Those who held the view of standing in prayer in Ramadan

Zayd bin Wahb says that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to lead us in the tarawih prayer.

Abu Bakr bin Ayyash says: I asked Ata whether Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to lead them in the tarawih prayer. He said: The most eminent of the students of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) — Zadhan, Abu al-Bakhtari and others — used to call their own people and lead them in prayer in the mosque in Ramadan.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We fasted Ramadan with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He did not lead us in the tarawih prayer until the twenty-third of Ramadan. Then, when seven days of Ramadan remained, he led us in prayer until a third of the night had passed. The next night he did not lead the tarawih, and the night after that he led us in prayer until half the night had passed. We said: O Messenger of Allah, it would be good if you led us in prayer for the rest of this night as well. He said: "Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, the reward of praying the whole night is written for him." Then he led us in prayer, and when three nights of the month remained he led us in the tarawih prayer and gathered his family and the women of his household. He prayed so long that we feared we would miss the falah. The narrator says: I asked: What is the falah? He said: The suhur (pre-dawn meal).

Nu'aym bin Ziyad Abu Talhah al-Ansari says: I heard Sayyiduna al-Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) saying on the pulpit of Hims: We prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the twenty-third night of Ramadan until the first third of the night; then we prayed with him on the twenty-fifth night until half the night; and on the twenty-seventh night we prayed so long that we feared we would miss the falah. We used to call the suhur (pre-dawn meal) the falah.

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that one night in Ramadan the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer in a room made of palm branches. Then he poured out a bucket of water and said: "Allah is the Greatest; He is the Possessor of dominion, might, majesty and grandeur."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to encourage the tarawih prayer of Ramadan, but did not make it obligatory.

Ikrimah says that one night in Ramadan the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying in one of his rooms. Hearing his voice, the people began to follow him in prayer. When he became aware that the people were following him, he lowered his voice.

Zayd bin Wahb says that Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) used to lead us in the tarawih prayer, and would leave while it was still night.

Abu Abd al-Rahman says that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) led the tarawih prayer in Ramadan.

The father of al-Walid bin Ali says: Suwayd bin Ghafalah used to lead us in prayer, and in Ramadan he would lead us in the tarawih prayer when he was one hundred and twenty years old.

Abd al-Rahman bin Abd al-Qari says that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the people praying separately in Ramadan and said: It would be good if they prayed behind a single reciter. Then he gathered them behind Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him).

Abu Salamah says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to encourage the tarawih prayer of Ramadan, but did not make it obligatory.

Abu Salamah bin Abd al-Rahman narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty has made the fasting of Ramadan obligatory upon you, and its night prayer (qiyam) has been made a sunnah. Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and hoping for reward from Allah, all his past sins are forgiven."

Urwah says that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered Sayyiduna Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the people in the tarawih prayer in Ramadan.