Congregation for nafl prayers in Ramadan

Question

May a congregation for tahajjud be held in Ramadan or not? For in “Shami”, vol. 1, Egyptian [edition], p. 527, some passages indicate that it is makruh and bid‘a, and some passages indicate that there is permission only in blessed Ramadan, for example in “al-Bada’i‘”, his statement: [ar]إن الجماعة في التطوع ليست بسنة إلا في قيام رمضان[/ar] “Congregation in voluntary [prayer] is not a sunna except in the night vigil (qiyam) of Ramadan” — and tahajjud too is counted among the nafl prayers.

Answer

The chosen position of the Hanafi madhhab is that congregation for nafl prayers by way of tada‘i (calling people together) is makruh, whether in Ramadan or outside it; the ruling is general. If there are one or two muqtadis, it is not tada‘i; about three there is disagreement; if there are four, it is tada‘i. Hazrat Ibn ‘Abbas ﵄ was a single muqtadi.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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