Night Prayer during Ramadhan (Al-Qiyaam or Taraweeh)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to encourage us
to pray at night in Ramadaan, without making it obligatory. Then
he said, ‘Whoever prays at night in Ramadaan out of faith and the
hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.’ When the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, this is how things
were (i.e., Taraaweeh was not prayed in congregation), and this
is how they remained during the khilaafah of Abu Bakr (may Allaah
be pleased with him), until the beginning of the khilaafah of ‘Umar
(may Allaah be pleased with him).”

‘Amr ibn Murrah al-Juhani said: “A man from Qudaa’ah
came to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger
of Allaah! What do you think if I testify that there is no god except
Allaah, and that you, Muhammad, are His Messenger, and I pray the
five daily prayers, and fast in the month (of Ramadaan), and pray
at night in Ramadaan, and pay zakaah?’ The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever dies
on that will be among the siddeeqeen (those who tell the truth)
and the martyrs.’”

Laylat al-Qadr and its timing

2 – The best of its nights is Laylat al-Qadr, because
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays
at night during Laylat al-Qadr {and manages to “catch” it} out of
faith and the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

3 – According to the most correct opinion, it is
the twenty-seventh night of Ramadaan. Most of the ahaadeeth state
this, such as the hadeeth of Zurr ibn Hubaysh, who said: “I heard
Ubayy ibn Ka’b saying – and it was said to him that ‘Abd-Allaah
ibn Mas’ood said: ‘Whoever follows the Sunnah will ‘catch’ Laylat
al-Qadr!’ – Ubayy (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: ‘May Allaah
have mercy on him, he did not want people to take it for granted
and only stay up to pray on one night. By the One besides Whom there
is no other god, it is in Ramadaan – he was swearing without a doubt
– and by Allaah, I do know which night it is. It is the night in
which the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to pray
(qiyaam). It is the night the morning of which is the twenty seventh,
and the sign of it is that the sun rises on that morning white and
without rays.’”

In another report, this was attributed to the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). (Reported by Muslim
and others).

Praying qiyaam in congregation

It is allowed to pray qiyaam in congregation, indeed
it is better than praying individually, because this is what the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did himself and explained
its virtues. Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “We
fasted Ramadaan with the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he did not lead
us in qiyaam at all until there were only seven days left, when
he led us in prayer until a third of the night had passed. When
there were six days left, he did not lead us in qiyaam. When there
were five days left, he led us in prayer until half the night had
passed. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I wish that you had continued
until the end of the night.’ He said, ‘If a man prays with the imaam
until he finishes, it will be counted as if he prayed the whole
night.’ When there were four nights left, he did not lead us in
qiyaam. When there were three nights left, he brought together his
family, his wives and the people, and led us in qiyaam until we
were afraid that we would miss al-falaah. I asked, ‘What is al-falaah?’
he said, ‘Suhoor. Then he did not lead us in qiyaam for the rest
of the month.’” (Saheeh hadeeth reported by the authors of Sunan).

The reason why the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not continually
lead the people in praying qiyaam in congregation

5 - The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not lead them in
qiyaam for the rest of the month because he feared that it would
then become obligatory, and they would not be able to do it, as
is stated in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah reported in al-Saheehayn
and elsewhere. Following the death of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), that fear was no longer
a factor, because Allaah had completed the religion. The reason
for not praying qiyaam in congregation during Ramadaan no longer
applied, and the previous ruling, that congregational prayer is
something prescribed in Islam, remained in effect. So ‘Umar (may
Allaah be pleased with him) revived the practice, as is recorded
in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and elsewhere.

Women can pray qiyaam in congregation

Women can attend the prayers too, as is stated in
the hadeeth of Abu Dharr referred to above. Indeed, it is permissible
to appoint an imaam just for them, apart from the imaam of the men.
It was proven that when ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) gathered
the people to pray qiyaam, he appointed Ubayy ibn Ka’b to lead the
men and Sulaymaan ibn Abi Hathmah to lead the women. ‘Arfajah al-Thaqafi
said: “ ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) used
to command the people to pray during the night in Ramadaan, and
he would appoint an imaam for the men and an imaam for the women.
I was the imaam for the women.”

I say: this is fine in my view so long as the mosque
is big enough so that they will not disturb one another.

Number of rak’ahs of qiyaam

7 – The number of rak’ahs is eleven, and it is preferable
in our opinion not to exceed this number, following the practice
of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because he never did
more than that in his life. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) was asked about how he prayed in Ramadaan. She said, “The Messenger
of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never prayed more than
eleven rak’ahs (of qiyaam), whether during Ramadaan or any other
time. He would pray four, and don’t ask me how beautiful or how
long they were. Then he would pray four, and don’t ask me how beautiful
or how long they were. Then he would pray three.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
Muslim and others).

