Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
If someone is offering Tarāwīḥ alone, should he recite aloud or silently?
✿ Answer:
Both methods are permissible—reciting aloud or silently.
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrates:
“The recitation of the Prophet ﷺ was loud enough that when he recited inside the house, it could be heard in the courtyard.”
📚 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1327; Shamā’il al-Tirmidhī: 322
🔎 Chain is ḥasan (sound)
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reports:
“The recitation of the Prophet ﷺ at night would at times be loud and at times soft.”
📚 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1328
🔎 Chain is ḥasan
✅ This ḥadīth has been graded ṣaḥīḥ by:
- Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (1159)
- Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (2603)
- Imām al-Ḥākim (1/310), who said it is per the conditions of Muslim
- Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمهما الله agreed with him
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Qatādah رضي الله عنه narrates:
One night the Prophet ﷺ came out and passed by Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه, who was reciting in a low voice. Then he passed by ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, who was reciting in a loud voice.
Later, when both came to the Prophet ﷺ, he said to Abū Bakr:
“When I passed by you, you were reciting quietly.”
He replied: “O Messenger of Allah! The One with whom I was whispering could hear me.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said to ʿUmar:
“When I passed by you, you were reciting loudly.”
He said: “O Messenger of Allah! I was waking the drowsy and driving away the devil.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
“O Abū Bakr! Raise your voice a little.”
“O ʿUmar! Lower your voice a little.”
📚 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1329; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 447
🔎 Chain is ḥasan
✅ Graded ṣaḥīḥ by:
- Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (161)
- Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (733)
- Imām al-Ḥākim (1/310) (according to the conditions of Muslim)
- Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله agreed with this grading
✅ Conclusion:
- A person praying Tarāwīḥ alone may recite either aloud or silently, as both are authentically established from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
- Moderation is recommended—neither too loud nor too soft.
