Taraweeh Prayers During Ramadan

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Brothers and sisters in Islam, I want to talk to you about Salat

Al-Tarawih. Al-Tarawih prayers is a special prayer that is only to be prayed in the nights

of Ramadan and it is not prayed in any other month of the year. And this is a sunnah that

the Messenger ﷺ established during his lifetime. He ﷺ prayed Al-Tarawih for a few nights

in congregation and then he stopped and he abandoned that in congregation because he

feared that it might become obligatory upon Ummatul Nabi ﷺ and perhaps they will not

be able to commit to it. Nonetheless, the companions ﷺ continued to pray Al-Tarawih

individually throughout the lifetime of the Messenger ﷺ and after his death during the

Khilafa of Abu Bakr ﷺ and then during the Khilafa of Umar ﷺ. In the first part, they

still prayed it individually until the second half of the Khilafa of Umar ﷺ. He gathered

the people because he saw them, everyone praying by himself in the Masjid and it didn't seem

to be like a good sight. Everyone was raising his voice and it became loud in the Masjid.

So Umar ﷺ re-established this sunnah in his time and he gathered all the people under

one Imam, Ubay' ibn Ka'b ﷺ. And the believers have been praying Salat Al-Tarawih during

Ramadan ever since that time up until this day. Salat Al-Tarawih is considered a part

of Qiyamul-Layl. So it is from the night prayers and it is highly recommended especially

in Ramadan. When Nabi ﷺ mentioned something great and grand about its virtue, he said

Maqama Ramadana Imanan wa Hatisaban, ghufir alahu maa taqdama min thambih. And Nabi

ﷺ says, anyone who prays the nights of Ramadan, meaning Al-Tarawih, anyone who prays

the nights of Ramadan out of faith, believing in this Salat and seeking the reward from

Allah ﷺ, all his past sins will be forgiven, Allahu Akbar. This is a huge grand gift that

Allah ﷺ gives the believers. Brothers and sisters in Islam concerning where to pray

this Salat in the Masjid or at home, really it is a sunnah and it is up to you. If you

find that you are lazy, you haven't memorized much Quran and you will not be motivated to

pray it at home and you might skip it and miss it, then for you it is best to pray it

in the Masjid. Go to your local Masjid and pray behind the Imam whatever he prays and

finish with the Imam. Whoever prays with the Imam until the Imam finishes the Salat

also with al-Watar, then he earns the reward of praying the entire night, Allahu Akbar,

even though he will not be praying the entire night. So you will be sleeping for the rest

of that night and Allah will be recording for you as though you are standing up and

praying. And if you find energy in yourself and strengthen yourself and you have memorized

a lot of Quran and you want to pray it at home, then that is also good for you and you

are able to pray it at home. The main thing is don't miss it and pray it every single

night and the same thing goes for the woman. If a woman feels like praying it in the Masjid

will strengthen her iman among sisters and develops a lot more khushu'ah in the Masjid

behind the Imam listening to the recitation, then that is best for her to do so. And if

a woman wants to feel more khushu'ah in her house and she is able to pray at home and

not become lazy from the Salat, then it is better for her to pray in her house and there

is no issue concerning this matter. The main thing is that we pray this prayer in the nights

of Ramadan and not miss out on a single night. And whoever has an excuse such as a woman

that has her cycle, her monthly cycle and so on, then there is no need to worry. Allah

Azza wa Jalla will record for her the reward of establishing the night prayer in Ramadan

because this is a situation that she did not bring upon herself, rather this came to her

naturally. So we ask Allah Azza wa Jalla to reward us all. There is of course always

a debate, is it 8 prayers, 8 rak'aat, is it 20 rak'aat, is it more than that, is it

less than this? Brothers and sisters in Islam, there is no need for this entire discussion.

If we looked into the lifetime of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, then Aisha radi

allahu anha told us that the Nabi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam did not pray more than 11

rak'aat a night. And so this was the night prayer of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

And that doesn't mean that a person cannot pray more than that because the Nabi sallallahu

alaihi wa sallam himself, when he made the guideline for the night prayer, he said Salatu

Laili mathna mathna. He said the night prayer is to be prayed in 2s, 2x2x2x2 and you can

pray as much as you want. Umar radi allahu anhu prayed 20 rak'aat and those that came

after him prayed even more up to 38, 40 rak'aat and so on. There is no issue concerning this.

As long as you just spend some of the night in Salat, that's the main matter. When Nabi

sallallahu alaihi wa sallam prayed 11, meaning he prayed 4, then 4, then 3 and that was

al-watar. So ulama rahimahum allah they say, you can pray it 4. You can pray it 4. Just

like we pray Salat al-abbuhar or Salat al-asr, you will pray 4 rak'aat, meaning when you

do 2, you make attahiyat, then you get up for another 2 and then you make taslim. And there

are other opinions as well that 4 means 2, 2 and then 2 and then 2. That's 8 rak'aat all together

and that would be the better way to perform Salat al-layl, perform this Salat al-tarawih.

After you've finished 8 rak'aat, you get up and you pray 3 al-watar and this watar you pray it

2 rak'aat and you conclude that and then you get up and you pray 1 rak'aat and you conclude that

or you could pray 3 rak'aat all together with no tashahud until the end. So you pray 1 rak'aat,

2 rak'aat, then the third rak'aat and then you make tashahud and you conclude

al-salat and that is your watar. And those who pray 20 rak'aat, then 20 rak'aat would be

al-tarawih, would be the night prayer and then 1 rak'aat after this would be al-watar. This is

according to some of our scholars. Brothers and sisters in Islam Salat al-layl or this prayer

Salat al-watar, one of the main matters and one of the purposes of this prayer is the recitation

of the Qur'an. That's one of the grand purposes of why al-watar was legislated so that the heart

can connect with the word of Allah in the best position. The best position you will ever be

in life is when you are standing praying. That's the best position. And from there you are reading

the best of word and that is the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Salat al-tarawih, the main

purpose of it is to engage with the Qur'an and so open your ears and listen to what the Imam is

reciting of the Qur'an. And also of course I know in these contemporary times, this day and age

that we live many of our youth are far away from the Qur'an and the meanings of the Qur'an. So the

question is, is it allowed to carry a translation of the Qur'an while the Imam is reciting and

following in that? Brothers and sisters in Islam al-Ulamā' r-Rahmahum Allah, they mentioned that

it is fine to do so, so long as you do not move your tongue and read. Say, if you're holding a

translation of the Qur'an, don't move your tongue and read the translation. If you do this in Salat,

your Salat is invalid because you recited other than the Qur'an and this is a problem.

In Imam al-Nawawi al-Rahmahum Allah mentioned this matter. With Sheikh ibn Baz al-Rahmahum Allah,

he also mentioned this matter. So what that means is if you're holding a translation from the phone,

you can hold your phone, you can hold the Qur'an translation, you just look at it. You look and

you ponder. Don't move your tongue and read what you are seeing. If that's the case, then it is fine

to carry that translation of the Qur'an and follow through with the Imam so that your heart can connect

with the meanings of this word of Allah Subh'anaHu wa Ta'ala. And at the end of Salat al-Witr, there is

of course al-Qunut. We make this Qunut with the Imam. We say Ameen when he makes the dua or if you're

praying at home, make a simple dua for yourself. You can make this dua if you know the Arabic

language, then you only do it in the Arabic language. If you don't, you can make dua in the

English language or in your language until you learn the Arabic language. That's it. That's

something very brief about Salat al-Tarawih, brothers and sisters in Islam commit to this prayer,

pray it every night.