Do we have any credentials from Hadhrat Ali which affirm present taraveeh of 20 rukaat?
Are those traditions authentic and mo'atbar which are from Hadhrat Ali affirming 20 rukaat taraveeh?
Let us dissect those traditions .
Clerics of Hanfi Jurisprudence rely on Hadhrat Ali's action for twenty rukaat taraveeh. Albeit author Ibn abi sheeba , Sunan Baihaqqi and in some traditions of Musnad Zaid bin Ali it is mentioned that Hadhrat Ali commanded a group of reciters for 20 rukaat taraveeh.
Below in the chapter of taraveeh we are citing traditions from Hadhrat Ali which are posited as evidence of 20 rukaat taraveeh.
We will also shed some light on the strength of these traditions' chains .
First Tradition In Musnad Zaid Bin Ali there is a tradition quoted from Hadhrat Ali as in which it is mentioned that Hadhrat Ali ordered a person who used to lead prayers(taraveeh) in Ramadan to lead prayers of 20 rukaat like say Salaam in between every two rukaat and take break for rest in between every four rukaat .
حَدَّثَنِیْ زَیْدُ بْنُ عَلِیٍّ عَنْ اَبِیْہِ عَنْ جَدِّہٖ عَنْ عَلِیٍّ اَنَّہٗ اَمَرَ الَّذِیْ یُصَلِّیْ بِالنَّاسِ صَلَاۃَ الْقِیَامِ فِیْ شَہْرِ رَمْضَانَ اَنْ یُّصَلِیَّ بِھِمْ عِشْرِیْنَ رَکْعَۃً یُّسَلِّمُ فِیْ کُلِّ رَکْعَتَیْنِ وَیُرَاوِحَ مَابَیْنَ کُلِّ اَرْبَعِ رَکْعَاتٍ ۔
مسند الامام زیدبن علی // الصفحة رقم 158 ۔
Albeit in Musnad Zaid this tradition is with following chain . Worth of Musnad Zaid Bin Ali First and foremost there is a brobdingnagian obstacle in the way of proving attribution of this book to hadhrat Zaid because the narrators of Musnad zaid Bin Ali and carriers of this book include abu khaled umro bin khaled al waasti who is a prevaricator as per rijalists. Therefore when carriers of book include a liar then relying on such book will be sheer idiocy .
Fundamentals do not permit us to rely on such book.
This Musnad can be a hujjah for Zaidiyya Shiites but ahlus sunnah wal jamat is outside the realm in this context . So, the tradition of Musnad zaid can not be relied upon .
Hafidh Aboo bakar has quoted abul hassna he say that hadhrat ali (aa) commanded a person to lead a prayer of twenty rukaat (taraveeh) in Ramadan . This tradition has been quoted by Hafidh Ibn abi sheeba with following chain .
حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ حَسَنِ بْنِ صَالِحٍ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ قَيْسٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي الْحَسْنَاءِ، «أَنَّ عَلِيًّا أَمَرَ رَجُلًا يُصَلِّي بِهِمْ فِي رَمَضَانَ عِشْرِينَ رَكْعَةً
المصنف لأبن أبي شيبة // رقم الحدیث 7681 // الناشر: مكتبة الرشد - الرياض
This tradition has been weakened by imam bayhaqqi .After quoting this tradition imam bayhaqqi has worded as follows .
S
وَفِي هَذَا الْإِسْنَادِ ضَعْفٌ
السنن الكبري للبيهقي // رقم الحدیث 4292 // الناشر: دار الكتب العلمية، بيروت
The chain of this tradition abul hassna who is majhool . His truthfulness and authenticity has not been proved .
Hearing of Abul hassna from hadhrat ali has not been established too . Therefore this tradition is not only weak but also disconnected .
and Al-bani said these following words
قلت: وعلته أبو الحسناء هذا قال الذهبي: " لا يعرف " وقال الحافظ: " مجهول "
قلت: وأنا أخشى أن يكون فيه علة أخرى وهي الإعضال بين أبي الحسناء وعلي فقد قال الحافظ في ترجمته من " التهذيب ": روى عن الحكم بن عتيبة عن حنش عن علي في الأضحية قلت: فبينه وبين علي شخصان
صلاة التراويح // الصفحة رقم 76 // الناشر: مكتبة المعارف للنشر والتوزيع - الرياض
Third tradition Imam bayhaqqi has narrated from hahdrat Ali that he (hadhrat ali) called a group of reciters and asked one person among them to lead prayer of twenty rukaat (taraveeh) in the month of Ramadan .
أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو الْحُسَيْنِ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ الْقَطَّانُ بِبَغْدَادَ أنبأ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عِيسَى بْنِ عَبْدَكَ الرَّازِيُّ، ثنا أَبُو عَامِرٍ عَمْرُو بْنُ تَمِيمٍ، ثنا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ يُونُسَ، ثنا حَمَّادُ بْنُ شُعَيْبٍ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ السَّائِبِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ السُّلَمِيِّ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: " دَعَا الْقُرَّاءَ فِي رَمَضَانَ فَأَمَرَ مِنْهُمْ رَجُلًا يُصَلِّي بِالنَّاسِ عِشْرِينَ رَكْعَةً " قَالَ: وَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ يُوتِرُ بِهِمْ
السنن الكبري للبيهقي // رقم الحدیث 4291 // الناشر: دار الكتب العلمية، بيروت
Albeit Imam bayhaqqi has quoted this tradition with following chains Worth of the tradition's chain Shaikh Al Al-bani has weakened this tradition owing to two problems .
First Problem In its chain there is a very weak narrator hammad bin shoaib . Imam bukhari has called him munkar al hadith and it is not permissible to narrate from him
Second Problem In the chain of this tradition there is an amnesiac narrator ata bin saaib whose only those traditions will be considered authentic which are before amnesia . Imam sh3ba , Sufian thawri , along hamad bin zaid and some other narrators has narrated from from ata bin saaib before amnesia but in the chains of this tradition hamad bin shoaib has narrated from ata bin saaib after ata bin saaib being amnesiac
. That is why one can not depend on this tradition of ata bin saaib .
Shaikh Al Al-bani has worded as follows while commenting on its weakness summary
وإسناده ضعيف فيه علتان: الأولى: عطاء بن السائب فإنه كان قد اختلط ۔ الثانية: حماد بن شعيب فإنه ضعيف جدا كما أشار إليه البخاري بقوله: " فيه نظر " وقال مرة: " منكر الحديث " فإنه إنما يقول هذا فيمنلا تحل الرواية عنه كما نبه إليه العلماء فلا يستشهد به ولا يصلح للاعتبار ۔
صلاة التراويح // الصفحة رقم 77 // الناشر: مكتبة المعارف للنشر والتوزيع - الرياض
Conclusion
If we contemplate over the contents of those traditions which are from Hadhrat Ali that are posited for proving 20 rukaat taraveeh then we can see that these traditions are not different because the essay of these traditions describe the same event that hadhrat ali ordered a person to lead prayer of twenty rukaat in the month of ramadan and these traditions are not multiple but this event does not meet the standards of Hadith .If the weakening of this hadith was of common kind then multiple transmissions would have compensated its weakness but the weakness of this tradition is intense . Therefore , one cannot rely on this tradition and action's of Hadhrat Ali considering tadeef of traditons.
Researched by Ismaeel Deobandi and Translated by Imamia Revealing the Truth