8- A person may do less than that, even if it is
only one rak’ah of witr, because of the evidence that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this and spoke about
it.

With regard to him doing it: ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah
be pleased with her) was asked how many rak’ahs the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray in witr?
She said, “He used to pray four and three, or six and three, or
ten and three. He never used to pray less than seven, or more than
thirteen.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, Ahmad and others).

With regard to him speaking about it, he said: “Witr
is true, so whoever wishes can pray five, and whoever wishes can
pray three, and whoever wishes can pray one.”

Reciting Qur’aan in qiyaam

9 – As regards reciting from the Qur’aan during qiyaam,
whether in Ramadaan or at other times, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set a limit
or state what was too much or too little. His recitation used to
vary, sometimes it would be long, at other times short. Sometimes
in every rak’ah he would recite the equivalent of ‘Yaa ayyuha’l-muzammil,
which is twenty aayaat; sometimes he would recite the equivalent
of fifty aayaat. He used to say, “Whoever prays at night and reads
one hundred aayaat will not be recorded as one of the negligent.”
According to another hadeeth: “…and reads two hundred aayaat, will
be recorded as one of the devout and sincere believers.”

When he was sick, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited the seven long
soorahs in his night prayers, i.e., al-Baqarah, Aal
‘Imraan, al-Nisaa’, al-Maa’idah, al-An’aam,
al-A’raaf and al-Tawbah.

In the account of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan praying
behind the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in one rak’ah he recited
al-Baqarah, al-Nisa’ and Aal ‘Imraan, and he
recited them in a slow and measured tone. It is proven with the
soundest (most saheeh) of isnaads that when ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) appointed Ubayy ibn Ka’b to lead the people in
praying eleven rak’ahs in Ramadaan, Ubayy used to recite aayaat
by the hundreds, so that the people behind him would be leaning
on sticks because the prayers were so long, and they did not finish
until just before Fajr.

It is also reported in a saheeh account that ‘Umar
called the readers during Ramadaan, and told the fastest of them
to recite thirty aayaat, the moderate ones to recite twenty-five
aayaat, and the slowest ones to recite twenty aayaat.

However, is a person is praying qiyaam by himself,
he can make it as long as he wishes; if others agree with the imaam,
he may also make it as long as he wishes. The longer it is, the
better, but a person should not go to extremes and spend the whole
night in qiyaam, except on rare occasions, following the example
of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said: “The best
guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.” If a person is praying as
an imaam, he should make it only as long as is easy for the people
behind him, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any of you
leads the people in prayer, let him make it short, because among
them are the young and the old, the weak, and those who have pressing
needs. But if he is praying alone, let him make it as long as he
likes.”

The timing of qiyaam

10 – The time for praying qiyaam is from after ‘Isha
until Fajr, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has added
one more prayer for you, which is witr, so pray it between Salaat
al-‘Isha’ and Salaat al-Fajr.”

11 – Praying at the end of the night is better, for
those who can manage it, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever is afraid
that he will not get up at the end of the night, let him pray witr
at the beginning of the night, but whoever feels that he will be
able to get up at the end of the night, let him pray witr at the
end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed
[by the angels], and that is better.”

12 – If it is the matter of choosing between praying
in congregation at the beginning of the night and praying alone
at the end of the night, it is preferable to pray with the jamaa’ah,
because that is counted as if one had prayed the whole night through.

This is what the Sahaabah did at the time of ‘Umar
(may Allaah be pleased with him). ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Abd al-Qaari
said: “I went out with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab to the mosque one night
during Ramadaan, and saw the people scattered throughout the mosque,
some praying individually, and some praying in small groups. He
said, ‘By Allaah, I think that if I gathered all of them behind
one reader it would be better.’ So he resolved to do that, and he
gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka’b. Then I went with him on another
night, and the people were all praying behind their reader, and
‘Umar said, ‘What a good innovation this is. What they sleep and
miss – meaning the latter part of the night – is better than what
they are doing,’ – the people used to pray qiyaam at the beginning
of the night.”

Zayd ibn Wahb said: “‘Abd-Allaah used to lead us
in prayer in Ramadaan, and he used to finish at night.”

13 – The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying witr
as three rak’ahs, and explained this by saying: “Do not make it
resemble Salaat al-Maghrib.” Therefore the person who wants to pray
three rak’ahs for witr must find a way to make it different (from
Maghrib). There are two ways he can do this: either by giving salaam
after the first two rak’ahs, which is the best way; or by not sitting
after the first two rak’ahs (i.e., praying three rak’ahs non-stop).
And Allaah knows best.

