Correcting mistakes from a WhatsApp forward message on ‘Fardh Salah and Tahajjud’!
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
الحمد لله و الصلاة و السلام على رسول الله و على آله و صحبه أجمعين
The message below was shared on social media highlighting the virtues of Tahajjud over Fard Salah:
>>>Do you know the difference between Farz ( Obligatory) Prayers and Tahajjud Prayer?
I never read before better than this fazilat of Tahajjud , it shook my whole body . Wish all of you read till the end.
INVITATION CARD FROM
CHERISHER OF ALL
Once I was preparing for Tahajjud and this came to my mind out of nowhere that
Farz prayers’ calls are given in Human voice by Muazzin, while Tahajjud call is given by Allah Himself.
The call for Farz prayer is heard by all human beings, while the call for Tahajjud is felt by few selected.
Call for Farz prayer says come for prayer come for prayer (Hayya Alassalaah…….), while call for Tahajjud says, is there any seeker I give ( Hal min Saael, fa oatee)
Most of the followers pray obligatory Farz prayer , While tahajjud is performed by selected few whom Allah
chooses.
In Farz Salaat, possibility of Riya is there, may be not purely for Allah with ikhlaas , but Tahajjud is prayed alone quietly only Allah knows.
In Farz Salaat greater possibility of deviation of mind, thought and heart as one frees himself from business of duniya, while Tahajjud is away from routine tension of duniya and only thinking of Aakhirat.
Farz Salaat one May think of meeting some one in masjid, and may be someone involve in other talks, but Tahajjud is meeting and talking only Allah and talk over all your problems and ask His mercy.
Dua after Farz May or may not be granted, while Tahajjud dua is promised to be fulfilled.
Lastly, Tahajjud is purely a special Taufeeq from Allah, whom He wants to listen and likes the crying and asking.
Glad tidings for those who have this INVTATION RABBAANI every night.
(End of the message).
Before writing a corrective note for this let me remind all of you that Tahajjud Salah (Qiyam Ul Layl) is a very virtuous Salah and no one disputes it. The message below is only to rectify some issues in the forwarded message.
1) The above message says that the Fajr Adhan is heard by all Muslims whereas the Tahajjud ‘Call’ is heard by a select few, and that the Tahajjud call is given by Allah.
This is not right. Allah doesn’t give the Adhan for Tahajjud. Allah ‘calls out’ in a way that ‘we can physically not hear’ the call but we believe that He does call out. Allah doesn’t call out for the entire period of Tahajjud, but according to the majority of the narrations in the ‘last third of the night’. And this is not an Adhan.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Our Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, comes down to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night is left, and He says: ‘Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1145) and Muslim (758).
Note-The fact that all Muslims hear the Adhan shows how important the 5 Fardh Salahs are.
2) The message says ‘Most of the followers pray obligatory Farz prayer , While tahajjud is performed by selected few whom Allah chooses.’
Surely Tahajjud is a virtuous Salah which only a few people pray. But if someone doesn’t pray it at all, that doesn’t make him a lesser pious and practicing Muslim.
If a Muslim never ever prays the Tahajjud, but he does what is Wajib (compulsory/obligatory) upon him properly and keeps away from what is Haraam, he will surely enter Jannah.
On the authority of Abu Abdullah Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansaree that:
A man questioned the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “Do you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers, fast in Ramadhan, treat as lawful that which is halal, and treat as forbidden that which is haram, and *do not increase upon that [in voluntary good deeds]*, then I shall enter Paradise?” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “Yes.”
[Sahih Muslim, Arbain An-Nawawi #22]
The above Hadith shows us how important it is to stick to the Fardh Salah even if one is not adding any extra prayers to it.
3) The message claims- ‘ In Farz Salaat, possibility of Riya is there, may be not purely for Allah with ikhlaas , but Tahajjud is prayed alone quietly only Allah knows.’
