Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
The reward for Praying Taraaweeh prayer includes the forgiveness of past sins. The reward is not restricted to this. However forgiveness is explicitly mentioned in authentic Hadith.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: مَنْ قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
Abu Huraira (May Allah Most High be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Whoever stands for prayer in Ramadan faithfully and hoping to attain reward (from Allah Most High), his past sins will be forgiven.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, 2009).
The Hadith narration above mentions one of the rewards for Praying Taraaweeh prayer. It should not be considered exhaustive, rather there are many benefits and rewards connected to acts of worship. However, we can only speak of those that are mentioned in the Holy Quran and blessed Hadith. No person has the right to speak of rewards without reference to Quran and Hadith, because only Allah Most High decides the reward or punishment related to good or bad deeds.
When specific reward is mentioned then we can narrate it, otherwise we must restrict ourselves to speaking in general terms. Unfortunately, may Muslims do not understand this and will speak of specific rewards for particular acts of worship, without any reference to Quran and Hadith.
وَفِي قَوْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّ الْأَعْمَالَ الصَّالِحَةَ إِنَّمَا يَقَعُ بِهَا غُفْرَانُ الذُّنُوبِ وَتَكْفِيرُ السَّيِّئَاتِ مَعَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالِاحْتِسَابِ وَصِدْقِ النِّيَّاتِ. (الاستذكار)
In his ﷺ words, ‘faithfully and hoping to attain reward,’ is a proof that forgiveness for sins and expiation for wrong actions is only attained if one has faith, seeks reward and has truly sincere intentions. (Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr, al-Istidhkaar).
Another consideration to keep in mind, when we speak about the rewards related to particular actions is the issue of acceptance. There are conditions which must be fulfilled in order to make acceptance more likely. In the Nass above Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr speaks about this issue. He clarifies that having faith and sincerely seeking reward from Allah Most High are requirements to attain acceptance.
And Allah Most High Knows Best
-Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (11.04.2022)
See also:
Why is fasting special.
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