The taraweeh prayer in the earliest days.

What is the history of the Taraweeh prayer that we perform in the month of Ramadan? It started when the Prophet Muhammad came out on one night in the month of Ramadan and he led his companions for the Taraweeh night prayer for several evenings. And on each night the numbers began to grow. Then on the third or fourth night, he didn't come out to them. And when the morning came, he said to them, qadra aitu aladi sanatum walam yamnani minal khuruji ilaykum illa ani khashitu antufrawa alaykum. He said that I've seen what you're doing. You're praying behind me. That's great. But he said, what prevented me from coming out is the fear that it would perhaps become an obligation upon you from his mercy. So we do have a precedent of the Prophet Muhammad leading the Muslims in Taraweeh in Ramadan, how many units were the Prophet's night prayer? Our mother Aisha, she answers this. And she said. The Prophet never prayed more than 11 units in Ramadan or outside of Ramadan. That was usually his night prayer. 11 units. In other reports, it was narrated that the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi WasAllam would pray 13 units, so 11, and then additional two light units that he would introduce his night prayer with. So this was the way of the Prophet Muhammad during the night prayer, eight units and then an additional three waqaat or units as witten. And it continued to be the case that the companions performed the Taraweeh prayer every Ramadan as separate groups in the masjid, whilst others, they prayed individually. So they were scattered all over the Masjid. And that continued to be the case during the life of the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam and then during the khilafah of Abu Bakr. And when Umar radiallahu anhu became Khalifa, he once entered the Masjid and he saw people praying separately. And he said, He says that it would be better if we gathered all of these Muslims to pray behind one imam. And then he appointed Ubay IBN Kaab as their imam. And in essence, he had restored what the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam had initiated when he started leading them in the Tarawih prayer. And now that he died, there was no more fear that it can become an obligation. And this act of Umar, this decision of Umar was approved by the consensus of the Companions. So no one can ignorantly claim that this is a bida, an innovation From Umar's side, the companions night prayer was so long that by the time the night had ended they would be leaning on sticks and they would end their salah with just enough time for suhoor, the pre dawn meal. So they would perform 11 units of prayer, eight and then they would do an additional three as wither. People struggled to keep up with this because of the longevity of the recitation. So they decided that the amount of recitation would be reduced and it would be compensated for by increasing the number of units to 20. So that's where the 20 came about from. And again people struggled to keep up with this. So the number of units was increased further to 39 units including the witter prayer. So 36 plus 3 nafih whose base was the city of Medina. He said that. My experience with people meaning in Medina was that they were performing 39 units which included three units as witter. So this was the way of the people of Medina. A few years after the death of the Prophet Sallallaho alaihi wasallam. In fact, when the governor of Medina contacted Imam Marik for the purpose of, you know, reducing the number of units for the night prayer, 39 units, Imam Malik prohibited him from doing this. And he said, He says, this is what I found people doing, like don't change it. And this is the old and traditional way of the people, 39 units including the witter. So by the way, if Imam Malik Subhanallah is saying that this is the old way, although he himself is a very early Muslim born In the year 93 after the Hijra, then it shows you that it was a very early tradition. Now many Masajid mosques have opted for the 8 units that are concluded with the 3 units as with to be in line with the prophetic way. But before we start pointing fingers at each other and starting completely unnecessary battles, to what extent are we actually following the Sunnah? In other words, is being upon the prophetic way just about imitating the number of the Prophet's units in Taraweeh? Or does it also include the imitation of the quality of those units as well? I mean, we leave home for the Taraweeh prayer, we get back to our house an hour later, and your wife, she's like, mashallah, you finished already? And you say Alhamdulillah. Yes, we applied the Sunnah of the Prophet. Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. We prayed eight units and we did three as watr. Yeah, the Sunnah is beautiful, no doubt. But is this the Sunnah Is this the entire picture of the Sunnah? Is the prophetic way just a number, or is it also a description of quality as well? And that's why our mother Aisha, she said, describing his night prayer, she said, he will perform four units of night prayer, but don't ask about their beauty and length. Then he'd pray another four. Then he'd perform another four units, but don't ask about their beauty and length. Then he would conclude with three. So, yeah, the best form of night prayer is that which the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam performed with respect to how many he performed eight plus three. But it's also about how he performed them as well. So for those who can't do this, I mean, to pray this type of length of salah, okay, there is manoeuvrability. There's no problem there. But the point of this recording is not to argue a case for a particular number of units for the night prayer. That's not my issue here. The purpose I want to establish is for us to carry ourselves in a more humble fashion towards our brothers and sisters who are doing things differently, but still within the Sunni paradigm.