These claims make it seem that Tahajjud can not be attacked by Riya (showing off), whereas the one who wants to show off his good deeds may do it at night and yet boast about it in the morning. And this part of the message makes a silent assertion that Fardh Salah are of a lower value than Tahajjud.
It was narrated from Abu Bishr Ja’far bin Abi Wahshiyyah that:
He heard Humaid bin ‘Abdur-Rahman say: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory (fard) prayers is prayer at night and the best fasting after the month of Ramadan is Al-Muharram.'” Shu’bah bin Al-Hajjaj narrated it in Mursal form.
[Sunan An-Nasai 1614]
The Fardh Salah is rewarded 27 times more if prayed in ‘public’, i.e. in congregation.
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “The prayer in congregation is twenty seven times superior to the prayer offered by person alone.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari 645 and also in Sahih Muslim]
The Nawafil (extra/superogatory) prayers are rewarded 25 times more for praying secretively.
The Prophet ﷺ said: The voluntary prayer of a man (in a place) where no person can see him equal to twenty-five times his prayer where people can see him.
[Musnad Aboo Ya’ala, Hadeeth 3821. Shaykh Al-Albanee graded this narration as authentic.]
Thus every act of worship has its place.
4) The author writes- ‘Dua after Farz May or may not be granted, while Tahajjud dua is promised to be fulfilled.’
This is not true. The Fard Salah by itself has many places where we are very close, rather closest to Allah, and we can supplicate to Him. If Allah wills, your Dua after/during Fardh Salah will also surely be granted.
Ex.
Duas during Adhan:
Sahl ibn Sa’d reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Two supplications are not rejected, or seldom rejected: the supplication at the call to prayer, and the supplication at a time of danger when people are battling each other.” [Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2540]
Duas between Adhan and Iqamah:
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Supplication is not rejected between the call to prayer (Adhan) and its commencement (Iqamah).” They said, “What should we say, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Ask Allah for wellness in the world and in the Hereafter.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3594]
Duas during Sujood:
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The servant is closest to his Lord during prostration, so increase your supplications therein.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 482]
Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O people, there are no more glad tidings of prophecy except righteous dreams seen by a Muslim, or he is made to see. Verily, I have been prohibited from reciting the Quran while bowing or prostrating in prayer. As for bowing, you should exalt the Lord Almighty. *As for prostration, you should exert yourself in supplication, for it is worthy for you to be answered*.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 479)
Duas in Tashahhud of the obligatory Salah:
Abu Umamah reported: It was said, “O Messenger of Allah, which supplication will be heard best?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “One in the last part of the night and after the prescribed prayers.”
[Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3499, Sahih li Ghayrihi (authentic due to external evidence) according to Shaikh Al-Albani]
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you recites the Tashahhud, let him seek refuge with Allaah from four things – from the punishment of Hell, the punishment of the grave, the trials of life and death, and the evils of the Dajjaal, then let him pray for himself for whatever he wants.” (Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 1293).
5) The author concludes- ‘Lastly, Tahajjud is purely a special Taufeeq from Allah, whom He wants to listen and likes the crying and asking.’
Even praying the 5 Fardh Salah at their proper timing and in the Jama’at in the Masjid is a special and favoured blessing by Allah. Praying in the Masjid is so rewarding that one would crawl to go to the Masjid if he knew the rewards. It is more rewarding than Tahajjud. A peraon not praying the Fardh Salah is also liable to be punished by Allah.
Abu Bakrah said that the Prophet said: “Whoever prays Fajr in congregation will be under the protection of Allaah ”
al-Haythami said (2/92): Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and its men are the men of saheeh. Al-Mundhiri said in al-Targheeb: the men of its isnaad are the men of saheeh. Al-Albaani said: It is saheeh because of corroborating evidence. See: Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 461.
