Fiqh of Tarāwiḥ, al-Mughnī by Ibn Qudāmah
Excerpt from al-Mughnī by Ibn Qudāmah (Incomplete)
Sat Apr 01 2023
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Qiyām in the Month of Ramaḍān is Twenty Rakʿah
مَسْألَةَ قِيامُ شَهْرِ رَمَضانَ عِشْرُونَ رَكْعَةً
مَسْألَةٌ: قالَ (وقِيامُ شَهْرِ رَمَضانَ عِشْرُونَ رَكْعَةً). (يَعْنِي) (صَلاةَ التَّراوِيحِ) وهِيَ سُنَّةٌ مُؤَكَّدَةٌ، وأوَّلُ مَن سَنَّها رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ۔
Issue: He said, "Qiyām (standing at night in ritual prayer) in the month of Ramaḍān is twenty rakʿah, that is, Ṣalāt al-Tarawīḥ." This is a recommended Sunnah. The initiator of this Sunnah was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Qiyām in Ramaḍān leads to forgiveness of past sins
قالَ أبُو هُرَيْرَةَ «كانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَرْغَبُ فِي قِيامِ رَمَضانَ، مِن غَيْرِ أنْ يَأْمُرَهُمْ فِيهِ بِعَزِيمَةٍ، فَيَقُولُ: «مَن قامَ رَمَضانَ إيمانًا واحْتِسابًا، غُفِرَ لَهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنْبِهِ»
Abū Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to encourage us to pray qiyām during Ramaḍān without insisting or mandating it. and he says: "Whoever stands during the nights of Ramaḍān out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." (Muslim 759)
Incident of the first congregational qiyām with the Prophet ﷺ
وقالَتْ عائِشَةُ: «صَلّى النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فِي المَسْجِدِ ذاتَ لَيْلَةٍ، فَصَلّى بِصَلاتِهِ ناسٌ، ثُمَّ صَلّى مِن القابِلَةِ، وكَثُرَ النّاسُ، ثُمَّ اجْتَمَعُوا مِن اللَّيْلَةِ الثّالِثَةِ أوْ الرّابِعَةِ، فَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ إلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَلَمّا أصْبَحَ، قالَ: «قَدْ رَأيْت الَّذِي صَنَعْتُمْ، فَلَمْ يَمْنَعْنِي مِن الخُرُوجِ إلَيْكُمْ إلّا أنِّي خَشِيتُ أنْ تُفْرَضَ عَلَيْكُمْ۔» قالَ: وذَلِكَ فِي رَمَضانَ۔ — رَواهُما مُسْلِمٌ
ʿĀʾishah said: One night, the Prophet ﷺ prayed in the masjid, and people prayed along with him. Then he prayed the following night again and the number of people increased. Then they gathered the third or the fourth night and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not come out ⌜of his quarters until morning time.⌝ When morning came, he said, "I saw what you were doing. Nothing prevented me from coming out to you except that I was afraid that it would become mandatory upon you." The narrator adds: And this was during Ramaḍān. — Narrated by Muslim 761
Both ⌜previous aḥādīth ⌝ are narrated by Muslim.
The Prophet led the qiyām only in the last remaining seven odd nights
وعَنْ أبِي ذَرٍّ، قالَ: «صُمْنا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ رَمَضانَ فَلَمْ يَقُمْ بِنا شَيْئًا مِن الشَّهْرِ، حَتّى بَقِيَ سَبْعٌ. فَقامَ بِنا حَتّى ذَهَبَ ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ، فَلَمّا كانَتْ السّادِسَةُ لَمْ يَقُمْ بِنا، فَلَمّا كانَتْ الخامِسَةُ قامَ بِنا حَتّى ذَهَبَ شَطْرُ اللَّيْلِ. فَقُلْت: يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، لَوْ نَفَّلْتَنا قِيامَ هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ۔ قالَ: فَقالَ: «إنّ الرَّجُلَ إذا صَلّى مَعَ الإمامِ حَتّى يَنْصَرِفَ، حُسِبَ لَهُ قِيامُ لَيْلَةٍ۔»
قالَ: فَلَمّا كانَتْ الرّابِعَةُ لَمْ يَقُمْ، فَلَمّا كانَتْ الثّالِثَةُ جَمَعَ أهْلَهُ ونِساءَهُ والنّاسَ، فَقامَ بِنا حَتّى خَشِينا أنْ يَفُوتَنا الفَلاحُ۔ قالَ: قُلْت: وما الفَلاحُ؟ قالَ: السُّحُورُ۔ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَقُمْ بِنا بَقِيَّةَ الشَّهْرِ۔ — رَواهُ أبُو داوُد، والأثْرَمُ، وابْنُ ماجَهْ۔
Abū Dharr said: We fasted Ramaḍān along with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he did not lead qiyām for us at all until the last seven nights remained. He then led qiyām for us for one-third of the night. When six nights remained, he did not lead qiyām for us. When five days remained, he led qiyām for us until part of the night had passed. I said: O Messenger of Allah, we wish that you would have led qiyām the whole night. He then said, "When a person prays with the Imām until he leaves, it counts as if he did qiyām the whole night."
He said: When four nights remained, he did not lead qiyām. But when three night remained, he gathered his family, his wives and the people and he led us for a length of time that we became fearful that we would miss the falāḥ. He said: I said: What is falāḥ? He said, the suḥūr (pre-dawn meal). Then he did not lead us in qiyām the rest of the month. — Narrated by Abū Dawūd 1375, al-Athram, and Ibn Mājah 1327.
- [ ] Continuation pending