For the Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’ah (Ulama e Deoband)
Every HADITH is not a SUNNAH, but every SUNNAH is highly likely to be a HADITH…
although it is possible that some SUNNAH may not be documented…
but the actions and practices of the early Muslims, the actual SALAF, tell us this was or is a SUNNAH…
In addition, for the Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’ah (Ulama e Deoband), not every HADITH can be taken LITERALLY. Every hadith must be taken in the context of other hadiths and the amal (practice) of the actual Salaf, the early generation of Muslims, i.e., Noble Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhu (رضي الله عنهم), Tabaeen, and Taba Tabaeen.
Furthermore, every hadith in Bukhari or Muslim (books most commonly quoted by Salafis) is not a pillar of Islam, and everyone has to believe it the way that Imam Bukhari & Imam Muslim have understood it to be. But this is not the case with the early actual Salaf.
Early Muslims and scholars, like Imam Abu Hanifa, always looked to the Quran, Hadith, and the Amal (actions) of the early Muslims to make rulings. There was always a wider context, rather than just a single narration of a hadith (which is the approach of 20th-century Salafis).
Hadith 1
Narrated Abu Salama bin `Abdur Rahman:
I asked ‘Aisha “How was the prayer of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) in Ramadan?” She replied, “He did not pray more than eleven rakat in Ramadan or in any other month. He used to pray four rak`at —- let alone their beauty and length—-and then he would pray four —-let alone their beauty and length —- and then he would pray three rak`at (witr).” She added, “I asked, ‘O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! Do you sleep before praying the witr?’ He replied, ‘O `Aisha! My eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.”
Sahih Bukhari: Hadith No: 248
Who is Hazrat Aisha bint Abu Bakr? She is the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr, the first caliph in Islam, and the wife of the Messenger (ﷺ).
What was the methodology of prayer? Hazrat Aisha bint Abi Bakr (radiAllahu anha) said the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) prayed in units of four rakat.
Where was the prayer done? Hazrat Aisha (radiAllahu anha) is the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). It is highly likely that she is narrating the prayers of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in his home.
Now, why is the above hadith problematic for 20th-century Salafi Islam?
Firstly, if we accept that the hadith is for Ramadan and Tarawih, as Salafis state, then it mentions 11 rakats.
Then there is another Hadith by Hazrat Aisha (radiAllahu anha) that mentions 13 rakats.
Guess which one do 20th-century Salafis adhere to? (It’s always the one with fewer rakats and ibadat.)
You would think that 20th-century Salafis would prolong their prayers and rakats during the month of Ramadan to maximise spiritual rewards and forgiveness. (Instead of maximizing ibadat and rakats, they put in extra effort to sow discord within the ummah by focusing on those who wish to read 20 and adhere to the Prophet’s and Sahabah’s sunnah.)
Back to the Sahih Bukhari: Hadith No: 248 and 11 Rakats Hadith.
So does that mean the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (ﷺ), prayed 8 Tarawih and 3 Witr, which is 11?
This practice is problematic for Salafis, as they state the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (ﷺ), used to pray 1 rakat WITR.
8 Tarawih and 1 Witr are 9 Rakats (IT DOES NOT ADD UP TO 11).
or
Does that mean the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (ﷺ), prayed 10 Tarawih and 1 Witr, which is 11?
Then it is also problematic, because if we accept one (1) Witr, then it would imply that Trawih is 10 rak’ahs.
For the sake of this hadith and this article, I request my readers to attend a Salafi masjid for Isha prayer and observe how many rakats Salafis read for Witr. I can guarantee that 99% of Salafis pray one (1) rak’ah.
So if Salafis read one (1) Witr and 8 rakats for Tarawih, then the total number of rakats is 9, not 11.
The maths simply doesn’t add up due to a misinterpretation of the Sahih Bukhari Hadith No. 248 above.
A hadith meant for the tahajjud prayer is used for tarawih, which is an entirely different prayer. This is an outcome of using a hadith without context and ignoring the prayers and actions of the actual Salaf, the early Muslims.
Tahajjud vs Tarawih – Are they the same prayer or different? For Salafis, it’s the same prayer with different names, which adds further complexity to the hadith of Hazrat Aisha (radiAllahu anha) and 11 rakats.
Allah is Al-Wahhab (the supreme bestower of gifts without expecting return) and Al-Mu’ti (the giver of all things). Surely in the most special of months, the month of Ramadan, Allah would simply substitute tahajjud with tarawih; such a substitution goes against reasoning and common sense.
Ramadan is special: it’s the month when the Quran is revealed, when a special prayer (TARAWIH) is established, and when prayer rewards are multiplied in both quantity and quality.
For Salafis, the Hadith of Hazrat Aisha (radiAllahu anha) in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith No. 248) applies to both Tahajjud and Tarawih, depending on whether it is Ramadan or not.
So, for 11 months, if you are Salafi, you read Tahajjud, i.e., 11 rakats, and when Ramadan comes, Tahajjud magically becomes ‘Tarawih’.
And during Ramadan, you would STOP tahajjud and START reading tarawih (not both, since they are the same). Since you only read tarawih during Ramadan, you will perform only 11 rakats and receive the reward for 11.
However, if you are part of the Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’ah (Ulama e Deoband), you should perform 11 rakats of tahajud in the latter part of the night during Ramadan and also complete 20 rakats of tarawih with Isha Salah, receiving rewards for a total of 31 rakats (11+20). Triple that of Salafis.
In addition, the majority of Scholars of Hadith have included the hadith of Hazrat Aisha (radiAllahu anha) – Sahih Bukhari: Hadith No: 248 in the chapters referring to Tahajjud.
In the Sahih Bukhari: Hadith No: 248, the tahajjud prayer is meant,” stated Shaykh Shamsud-Din al-Kermani, the learned traditionalist and commentator of al-Sahih al-Bukhari (d. 786 AH; Rahimahullah).
The hadith from Aisha has been included by Imam al-Muhaddithin al-Bukhari (Rahimahullah) in at least two sections of his Sahih: ’21: The tahajjud Prayer at Night’ (see Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 2, chapter 15, no. 248, English ed’n) and ’32: The Book of taraweeh Prayers’ (see Sahih al-Bukhari, 3/230, pg. 128 English ed’n). This statement indicates that Imam Bukhari thought the prayer Aisha stated was solely for tahajjud. Since the tahajjud prayer is also said during Ramadan, Imam Bukhari cited the same hadith under “The Book of Taraweeh Prayers,” but only Allah knows for sure.
Why do Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’ah (Ulama e Deoband) read 20 Rakat Tarawih?
There is no such thing as 8 rakat tarawih; the hadith used to prove 8 is actually for Tahajjud, not tarawih. The hadiths for 20 rakat tarawih are plentiful and authentic.
The Companions (Noble Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhu (رضي الله عنهم)) reached an ijma (consensus) on the tarawih, which consists of twenty rak’ahs. “The Companions (Noble Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhu (رضي الله عنهم) had no dispute regarding this,” said Hafiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr. “The Companions (Noble Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhu (رضي الله عنهم) made ijma on this during the time of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), according to Allamah Ibn Qudamah. (Al-Mughni). “They (the ‘ulama) have considered the approval of the Companions [when Sayyiduna ‘Umar did so] as ijma”, said Hafiz Abu Zur’ah Al-‘Iraqi. According to Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reached a consensus (ijma) regarding the twenty rak’ahs. On this matter, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and numerous others have asserted the ijma’ of the Companions.
