Maisam Haider

The reply from Syed Sistani's office is for United Kingdom, not Malaysia. There is no problem in reading your own prayer in taraweeh congregation in United Kingdom without doing any Taqqiyah. Some Shias will find this concept hard to digest.

Salam. Nobody here denies that Taraweeh is biddah. This is not the point of the topic at all. The question is about "fourada intention" and now we know there is no problem in this, contrary to what everyone here was assuming. Ofcourse, it doesn't mean that it is recommended but the important point is that it is not forbidden.

Received reply from Ayt. Sistani office: Subject: Taraweeh with fourada intention. Question: Bismillah Salam alikum Is it permissible to stand in taraweeh congregation with Sunnis by doing a fourada (personal) niyyah (intention) ? Would it be permissible if one has to perform taqqiyah and what will be the rule if there is no compulsion of taqqiyah? Thank you Wasalam. In the Name of Allah, the Most High If you are offering your own prayer, there is no problem but taqiyah does not apply in countries like United Kingdom. May Allah grant you success. www.Sistani.org Istifta Section - Office of His Eminence Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani ------------- I read my own prayer and did not do any taqiyah (prayed with open hands and kept turbah). The answer confirms that Alhumdolillah my decision to attend taraweeh did not mean that I was supporting that biddah in any way and there is no problem in what I did. This answer from Ayatollah Sistani also shows how dangerous it is when people assume that any particular action is forbidden based on their own thoughts and views. That is very problematic. Most people here very wrongly assumed that even a forada intention in taraweeh is forbidden. Such assumptions can be very misleading and one should resort to asking the marja rather than believing that what they think has to be right.

Can you provide any fatwa which explicitly says that taraweeh with forada intention is forbidden? If you cannot, then don't make your own assumptions that it is forbidden like alcohol. That is a dangerous and problematic way of thinking. To date, I have not found any single fatwa which renders forada niyyat haram in taraweeh. If you are aware of such fatwa then please share it with us. I did not go because of my host - that is your another wrong assumption. The intention was to please Allah, by joining Sunni congregation for unity and showing islmaic moral ethics by not declining the dinner from the host. Whether Allah would have been more pleased if I had sacrificed both these recommended acts for the sake of avoiding Taraweeh is a judgment only Allah can make himself - neither you nor I. In either case, the intention was to gain Allah's pleasure, not the host. 3Question: Can one say one’s congregational prayer behind a Sunni Imam with the intention of Jama'at (congregation)? And should one recite al-hamd on his own? Answer: It is permissible to offer prayer in their congregational prayer. However, it is obligatory upon you to recite al-Hamd and Sura-e Tawhid yourself – be the recitation in low voice though. https://www.Sistani.org/english/qa/01262/ Whether this includes or excludes Taraweeh remains to be seen. If it is forbidden, then perhaps they should ammend the answer by writing in brackets that taraweeh is excluded.

It is a rule of tajweed that when a word ends in tanween and there is a waw after it the tanween sound "merges" with the waw...as long as you don't stop at Muhammad. That means 2 is the correct and most proper way. However , Arabic speaking individuals find it unnatural because they are used to speaking 1, which is incorrect tajweed wise, but sounds more natural for Arabs. For non Arabic speaking individuals, they learn the classic Arabic and thats why speak the proper way which is 2.... Muhammad -iw-

Your anology is very wrong and does not relate to my situation in any way. Firstly, alcohol consumption is a well known haram action and there is no doubt regarding its prohibition. You are comparing this forbidden act to attending taraweeh with "forada" intention. It is a dangerous assumption to consider that just like alcohol is haram, so taraweeh with forada intention would also be haram. As of yet I have not received a single proof from any marja or scholar that forada intention in taraweeh is actually a "sin". It is likely that it is forbidden but unless you are a mujtahid you are not authorized to assume what is a sin and what is not. Secondly, you are also wrong about your assumption that I attended taraweeh to please the "creation" instead of the creator. If I had wanted that, I would not have resisted to attend it several times in the first place. Infact I only attended it for the sole purpose of gaining Allah's pleasure and not my host's pleasure. What I faced was an abrupt, unexpected and unusual situation where I had to quickly conclude whether Allah's displeasure at refusing to have dinner with the host combined with Allah's possible displeasure at not being united with Sunnis in congregation would be less than His displeasure for outwardly supporting a biddah. So this was not a straightforward, isolated case of a Sunni suggesting a Shia to attend taraweeh. I attended the Sunni mosque because there existed an element of doubt,albeit small, in my situation as to which action would have pleased Allah more ..I.e., sacrificing unity with Sunnis (which Ayt Sistani recommends) plus sacrificing Islamic moral ethics or avoiding the outward support of biddah. Perhaps a clear fatwa could enlighten us more. Nevertheless if it is a sin, it was still an unintentional error of judgment on my part, rather than being an action to please "the creation" as you stated.

