The beginning of Ramadan during the time of prophecy and the righteous caliphate

Authorship / Ahmed Al-Zouman International Introduction Abdullah Al-Haliit Introduction: || Among the recurring issues every year in the Two Holy Mosques and other mosques is the prayer of the first part of the night after the obligatory prayer during Ramadan, and the increase in prayer at the last part of the night during the last ten nights of Ramadan, and dedicating extra prayer at the last part of the night in the last ten nights, and maintaining this practice. This is a problematic issue for me, as I have not come across a clear text—neither a hadith that is narrated, nor a marfoo’ (prophetic) or mawquf (attributed to a companion), nor a maqtu’ (attributed to a successor)—on this matter during my review of the books of Sunnah and the narrations. This motivated me to study the reports from the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, may Allah be pleased with them, and the Tabi‘un regarding standing (Qiyam) in Ramadan from the Musnad. I did not deal with other collections unless I did not find the narration in a marfoo’ (prophetic) chain—though this is rare. I mentioned the most important issues related to Ramadan standing prayers from printed books, prioritizing and combining the authentic ones, including those that seem to contradict each other, relying on the words of scholars, and mentioning the doctrine of the four Imams in most issues. I also presented what I wrote to some of my fellow students of knowledge to benefit from their observations and corrections. I delayed publishing the research for several years to extend the discussion of the original topic and to add new issues and insights related to the research. I remind that judging the authenticity of hadiths and narrations is a matter of ijtihad, and sometimes the judgment is based on the researcher’s likelihood of correctness; the researcher may be right or wrong. I ask Allah for success and guidance, and I seek His protection from causing misguidance to any Muslim or turning someone away from a virtuous matter. May Allah place that in the balance of my good deeds and the good deeds of everyone who helped me. Written by: Ahmed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Zouman Al-Qassim - Buraidah 1436/5/6 AH