The Taraweeh of the Successors

20 Raka’at of Taraweeh – Statement by Ibn Abi Mulaika (May Allah shower His mercy on him)   Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abdullah bin Umar's (May Allah be well pleased with him) freed slave Hadhrat Nafe’ (May Allah be well pleased with him):  Ibn Abi Mulaika used to lead us in 20 Raka’at of Taraweeh and used to recite Holy Quran worth Surah Fatir in 1 Raka’at.   (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaiba, Vol 2, Pg No: 285, Bab 227, Hadith No: 4)   20 Raka’at of Taraweeh - Practice of Hadhrat Ali bin Rabee‘a (May Allah shower His mercy on him)   It is given in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaiba:   Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Sa‘eed bin ‘Ubaid (May Allah be well pleased with him): In the month of Ramadhan, Hadhrat Ali bin Rabee’a (May Allah be well pleased with him) used to lead the Muslims in 20 Raka’at of Taraweeh with 5 breaks.   (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaiba, Vol 2, Pg No: 285, Bab 227, Hadith No: 11)   Hadith narrated by Hadhrat ‘Ali bin Rabee‘a are present in Sihah Sittah.  Muhaddith Ibn Sa‘ad writes in Tabaqaat that Hadhrat ‘Ali bin Rabee‘a is a reliable narrator and a famous Taba‘ee.  He is a student of Hadhrat ‘Ali, Hadhrat ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar and Hadhrat Zaid bin Arqam (May Allah be well pleased with them).   Imam Dhahabi (May Allah shower His mercy on him) has written in Siyar A‘alaam Un Nubala that Hadhrat ‘Ali bin Rabee‘a is among the scholars of Islam.  His narrations are on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Ali, Hadhrat Asma, Hadhrat Mugheera and Hadhrat ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (May Allah be well pleased with them).  Yahya Bin Sa‘eed (May Allah shower His mercy on him) has declared him reliable narrator.   The teacher of Imam Bukhari's (May Allah shower His mercy on him) teachers, the Hadith-Expert Hadhrat Abdul Razzaq (May Allah shower His mercy on him), 2496 of whose narrated Hadith are present in Sihah Sittah, Musnad Imam Ahmad bin Hambal and Sunan Daraqutni, writes in his Musannaf with his own chain of authority:   Translation: Imam Abdul Razaq (May Allah shower His mercy on him) has narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Sufyan Sauri (May Allah be well pleased with him) and he has narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Ismail bin Abdul Malik that Hadhrat Sa'eed bin Jubair (May Allah be well pleased with him) used to lead us in Salaat in the month of Ramadhan and used to recite the Quran in 2 different ways, one night according to the method of Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud May Allah be well pleased with him) and would lead us in 20 Raka’at of Taraweeh with 5 breaks.   (Musannaf Abdur Razzaq, Hadith No: 7749)   Hadhrat Sa’eed bin Jubair (May Allah be well pleased with him) who is among the jurists from among the Successors.  His narrations are present in Sihah Sittah.  Imam Suyuti has written in Tabaqat Ul Huffaz:   Translation: When the people of Kufa came to Hadhrat ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abbas (May Allah be well pleased with them) to ask a question about Islamic rules, he would say:  Is Sa‘eed bin Jubair not there among you?  Hadhrat ‘Amr bin Maimoon narrates on the authority of his father:  Indeed!  Sa‘eed bin Jubair has passed away and there is none on earth who does not have a need from his knowledge.  (Tabaqaat Ul Huffaz, Al Tabaqat Uth Thalitha)   Imam Badruddin ‘Aini (May Allah shower His mercy on him) writes some names of the Successors as an example, who held Taraweeh to be 20 Raka’at.   Translation: Now those Successors who acknowledged Taraweeh to be 20 Raka’at.  Their names are as follows:  Hadhrat Shaitar bin Shakal, Hadhrat Ibn Abi Mulaika, Hadhrat Harith Hamdani, Hadhrat ‘Ata bin Abi Ribah, Hadhrat Abul Bakhtari, Hadhrat Hasan Basri’s brother Hadhrat Sa‘eed bin Abul Hasan, Hadhrat Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bkr, Hadhrat ‘Imran ‘Abdi, may Allah shower His mercy on all of them.   In the previous lines, the Traditions of the Successors have been related.  They offered 20 Raka’at of Taraweeh and that they saw others offering 20 Raka’at of Taraweeh, who were naturally Companions and other Successors.   Successors are those pious elders who learnt directly from the Companions, took the knowledge of Islam from them, saw their customs and practices with their own eyes and acted upon Islam as per what they saw.  For anybody who wants to accept truth, the examples of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), the Companions and the Successors are enough.

Dr. Mufti Syed Ziauddin Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Qadri

Shaykh Ul Fiqh, Jamia Nizamia; Founder - Director

Mufti Maulana Syed Zia Uddin Naqshbandi Quadri

Shaik-ul-Fiqh - Jamia Nizamia

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The Taraweeh of the Successors