Qiyam Ramadan Fadluhu wa Kayfiyat Ada'ihi wa Mashruiyat al-Jamaa fihi wa maahu Bahth Qayyim an al-Itikaf
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Islāmīyah
Qiyam Ramadan: Fadluhu wa-Kayfiyyat Ada'ihi wa-Mashru'iyat al-Jama'ah Fihi wa-Ma'ahu Bahth Qayyim 'an al-I'tikaf (The Night Prayer of Ramadan: Its Virtue, Manner of Performance, and the Legality of Congregation in It, with a Valuable Study on I'tikaf) is a legal and hadith treatise by the Syrian hadith scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) examining the rulings of the nocturnal Ramadan prayers (Tarawih) and spiritual retreat (I'tikaf) .
Subject and Structure
The book is structured into two main parts: a primary treatise on the nocturnal prayer of Ramadan, and an attached standalone study dedicated to the rulings of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) .
In the primary section, al-Albani outlines the virtues of the night prayer in Ramadan and addresses the legal status of performing it in congregation . He establishes that praying Tarawih in congregation is an established Sunnah rather than an innovation, as the Prophet Muhammad prayed it with his companions over several nights and only ceased doing so out of concern that it might be made obligatory upon his community . This concern was resolved with the completion of Islamic law upon the Prophet's death .
The work also details the specific manners and textual formats (kayfiyyat) recorded for the prayer . These include performing thirteen rak'ahs beginning with two light units, eleven rak'ahs with a salam after every two units followed by a single unit of witr, or sets of four rak'ahs followed by three . Al-Albani argues that the Prophet's consistent practice was eleven rak'ahs, evaluating the narration attributing twenty rak'ahs to the Prophet as very weak, and maintains that adhering to the Prophetic number is the optimal and prescribed manner .
The appended research on i'tikaf addresses the juristic conditions and valid settings for retreat, including the verification of narrations such as لا اعتكاف إلا في مسجد جماعة ("There is no i'tikaf except in a mosque where congregational prayer is held") .
Publication
The work was published as a single volume in paperback format spanning 46 pages by al-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah in Amman, Jordan, with its first edition appearing in 1421 AH .
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