prayer and vitr, and in this case the worshiper will receive such a reward as if he had been praying the whole night. Women are also allowed to perform taraweeh in the mosque, as long as they do not enter into fellowship with strangers. The hadith on this subject says: “Do not interfere with the slaves of Allah from visiting the mosques of Allah” (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
When going to the mosque, women are required to dress in accordance with all the requirements of Sharia. The Holy Quran says: “O Prophet! Tell your wives, your daughters and the women of believing men to lower their veils over themselves (or draw close on themselves) “(Sura 33 Hordes, ayah 59).
The clothing of a Muslim woman must completely cover her entire body from men who are not her close relatives, whom she cannot marry. It should not be transparent so that the color of the skin is not visible. In addition, it should not be constraining and tight-fitting, so that the contours of body parts do not appear. It is reported from the words of Abu Hureira that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “I have not yet seen two types of martyrs of Hell. These are people who hold whips in their hands, similar to cow’s tails, and beat others with them, as well as dressed, but at the same time naked women who lean to the side and call others to this, and their heads are like swaying camel humps … They will not enter Paradise and will not even feel its fragrance, despite the fact that it can be felt at a very great distance ”(Muslim).
A woman in her clothes should not be like a man. It is reported that Ibn Abbas said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, cursed men who try to be like women, and women who try to be like men” (al-Bukhari).
Finally, a woman’s clothing should not be attractive and seductive, lest a Muslim believer be one of those women who display their jewelry. The Almighty said: “Let them not flaunt their embellishments, except for those that are visible, and let them cover the cutout on the chest with their veils and do not show their beauty …” (Sura 24 “Light”, ayah 31).
That is why jilbab is the best clothing for a believing woman. This is a wide, long veil that covers the entire body of a woman, including her head. It is reported that Umm Atiyah said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered us to leave the house on the Days of Conversation and Sacrifice. This applied even to girls who had almost reached the age of majority, to women during menstruation and to girls of marriageable age. At the same time, women with monthly bleeding should not have been present at the prayer, but should have shared the good deed and the prayer of the Muslims. Then I asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what should a woman do if she does not have a jilbab?” He said: “Let her sister dress her in her jilbab” (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
When leaving the house, women should not smear themselves with incense. It is narrated from the words of Abu Musa al-Ashari that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “If a woman anointed herself with incense and walked past the men so that they could smell her, then she is an adulteress” (Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi , Abu Dawood and an-Nasai).
In the mosque, it is advisable for women to stay away from men and pray in the very last rows. Therefore, if men begin to line up for prayer, starting with the first, then women should line up in rows starting with the last. The hadith says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of the ranks for men is the first, and the worst is the last, and the best of the ranks for women is the last, and the worst is the first” (Muslim).
Women should leave the mosque immediately after the imam utters taslim – the words of greeting at the end of the prayer. They can stay in the mosque only if necessary. The hadith of Umm Salamah says: “As soon as the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, pronounced taslim, the women got up from their seats, and he continued to sit for a while. We believed that he acted in such a way that women could go out before the men overtook them, although Allah knows this best of all ”(al-Bukhari).
SOURCE: https://e-minbar.com/majalis-ramadan/lesson-04