and that it increases the believer’s faith. In brief, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed us to pray in our houses except for the obligatory prayers. One additional exception is the supererogatory night-vigil of Ramadan (qiyām Ramaḍān, commonly called Tarāwīḥ); the preferred way to perform it is in congregation in the mosques. Though the prayer itself is Sunnah, not obligatory, the prophetic practice shows that offering it in the mosque is superior, for the Prophet ﷺ led his companions in it for three nights—according to another narration, two nights—then withdrew, saying, “I feared it might be made obligatory upon you.” Allah is the One who grants success.
- ʿUmar ibn ʿAṭāʾ reported that Nāfiʿ ibn Jubayr sent him to al-Sāʾib, the nephew of Namir, to ask him about something Muʿāwiyah had noticed him doing during the prayer. Al-Sāʾib said, “Yes, I prayed Friday with him in the private enclosure (maqṣūra). When the imam concluded the prayer with the salām, I rose where I was and prayed. When Muʿāwiyah entered, he sent for me and said, ‘Do not repeat what you did. When you have performed the Friday prayer, do not attach another prayer to it until you have spoken or left the place, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us not to join one prayer to another until we have spoken or departed.’ ” Narrated by Muslim.
[Explanation]
The hadith the author—may Allah have mercy on him—cited to show the recommendation of placing a gap between the obligatory prayer and its Sunnah complement is the report of Muʿāwiyah—may Allah be pleased with him. He saw a man pray Jumuʿah and immediately stand to perform the Sunnah, so Muʿāwiyah summoned him and informed him that the Prophet ﷺ had instructed that one should not link one prayer directly to another.