كتاب الصلاة فى رمضانPrayer in Ramadan

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-

Zubayr from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, prayed in the mosque one night and people prayed

behind him. Then he prayed the next night and there were more people.

Then they gathered on the third or fourth night and the Messenger of

Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not come out to

them. In the morning, he said, "I saw what you were doing and the only

thing that prevented me from coming out to you was that I feared that

it would become obligatory (fard) for you." This happened in Ramadan.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salama

ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of

Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to exhort people

to watch the night in prayer in Ramadan but never ordered it

definitely. He used to say, "Whoever watches the night in prayer in

Ramadan with trust and expectancy, will be forgiven all his previous

wrong actions."

Ibn Shihab said, "The Messenger of Allah, may

Allah bless him and grant him peace, died while that was still the

custom, and it continued to be the custom in the caliphate of Abu Bakr

and at the beginning of the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that

Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said, "I went out with Umar ibn

alKhattab in Ramadan to the mosque and the people there were spread

out in groups. Some men were praying by themselves, whilst others were

praying in small groups. Umar said, 'By Allah! It would be better in

my opinion if these people gathered behind one reciter.' So he

gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Kab. Then I went out with him another

night and the people were praying behind their Qur'an reciter. Umar

said, 'How excellent this new way is, but what you miss while you are

asleep is better than what you watch in prayer.' He meant the end of

the night, and people used to watch the beginning of the night in

prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yusuf that as-

Sa'ib ibn Yazid said, "Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered Ubayy ibn Kab and

Tamim ad-Dari to watch the night in prayer with the people for eleven

rakas.The reciterof the Qur'an would recite the Mi'in (a group of

medium-sized suras) until we would be leaning on our staffs from

having stood so long in prayer. And we would not leave until the

approach of dawn."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yazid ibn Ruman said, "The

people used to watch the night in prayer during Ramadan for twenty-

three rakas in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn that he

heard al-Araj say, "I never saw the people in Ramadan, but that they

were cursing the disbelievers." He added, "The reciter of Qur'an used

to recite surat al-Baqara in eight rakas and if he did it in twelve

rakas the people would think that he had made it easy."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr said,

"I heard my father say, 'We finished praying in Ramadan and the

servants hurried with the food, fearing the approach of dawn.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his

father that Dhakwan Abu Amr (a slave belonging to A'isha, the wife of

the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was freed by

her after her death) used to stand in prayer and recite for her in

Ramadan.