Muslim (657) narrated that Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays Fajr is under the protection of Allaah, so do not fall short with regard to the rights of Allaah, for anyone who does that, Allaah will seize him and will throw him on his face into the Fire of Hell.”
The reward of praying Isha and Fajr in congregation!
In Saheeh Muslim (656) it is narrated from ‘Uthmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays ‘Isha’ in congregation, it is as if he spent half the night in prayer, and whoever prays Fajr in congregation, it is as if he spent the whole night in prayer.”
Al-Bukhaari (615) and Muslim (437) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If they knew what there is (of reward) in ‘Isha’ and Fajr prayer, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.”
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: To attend Fajr prayer in congregation is dearer to me than spending the night in prayer. Al-Istidhkaar (2/147). [Sahih according to Shaikh Al-Albani in Saheeh At-Targheeb 423]
The Asr Salah:
The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘’Whoever misses the Asr prayer [i.e. intentionally] until its time elapses, it is as if he has lost his family and his wealth’’. [Al-Bukhari 552]
The 5 prayers:
Abu Hurairahu (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, “Say, if there were a river at the door of one of you in which he takes a bath five times a day, would any soiling remain on him?” They replied, “No soiling would left on him.” He (ﷺ) said, ” That is the five (obligatory) Salat (prayers). Allah obliterates all sins as a result of performing them.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Punishment for abandoning obligatory prayers purposely:
It was narrated from Samurah ibn Jundub that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned a dream that he had seen and said: “Last night two people came to me and said, ‘Let’s go,’ so I went with them. We came to a man who was lying down, with another man standing over him, holding a big rock. He threw the rock at the man’s head, smashing it. The rock rolled away, and the one who had thrown it followed it, and picked it up. By the time he came back to the man, his head had been restored to its former state. Then he (the one who had thrown the rock) did the same as he had done before. I said to (my two companions), ‘Subhaan Allaah! What is this?’ They said to me: Move on…”
At the end of the hadeeth, he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “They said to me: ‘The first man whom you saw with his head being smashed with the rock, is the man who learned the Qur’aan then abandoned it, and he went to sleep, neglecting the obligatory prayers.’”
[Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6640]
6) A big mistake by which the author began-
‘INVITATION CARD FROM CHERISHER OF ALL’
The author fancily writes that this message is from ‘Cherisher of All’ (i.e.Allah), my dear brothers how can you write and attribute a message to Allah. We need to be very careful- it is not allowed to write good things and said that Allah said this or the Messenger said this.
Allah, the Most High said:
And if he (Muhammad) had forged a false saying concerning Us (Allaah),We surely would have seized him by his right hand (or with power and might), And then We certainly would have cut off his life artery (aorta),And none of you could have withheld Us from (punishing) him” [al-Haaqqah 69:44-47]
“Verily, it is indeed Satan that makes you do evil and say things about Allah (or His deen) of which you have no proper knowledge [Al-Baqarah 2:169]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Telling lies about me is not like telling lies about anyone else. Whoever tells lies about me deliberately let him take his place in Hell.”
[Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1229. It was also narrated by Muslim in the introduction to his Saheeh collection.]
As an ending note: I advise all my Muslim brothers and sisters to stop sharing and posting every other sweet or emotional message found on social media. Please verify the information with a pious Muslim scholar or a student of knowledge before sharing and forwarding it.
Allah said:
“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (Al-Hujuraat: 6)
Please note: This message is not meant to belittle or debase the Tahajjud Salah. It has been intended to show the great virtue of the 5 Fardh Salahs over the Tahajjud Salah. There are numerous authentic Ahadith on the virtues of Qiyam Ul Layl (Tahajjud) Walhamdulillah and those are enough as an encouragement for the Ummah.
May Allah grant all of us the Toufeeq to pray all our obligatory Salahs perfectly and also pray the Tahajjud Salah earnestly. Aameen.
-Abu Muaaz Mohammed Manna
23rd Oct 2019.
Saheehus-Seerah 