Reflect with me—may Allah have mercy on you—upon this contradiction found among some of the later jurists of the Ahlul-Hadith:
📌If they wish to be rigid on the issue of restricting the Ramadan night prayers (Qiyam) to eight [rak’ahs], they declare the report of the Medinan Successor (Tabi’i), Yazid ibn Ruman, to be weak: “The people used to perform twenty-three rak’ahs during Ramadan in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab.”
📌Yes, Yazid did not witness the time of Umar, but he is a Medinan and a client of the family of az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. He narrates from Abdullah and Urwah, the two sons of az-Zubayr. Thus, he is recounting what was famous and practiced by the people since the days of the Companions.
📌Furthermore, there are numerous reports from the Tabain (students of the Sahabah) that support the prevalence of this practice since the days of the Companions, including the report of the Meccan Successor and Jurist, ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah, who said: “I witnessed the people praying twenty-three rak’ahs, including the Witr.”
📌Yet, they disregarded the reports of these two Successors of the Two Holy Sanctuaries—one Meccan and the other Medinan—while at the same time:
📌If they wish to be lenient on the issue of paying Zakat al-Fitr in cash, they cling to the report of the Kufan Successor, Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i: “I witnessed them giving dirhams as the value of food for the Sadaqah of Ramadan (Zakat al-Fitr).”
📌Thus, the witnessing of a Kufan Tabai regarding the practice of the people of Kufa is cited as evidence to oppose the authentic, explicit Prophetic command: “(He) enjoined… a Sa’,” whereas the witnessing of the two Tabain of the Two Holy Sanctuaries regarding the practice of the people of the Two Holy Sanctuaries is not cited as evidence in an issue regarding which no Prophetic text exists that stipulates a restriction on the number [of rak’ahs].
So take heed, O people of insight!
(Translated from Arabic to English. Originally posted on Ustadh Nabeel Nisaar Sheikh’s Facebook account.)
Saheehus-Seerah 