Tarawih is Emphasized Sunnah

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

Our Holy Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says, “Three things have been made dear to me in this world: ladies, fragrance, and praying which I love the most,” says our Holy Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. These are the things loved by our Holy Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam in this world. Therefore, prayer is the most important thing for Muslims together with fasting.

Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla gave this beautiful gift to us for the honor of our Holy Prophet ﷺ so that we pray more in this month and earn its reward. You know that Tarawih is Sunnah. Praying Tarawih means attaining great Thawab. Some people bring up nonsense disputing if it is Sunnah or not. It has no meaning. It is certain that it is Sunnah. Also, the Khalifahs who came after our Holy Prophet ﷺ, Sayyidina Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and Ali Efendi, all of them did the same. What they did is also Sunnah. Our Holy Prophet ﷺ did it. But in order for it not to become Fard, he prayed it alone and not with people. He ﷺ prayed it once or twice in Masjid. And then he ﷺ kept on praying in his ﷺ holy residence. However, Sayyidina ‘Umar radiyAllahu ‘anhu is the one who always prayed it with Jama’ah and made it official. Therefore, that is also Sunnah.

What is Sunnah for us? Performing Sunnah means earning more. What do we earn? Money, gold, or jewels? It is something more precious than all of them. Gold and money remain in this world. But this jewel remains with you forever. Its benefit for you is until eternity. It is unclear if the rest will be useful in this world. If it is used for goodness, it brings profit. If it is used for evil, it brings loss. Therefore, we must take as much as we can from this holy month.

Shukr to Allah ﷻ, this Fitnah did not occur in our country. Tarawih is known to be twenty Raka’at. In other places, shaytan has entered people’s minds, so they say, “It is four Raka’at. Eight Raka’at are enough.” The Jama’ah pray eight Raka’at and run away. Let alone the running away of the Jama’ah, the Imam is also praying eight Raka’at. Shukr to Allah ﷻ, this country is the place of Caliphs of Islam, it is their capital. They pray twenty Raka’at just like the Khalifahs of our Holy Prophet ﷺ did, just like our Holy Prophet ﷺ did. Shaytan is saying “The lesser I make it for them, the better it is for me” and trying various things.

Sayyidina Bāyazīd al-Basṭāmī somehow missed the morning prayer once. He was so upset and disappointed. Then a call came to him from Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla that in return for so much sadness, he was written a thousand times more Thawab. He had cried alot for it. Also, he was about to miss it once again. But shaytan woke Sayyidina Bāyazīd al-Basṭāmī up and said, “Get up, you will miss the time.” He prayed immediately, and asked shaytan, “You wouldn’t do goodness. Why did you wake me up?” Shaytan said, “When you didn’t wake up last time, you got a thousand times more Thawab. I woke you up for the prayer so that it doesn’t happen again.” They have various things for cheating people. If it brings loss instead of profit, they even do goodness. These people are the same. They make Waswasa and say, “You are not praying Sunnah. Sunnah is not like this. Don’t do it. Our Holy Prophet ﷺ didn’t do it” and cheat people. As there are many people who don’t follow a Murshid, a true Shaykh, a true scholar, they can be easily cheated. Therefore, may Allah ﷻ protect us.

We should perform these Sunnah prayers as much as we can. Especially, we must not skip Sunnah Mu’akkadah. Sunnah has its types: there is Sunnah Mu’akkadah (emphasized), there is Nafl Sunnah. Many people nowadays say there is no need for Sunnah, they pray two or four Rakat and run away. There is neither Tasbih, nor other things. They are losing a lot. When they miss the benefit, it is a loss. May Allah ﷻ give mind and understanding. May we not be cheated by shaytan and scholars who are like shaytan. May Allah ﷻ protect us from their evil.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 14 March 2024/ 04 Ramadan 1445 Fajr Prayer, Akbaba Dergah