The holy month of Ramadan is distinguished from the rest of the months by the night prayers that the Messenger, peace be upon him, prayed and recommended to us, whether we call it Tarawih or Qiyam Al Layl, In this article, we are going to explain the differences between the sunnah night prayers that we can perform during Ramadan, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, performed them. And they all have a great reward.
Before that, we list some evidence from the hadiths of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the virtue of night prayers in Ramadan.
- Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Whoever prayed at night the whole month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.” Ibn Shihab (a sub-narrator) said, “Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) died and the people continued observing that (i.e. Nawafil offered individually, not in congregation), and it remained as it was during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and in the early days of ‘Umar’s Caliphate.”
- Narrated ‘Urwa: That he was informed by `Aisha, “Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) went out in the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque and some men prayed behind him. In the morning, the people spoke about it and then a large number of them gathered and prayed behind him (on the second night). In the next morning the people again talked about it and on the third night the mosque was full with a large number of people. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came out and the people prayed behind him. On the fourth night the Mosque was overwhelmed with people and could not accommodate them, but the Prophet (ﷺ) came out (only) for the morning prayer. When the morning prayer was finished he recited Tashah-hud and (addressing the people) said, “Amma ba’du, your presence was not hidden from me but I was afraid lest the night prayer (Qiyam) should be enjoined on you and you might not be able to carry it on.” So, Allah’s Apostle died and the situation remained like that (i.e. people prayed individually). “
What is Tarawih prayer?
It is the night prayer at the beginning, while the night prayer at the end of it is called “Tahajud”, however, there is no big difference between the two, as one can suffice with one of them. What distinguishes the Tarawih prayer is that it is prayed with a break between every four rak’ahs in which the worshipers rest, and the mosques usually established them in congregation after the evening prayer, then meeting again before dawn at a time to perform the “Tahajud” prayer.
How to pray Tarawih and Tahajjud?
It is established from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he did not exceed, in Ramadan or at any other time, more than eleven rak’ahs, and in a narration more than thirteen rak’ahs, but he, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, used to prolong the standing, prolong the bowing and prostration, and increase the supplication in bowing and prostrating, to the extent that, as in the hadith of Hudhayfah, he recited al-Baqarah and al-Nisa’. And the family of Imran, and he used to recite in a sequential way, and he used to supplicate at the signs of mercy and seek refuge at the signs of punishment, and if he came across a verse in which there is glorification, he glorified Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his bowing was similar to his standing, that is, close to his standing, and his prostration was close to his standing.
This is the Sunnah of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, in his prayers at night in general, and tahajjud, so the Muslim prays what is easy for him, and if he follows the example of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, in doing so, then this is a good thing. For his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “The night prayer is two by two.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih].
As for Witr, the people of knowledge have stated that the least of it is one rak’ah and the most of it is eleven or thirteen, and the least perfect is three rak’ahs with two salaams. The Muslim should pray with the imam until he finishes and complete Tarawih prayer with him with the odd one, because the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes.” It was written for him to spend the night praying for the night.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud from his Sunan]. Last night.
It is worthy of the Muslim not to neglect performing the night prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, because there is a great reward in it, which encourages him to worship when he is committed to praying in congregation in the mosque, so he gets to know his Muslim brothers and learns the meanings of the Qur’an with them on a daily basis. And there are sometimes short lessons in the mosque between the rak’ahs of Tarawih to strengthen the determination and determination not to fall short in worship and neglect blessed days such as the days of Ramadan.
Finally, what is not fully comprehended is not left entirely, so if you are unable to perform eight rak’ahs in the night prayer, two rak’ahs are sufficient for you, and you do not have to recite long surahs if there is something that prevents you from that such as illness, but do not leave a few because you are not able to do more. And remember your happiness when you find yourself rewarded for these acts of worship with the best reward with God Almighty on the Day of Resurrection.
