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:

As'sala'am o alei’ kum

First of all I would pray to Allah for your tireless efforts & May Allah grant you success in the akherat for your time spend

I have read in one of your emails regarding the below hadiths

My question regarding my doubts is to clarify Why so many people pray  20 raakaahs tarawweeh and tahajjud and that also leading in congregration.

On the basis of the quoted hadiths it seems Alims are giving preference to prayers then teaching 

Would it be more better and good for brothers in our community that They should spend fews hour teaching the deen and answering the queries instead of praying the night prayers. Or which one ????????

Request your help to clarify

Acquiring knowledge in company for an hour in the night is better

than spending the whole night in prayer.

and  Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) happened to pass by two groups (of Muslims)in the mosque and he said: Both of them are good, but one is superior to the other.One group is supplicating Allah and praying Him. If He so wills He will

confer upon them and if He so wills He will withhold. So far as those who are acquiring the understanding of religion and its knowledge and are busy in teaching the ignorant, they are superior. Verily I have been sent as a teacher. He then sat downamongst them.
 

If anything said is wrong Allah forgive our ignorance but this question is for clarify the hadiths and the importance of doing both and follow asunnah of our beloved prophets (may peace be upon him)

May Allah help you always to answer the questions .

(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:

Prayer worship and seeking knowledge

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.

The hadiths quoted are indeed authentic and there is absolutely no doubt that although both, voluntary worship and the seeking and/or teaching Islamic Knowledge are good righteous deeds in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, one is superior than the other.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.545 Narrated by Uthman

The Prophet said, "The best among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it."

One should strive to strike a balance between spending his time and energy between seeking/teaching knowledge and performing voluntary worship as was the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his noble companions; but if one is in a situation where he has to choose between performing voluntary rites of worship and the seeking of Islamic knowledge, then indeed one should choose to do the superior of the two; ie. seek knowledge and then perform his voluntary rites of worship.

Would it be more better and good for brothers in our community that They should spend fews hour teaching the deen and answering the queries instead of praying the night prayers

To perform the ‘qiyam-ul-layl’ or voluntary night prayers, especially in the month of Ramadan are highly recommended and meritorious in the Sight of Allah Subhanah; but that does not necessarily mean that the believers who spend a hour or two performing these prayers are giving preference to performing voluntary prayers instead of seeking knowledge. It is possible that many amongst the believers spend a portion of their day performing voluntary prayers, and assign another portion of their day or night in seeking/teaching Islamic knowledge.

Besides, it is nothing but the Glorious Quran which is being recited in the Tarawih prayers; and for those who understand the Quran, the prayers of Tarawih would be a form of seeking knowledge and performing voluntary prayers at the same time.

Indeed, if one has to choose between a gathering to seek/teach knowledge or offer voluntary prayers, and can only do one of the two; then indeed one should choose to join the gathering which is teaching knowledge; and that would be good.

But if one can join to offer the voluntary prayers, and arrange to join the gathering which is teaching knowledge before of after the prayer times; then indeed that would be best.

Beloved brother, the choice here is not between right and wrong, but between good and best; thus one should strive to do the good as well as the best, but if one has to choose only one between the good and the best, then it would indeed be prudent to choose the one which is best.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan