Among the dispraised practices in mosques during the Taraaweeh (voluntary night prayers) is the act of crying aloud and sobbing by some Imams or some worshippers. This is not in conformity with the guidance of the Prophet his Companions or the righteous predecessors when they used to listen to the Quran.

The Prophet said to Ibn Mas‘ood : “‘Recite the Quran to me.’ He said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Shall I recite the Quran to you, when it has been revealed to you?' The Prophet replied: ‘I love to hear it recited by others.’ So he recited to him a portion from Soorah An-Nisaa’. When he reached the verses in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {So how [will it be] when We bring from every nation a witness and We bring you, [O Muhammad] against these [people] as a witness?} [Quran 4:41], the Prophet said: ‘Enough for now.’ When he (Ibn Mas'ood ) looked at him, he saw his eyes shedding tears.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

This proves the fact that the Prophet used to weep without any sound because Ibn Mas‘ood did not know that he was weeping until he looked at him.

‘Abdullah ibn Ash-Shikhkheer said, “I came to the Messenger of Allah while he was praying, and a sound came from his breast like the rumbling of boiling water owing to his weeping.” [Abu Daawood and Al-Albaani: Saheeh] This also indicates that the Prophet used to weep to the extent that his chest emitted a sound like boiling water.

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “His weeping was not different from his laughter. It was without sobbing or a loud voice just as his laughter was without guffawing. Rather, his eyes would shed tears and his chest would wheeze.”

There is big difference between this Prophetic guidance and the practice of some Imams and those who pray behind them by raising their voice in crying, wailing and distracting other worshippers.

Are these people not afraid that this practice may be a trick from Shaytaan (Satan) to make them fall into ostentation and a means of seeking people’s attention?

If their crying is not out of ostentation or showing off – and this is probably the case – they should conceal and suppress this crying as much as they can. The righteous predecessors used to conceal their good deeds as long as there was no harm in showing them.

This is the stance on crying; however, shouting and yelling should be avoided because this is the practice of the extreme Sufis and other people of Bid‘ah (innovation). Allah The Almighty taught us the manners of supplication and private conversation with Allah The Almighty who Says (what means): {Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors.} [Quran 7:55] Hence, Allah The Almighty called raising the voice in supplication without the need for transgression. So, what would be the case with regard to shouting and yelling?

Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {…..And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way.} [Quran 17:110]

When the Prophet heard some people raising their voices while supplicating Allah The Almighty, he advised them saying: “O people, take it easy! You are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent; you are calling upon One who is All-Hearing and All-Seeing.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

So, what about those who shout or sob loudly it? It becomes worse if the speakers are on, as people in the neighbourhood will hear this crying and shouting from inside the mosque.

The guidance of the righteous predecessors who used to conceal their good deeds:

1-   Zaa’idah said about Mansoor ibn Al-Mu‘tamir, “Mansoor fasted forty years and offered voluntary night prayer during them and used to cry. His mother used to say to him, ‘Did you kill someone?’ (Meaning he offer all of this worship to expiate a grave sin). He used to answer saying, ‘I know well what I did with myself.’ However, in the morning, he used to put kohl, apply perfume and take care of his appearance and go out to see people.”

Ponder over the sincerity of this devout worshipper compared to our conditions! We ask Allah The Almighty to grant us safety and wellbeing.

2-   ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar used to turn off the lamp at night so that his family could not know that he was weeping until his eyes got sore.

3-   Abu Waa’il used to whimper in his prayer when he was alone at home. Had he been given the whole world in return for letting people see him, he would not have agreed.

4-   Al-A‘mash said, “I was visiting Ibraaheem who was reciting the Quran. When a man sought permission to enter, Ibraaheem covered his Mus-haf (copy of the Quran) saying, ‘This man should not see me reciting the Quran every while!’”

5-   Safwaan ibn Muhriz dug a hole and he would cry there away from people.

6-   Al-Hasan said, “A person should suppress his tears before people and if he fears that he could not control them, he should leave them.”

7-   ‘Abdul-Kareem ibn Rasheed said, “Once I was with Al-Hasan in an assembly of knowledge. A man cried and his voice got louder. Al-Hasan said, ‘The devil is causing this person to cry now.’”

8-   Hammaad ibn Zayd said, “Sometimes when Ayyoob’s heart was softened by a Hadeeth and he started to cry, he used to turn aside sniffing and say, ‘It is a severe flu.’”

9-   Abu At-Tayyaah said, “I witnessed my father and some of the scholars of the district whenever one of them fasted, they used to apply perfume and wear their best clothes.”

10-   Abu Umaamah once passed by a man who prolonged his prostration and was crying. Abu Umaamah touched him with his foot saying, "What a good prostration that would have been if it had been at home!"

11-   Yazeed ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Ash-Shikhkheer said, “When we reached ‘Aamir ibn ‘Abdullah while he was praying at his mosque, he used to shorten his prayer when he saw us and finish it quickly. Then, he used to ask us about what we wanted.” He disliked being seen during his prayer.

12-   Muhammad ibn Waasi‘ said, “I witnessed some men whose pillows used to be wet because of their tears while their wives beside them did not notice. I witnessed people who used to shed tears in prayer while the praying people beside them did not notice.”

13-   Some people in Al-Madeenah used to live on charity without knowing the person on whose charity they lived. When ‘Ali ibn Al-Husayn died, they stopped receiving the charity they used to receive at night.

14-   Ayyoob As-Sikhtiyaani used to pray the whole night and hide the fact that he did so.

15-   Ath-Thawri said, “I do not rely upon my apparent (good) deeds.”

No doubt, there is a big difference between those righteous people and us.