I asked a scholar about this. He said All three are correct but have different backgrounds/reasons. 1. This is most natural sounding to Arab people in their everyday language. But is technically incorrect from tajweed point of view. But this is how an Arab would speak normally. (Din-wa) 2. This is correct from tajweed point of view and is the best/proper way to read it. (Diw-wa). However Arabs do not speak like this normally in their everyday language. 3. This is not wrong but not recommended either because we should not separate Muhammad from Aale Muhammad. (Muhammad wa Aale Muhammad)

Salam I think you misunderstood me. I am not seeking any forgiveness from the answer of any marjaa. Nor I am waiting for their reply to feel forgiven. However it is important to know what the rule is regarding this matter because we cannot automatically assume that since taraweeh is biddah, so it would be "haram" to even join that congregation with forada intention. It is likely that it will be forbidden, but one has to know the actual rule.

In Islamic fiqh, it is important to find out whether the culprit was aware of the specified punishment for that crime or not. For example, if a person Steels something and is caught, then the Islamic punishment would be cutting off his fingers (provided about 40 other conditions are met). But if he was unaware of the fact that the punishment can be cutting of fingers, then his fingers cannot be cut. He might be given some other punishment which the jurist would decide (?maybe lashes). But the point is...in order to reach a judgment for the punishment of a crime, the pre hand knowledge of the culprit about the possible punishment needs to be taken into account.

At 13, he may not be baligh but if he was engaging in a sexual act, then he would atleast be mumayuz and could be liable to some punishment (but that would depend on a lot of factors, including whether witnesses would be required, and whether he realised that his action could be punishable etc). Once a non baligh boy who was maybe 11-12 years old commited a theft. He was caught and brought to Imam Ali (عليه السلام). The Imam did not cut his hand but instead chopped off some flesh from the sides of his fingers. This means a 13 year old could get punishment too for zina (provided all conditions are fullfilled).

Salam Thank you AbdulKarim313_Austin/Nola. For your kind words and acknowledging the situation I was in. Every Shia understands Taraweeh is an innovation and no Shia would attend it under normal circumstances. My situation was however quite unusual in that I was a guest at someone's house and was asked by a group of Sunni men to join them for taraweeh, before the dinner. Because they had suddenly made this plan and were leaving immediately, they gave me little time to think or to come up with my own excuse to avoid it. Nevertheless, they asked me repeatedly and I kept on refusing again and again. I even said to the host that I will go back home (this meant refusing to have dinner with them). At this the host looked very sad when he realised that I wanted to leave without having food with them. He said to me " please don't do this. " At that point, in just those few seconds I had to make a decision... 1. I thought whether I knew of any fatwa which categorically makes joining taraweeh haram (even with fourada niyyah). I didn't remember any fatwa like that in the few seconds that I had. 2. I had to decide very quickly whether it would be Islamically appropriate to decline having food with your host after attending his house. 3. I recalled that Syed Sistani recommends Joinning Sunnis in jammat for unity. With these three thoughts in my mind, and with the Sunni men getting in their cars, and the host waiting for me to get in his car aswell, I made the decision to go with them. At the taraweeh, I made my personal intention and read my own prayer. As soon as I got the opportunity, I left the mosque and went outside. Later when the host finished as well, we went back to his place for dinner. While I pretended to join them in taraweeh, I sent curses to the one who began this biddah in the first place. I regretted standing with them and I had an inner feeling that I had most certainly done a wrong action - that this is like supporting biddah. I felt extremely unhappy with my decision to attend the taraweeh and wished I had categorically down right refused the host by saying that Shias do not read taraweeh. But did I have time to explain this at that moment when he was stood waiting for me to get into car...? I don't know. Later, I asked a few scholars who all said that taraweeh cannot be attended under any circumstances at all - unless one has to practice taqqiyah. This made me even more regretful and I feel disgusted of my action. However the scholars did not quote any exact fatwa making taraweeh categorically haram to attend for Shias. I then sent the same question to Najaf.org and Sistani.org. They normally reply quickly when the question is simple - but it's been several days and I haven't received any reply from either office. Could it mean that although it is easy to understand that taraweeh should be avoided so as not to support this biddah, the actual fatwa making it haram may not be that simple?. I will continue to await their reply and seek forgiveness from Allah.

Walykum Salam Are you saying that it is forbidden for Shias to listen to Qur'an being recited by a Sunni ?

I was invited by a Sunni colleague for iftar at his home. I was the only Shia there and there were couple of Sunnis. They had a short snack for iftar and then had maghrib prayer; then they decided to have proper dinner only after returning from taraweeh. I declined to go to for taraweeh but they insisted and in a way forced me to go with them. Unwilling I stood with them in jamaat but did my own niyyut (intention) for forada prayer. After a few rakaats, I slipped away and went out of the mosque. I highly regret going for taraweeh because it is a biddah. I later asked several scholars and all said that it strongly prohibited to attend taraweeh. I feel regretful for this and wish I had somehow managed to escape before they could force me. May the ever lasting curse of Allah be on the one who started this biddah.

I do not know what the fiqh rule is for taraweeh; it might possibly be prohibited. However praying with Sunnis in congregation even in their mosques is recommended according to Syed Sistani for the sake of unity. Taraweeh may be an exception. But to say that listening to their Qur'an recitation is also prohibited is clearly wrong.

Salam Is it permissible for a Shia to stand in a Sunni congregation reading taraweeh, while the Shia makes his own intention and reads some other mustshib prayer (not taraweeh) ?