Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother AUA

Below I have pasted a forward that i received a couple of days back. Though the article is quite interesting, I would like to know the source and whether this document, "Rewards of Taraweeh" is authentic. I must admit that two people, to whom I had forwarded this document, understood the importance of Taraweeh and are trying to offer the prayer more regularly (after reading this document-which is a good thing.

If this document was not aunthentic, do you think I would be punished for forwarding this information to my other brothers and sisters?

A response to my query would be appreciated.

The Document is:

Assalamu Alikum brothers and sisters,

REWARDS FOR TARAWEEH DURING RAMADAAN

1st Night: Almighty Allah forgives all the sins of a momin.

2nd Night: Your sins including your (momin) Father's and Mother's sinsare forgiven.

3rd Night: Below the Arash (Allah's throne) there an angel proclaims, "OMomin, make good

deeds with sincerity, Allah has forgiven your pastsins!"

4th Night: You are awarded the sawaab of reading the Thaurat,Injeel,Zaboor and the Quran Majid.

5th Night: You get sawaab equal to that which you would gain if you readyour namaaz

(prayers)in Masjid Haram, Medina Muna-wara and Masjid Aksa.

6th Night: You gain the sawaab of the Tawaaf made by the 70 000 angelsmade at Baitul-Mamoor on the 7th sky.

7th Night: You receive the sawaab of those good people who helped Moosa A.S. when he fought Firon and Haman.

8th Night: The reward of the 8th Tharawee are equal to the sawaabawarded to Ebrahim A.S.

9th Night: The rewards of this night of Tharawee are equivalent to thesawaab awarded to our Holy Prophet Mohammed S.A.W. (P.B.O.H).

10th Night: Allah proclaims for you all the best in the world.

11th Night: The reward of this night is that when a momin leaves this world, he goes with faith ("Imaan").

12th Night: On the day of resurrection you will appear with a face withso much lustre ("noor") on it, as much as the lustre of the 14th moon.

13th Night: On the day of resurrection you will be protected from evil.

14th Night: On the day of resurrection the Malaaika (Angels) will bewitnesses for the Tharawee you are performing. On this evidence Allahwill grant your entry into Paradise without account.

15th Night: All the Malaaikas, the Hoorlaa and the Arsh-wa-Kursie (Allah's throne), plead for you before Allah for his mercy.

16th Night: Allah gives instructions: 1. To free you from hell; 2. To allow you to enter paradise.

17th Night: Allah grants you the sawaab of the Ambiaas.

18th Night: On this night an angel announces that Allah is happy withyou, and with your parents.

19th Night: The reward for this night is that Allah makes your position greater in paradise.

20th Night: On this night Allah rewards you by granting to you thesawaab of the martyred and the pious.

21st Night: Allah Ta'aala on this night builds a house with lustre("noor") for you in paradise.

22nd Night: On the resurrection ground you will arrive duly freed fromsorrow and worry.

23rd Night: On this night Allah makes a garden for you in paradise.

24th Night: On this night Allah grants twenty-four duas (wishes).

25th Night: Allah lifts his punishment from your grave.

26th Night: Allah Ta'aala increases for you the sawaab of 40 years.

27th Night: The rewards for this night of Tharawee are that you will beable to cross the Pul-Sirat (bridge) like lightning.

28th Night: Your position in paradise is increased by one stage.

29th Night: Allah Ta'aala grants the sawaab of 1000 "makbul"(accepted)Haj.

30th Night: By performing this night of Tharawee you would be one of themany persons who, on

the day of resurrection will hear Allah Ta'aala sayin paradise, "Eat whichever fruit you like to eat, bath with the waterof Salaalil; and drink the Kauser water! I am thy Lord and you are myperson!"

Salaams

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Rewards of Tarawih prayers

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His 

forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Whoever compiled the above quoted list which declares the rewards for the tarawih prayer for each night of Ramadan, compiled it from himself; and there is absolutely nothing in the Quran and Sunnah listing such rewards! And when the rewards are not listed from the guidance of Truth of Allah and His Messenger (saws), then it has to be false and must be immediately rejected by the believers.

The Tarawih prayers of Ramadan are non-obligatory or voluntary (nafl) prayers. If one prays them, he/she will receive a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin.

The great rewards of praying the Tarawih are mentioned in the following authentic hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saws):

Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) would encourage the believers to perform the special prayers (tarawih) during Ramadan without commanding them as obligatory and he (saws) said: "Whoever prays during the nights of Ramadan [tarawih] with a firm belief and hoping for reward, all of his previous sins would be forgiven."

Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah, Tirmidhi.

Whoever compiled and invented the above list of specifying the rewards of praying Tarawih for each night, must fear Allah Subhanah and seek forgiveness for this false compilation; for to ascribe something falsely to Allah and His Messenger (saws) is indeed a grave sin in Islam!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 17:

Who can be a greater sinner than the one who himself forges a lie and ascribes it to Allah, or falsifies His real Revelations? Indeed, the criminals can never attain true success.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.109 Narrated by Salama

I heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "Whoever (intentionally) ascribes to me what I have not said, then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire."

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan