As you all are beginning to feel the load of the Taraweeh prayers, your legs, arms, and back are all begging for a rest. Many of you are probably asking, “Is it really worth it?” However, let me provide some motivation to keep you going here are 5 Reasons Not To Quit Taraweeh Prayer Just Yet
1. All your sins are forgiven
For starters, the Prophet ﷺ explicitly informed us of the virtues of standing in prayer, particularly in this month. Moreover, he performed the standing prayer himself.
“رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: “مَنْ قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ
The Prophet ﷺ “Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven”
2. You are rewarded for an entire night of prayer
Secondly, by praying Taraweeh you gain the reward of standing the whole night in prayer.
قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ لِمَلاَئِكَتِهِ: “انْظُرُوا، هَلْ تَجِدُونَ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ؟ فَأَكْمِلُوا بِهَا مَا ضَيَّعَ مِنْ فَرِيضَتِهِ”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “’Indeed, whoever stands (praying) with the Imam until he finished, then it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.”
3. Voluntary prayers make up for defects in obligatory prayers
You should note that your extra voluntary prayers cannot make up for all the shortcomings in your obligatory Salah. The Prophet informed us that on the Day of Resurrection, when a man stands before Allah, and if his obligatory prayers are found to be defective, Allah will first look at the voluntary prayers he has performed. Consequently, Allah will use those voluntary prayers to compensate for any deficiencies in the obligatory ones.
قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ لِمَلاَئِكَتِهِ: انْظُرُوا، هَلْ تَجِدُونَ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ؟ فَأَكْمِلُوا بِهَا مَا ضَيَّعَ مِنْ فَرِيضَتِهِ
Allah will say to his angels: ‘Look and see whether you find any voluntary prayers for My slave, and take them to make up what is lacking from his obligatory prayers.
4. You’re the one who benefits, not Allah.
We should never look at the salah as a burden or a chore. In fact, the reality is that we, not Allah, gain benefits from our prayers. For the Prophet Muhammad, prayer was a comfort and a form of relaxation, an escape from the daily grind. Moreover, he considered prayer as a source of joy and peace.
5. Your prayers are important
Lastly, the fact is, our prayers are the most important aspect of our lives. And this is exactly how the Prophet and the companions understood it. In fact, one of the final statements of our beloved Prophet before he passed away was “The prayer, the prayer,” advising Muslims not to neglect their prayer, this pillar of our religion.
Similarly, when the great companion Umar Ibn Khattab was stabbed during the Fajr prayer, as he lay on the verge of death going in and out of consciousness, his major concern was not the fact that he was only moments away from death. Instead, he repeatedly asked, “Have the people completed their prayer?!”
May Allah grant us perfection in our prayer and give us the strength to perform our prayers in a manner pleasing to Him.