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Taraaweeh is the prayer that is prayed in Ramadhaan at night after praying Ishaa'. It is a confirmed Sunnah of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) and a regularly established practiced of the Sahaabah.
It is called 'Taraaweeh' because the Sahaabah used to make their prayers very long in Ramadhaan, eager to please Allaah and do their best to earn Jannah.
And when they got tired, they would rest (istaraahu) after every two or four rak'ahs.
The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Whoever prays qiyaam (Taraaweeh) in Ramadhaan out of faith and in the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven."
(al-Bukhaari, Muslim)
Al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab said:
"Note that in the month of Ramadhaan the believer engages in jihad al-nafs on two fronts: during the day by fasting and during the night by praying qiyaam. Whoever combines these two types of jihad will be given reward without limit."
#Don't make it more important than Ishaa'.
People are very keen to read the Taraaweeh prayer, which is very good, of course.
That is to be highly encouraged.
But the problem arises if we give things more importance than what Allaah places on it.
Some people will give so much importance to Taraaweeh that they make it even more important than the Ishaa' prayer.
They may miss Ishaa', that's acceptable to them.
But they will never, ever miss Taraaweeh.
And we all see,and know, so many people doing that.
They never pray or maybe pray occasionally here and there.
We never see them at the masjid, not even for Jumu'ah.
And come Ramadhaan, they will come every single day to the masjid, even if they are tired, even if it is late.
But they will not miss Taraaweeh.
Or they may even be regular in their daily prayers in Ramadhaan but after Ramadhaan is over, they stop praying altogether, although they are very, very regular and very keen to pray Taraaweeh.
Now, please don't get me wrong.
I'm not discouraging them from coming to Taraaweeh.
At least they are making the effort, alhamdulillaah.
It becomes an issue when Taraaweeh takes precedence and greater importance than Fardh prayers.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have to keep our priorities straight.
Remember that Taraaweeh prayer is MUSTAHABB and recommended while Ishaa prayer is FARDH.
Allaah will NOT PUNISH US if we don't pray Taraaweeh.
But Allaah WILL ask us if we don't pray our FARDH prayers.
The questioning will be about the Faraidh, the obligations, NOT the voluntary or nawaafil Ibaadaat.
#Missing Taraaweeh and not praying it at all.
Indeed, Taraaweeh is one of the greatest acts of worship by means of which we can come closer to Allaah, our Lord, beg Him for forgiveness and hope for His Mercy, all the while earning immense reward from Him.
Yet, some people don't understand the virtues of this beautiful prayer and have a very casual attitude towards it.
They either just sit at home doing nothing, although they are awake, or they spend their time at the gym, or shopping, eating, playing, watching TV or movies, etc. and miss out on this golden chance.
And although, we will not be sinful if we don't pray Taraaweeh, what a waste of abeautiful opportunity!
Here Allaah is handing it out to us by the handfuls!
He's showering us with blessings upon blessings...mercy upon mercy....forgiveness upon forgiveness!
And we just sit at home and let this chance of a lifetime pass by?
What could be a greater loss than that?!!
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~maryambintisa
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Ramadan Tips, Plans, & Challenge.
Non-Fiction"By Allah, if it was said to the people of the grave, 'make a wish!' they would wish for one day of Ramaḍān." - Ibn al-Jawzī (raḥimahullāh) This book's aim is to make the best out of our Ramadan.