Recitation during three rak’ahs of witr

14 – It is Sunnah to recite Sabbih bi ismi Rabbika
al-‘A’laa in the first rak’ah, Qul Yaa ayyuha’l-Kaafiroon
in the second rak’ah, and Qul Huwa Allaahu ahad in the third
rak’ah. Sometimes Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Falaq and Qul
a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Naas may be added as well.

It was reported in a saheeh report that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) once recited one hundred
aayaat of Soorat al-Nisa’ in one rak’ah of witr.

Du’aa’ al-Qunoot

15 – A person may also humble himself before Allaah
by reciting the du’aa’ which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to his grandson
al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which is:

“Allaahumma’hdinee fiman hadayta wa ‘aafinee fiman
‘aafayta wa tawallanee fiman tawallayta wa baarik lee fimaa a’tayta
wa qinee sharra maa qadayt, fa innaka taqdee wa laa yuqdaa ‘alayk.
Wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya’izzu man ‘aadayt.
Tabaarakta Rabbanaa wa ta’aalayt. Laa majaa minka illa ilayk
(O Allaah, guide me along with those whom You have guided, pardon
me along with those whom You have pardoned, be an ally to me along
with those whom You are an ally to, and bless for me that which
You have bestowed. Protect me from the evil You have decreed for
verily You decree and none can decree over You. For surety, he whom
You show allegiance to is never abased and he whom You take an enemy
is never honored and mighty. O our Lord, Blessed and Exalted are
You. There is no refuge from You except with You).”

Sometimes one may send blessings on the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there is nothing
wrong with adding other du’aa’s that are known from the Sunnah.

16 – There is nothing wrong with reciting Qunoot
after rukoo’, or with adding curses against the kuffaar, sending
blessings on the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or praying for the Muslims
in the second half of Ramadaan, because it is proven that the imaam
used to do this at the time of ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
him). At the end of the hadeeth of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Ubayd al-Qaari
mentioned above, it says: “… They used to curse the kuffaar in the
middle, saying, ‘Allaahumma qaatil al-kafarata alladheena yasuddoona
‘an sabeelik wa yukadhdhiboona rusulak wa laa yu’minoona bi wa’dik.
Wa khaalif bayna kalimatihim wa alqi fi quloobihim al-ru’b wa alqi
‘alayhim rijzaka wa ‘adhaabak ilaah al-haqq (O Allaah, destroy
the kuffaar who are trying to prevent people from following Your
path, who deny Your Messengers and who do not believe in Your promise
(the Day of Judgement). Make them disunited, fill their hearts with
terror and send Your wrath and punishment against them, O God of
Truth).” Then he would send blessings on the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and pray for good for
the Muslims as much as he could, and seek forgiveness for the believers.

After he had finished cursing the kuffaar, sending
blessings on the Prophet, seeking forgiveness for the believing
men and women and asking for his own needs, he would say: “Allaahumma
iyyaaka na’bud wa laka nusalli wa najud, wa ilayka nas’aa
wa nahfud, wa narju rahmataka rabbanaa wa nakhaafu ‘adhaabak al-jadd.
Inna ‘adhaabaka liman ‘aadayta mulhaq (O Allaah, You do we worship,
to You do we pray and prostrate, for Your sake we strive and toil.
We place our hope in Your Mercy, O our Lord, and we fear Your mighty
punishment, for Your punishment will certainly overtake the one
whom You have taken as an enemy.” Then he would say “Allaahu akbar”
and go down in sujood.

What should be said at the end of witr

17 – It is Sunnah to say at the end of witr (before
or after the salaam):

“Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika
wa bi mu’aafaatika min ‘aqoobatika, wa a’oodhu bika minka. La uhsee
thanaa’an ‘alayka, anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsik (O Allaah,
I seek refuge in Your good pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your
protection from Your punishment. I seek refuge with You from You.
I cannot praise You enough, and You are as You have praised Yourself.”

18 – When he gave salaam at the end of witr, he said:
“Subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan
il-Malik il-Quddoos (Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy),
elongating the syllables, and raising his voice the third time.

Two rak’ahs after witr

19 – A person may pray two rak’ahs after witr if
he wishes, because it is proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this. Indeed, he
said, “This travelling is exhausting and difficult, so after any
one of you prays witr, let him pray two rak’ahs. If he wakes up,
this is fine, otherwise these two rak’ahs will be counted for him.

20 – It is Sunnah to recite Idha zulzilat al-ard
and Qul yaa ayyuha’l-kaafiroon in these two rak’ahs.

From Qiyaam Ramadaan by al-Albaani