✦ Number of Rak‘ahs in Tarawih Prayer ✦
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ The Tarawih Prayer: Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ
From ʿĀ’ishah (رضي الله عنها):
“The Prophet ﷺ never exceeded eleven Rakʿahs in Ramadan or outside of it.”
[Bukhārī: 1147; Muslim: 738; Abū Dāwūd: 1341; Tirmidhī: 439]
➤ This narration proves that Tahajjud, Qiyām al-Layl, Qiyām al-Ramaḍān, and Tarawih are different names for the same night prayer.
❖ Differences Among Scholars
The number of Rakʿahs in Tarawih has been a subject of scholarly difference:
- Imām Mālik (رحمه الله) — 11 Rakʿahs
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad (رحمهم الله) — 20 Rakʿahs
◈ Preferred Opinion:
The view of Imām Mālik is regarded as stronger based on the authentic narration from ʿĀ’ishah (رضي الله عنها).
Scholars who supported this view include:
✔ Shawkānī (رحمه الله) — [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/269]
✔ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī (رحمه الله) — [Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/608]
✔ Amīr Ṣanʿānī (رحمه الله) — [Subul al-Salām: 2/533]
❖ Evidence Presented for 20 Rakʿahs
Some narrations suggest 20 Rakʿahs, but most of them are weak:
➊ From Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
“The Prophet ﷺ would pray twenty Rakʿahs in Ramadan and Witr.”
[Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/393; Bayhaqī: 2/496]
– This narration is weak due to Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUthmān, a criticized narrator.
– Declared weak by: Ibn Ḥajar, Zaylaʿī, Suyūṭī, Mubārakpūrī, and others.
➋ From Yazīd ibn Rumān (رحمه الله):
“During ʿUmar’s time, people prayed 23 Rakʿahs in Ramadan.”
[Muwaṭṭaʾ: 1/115]
➌ Bayhaqī reports:
ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) ordered Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and Tamīm al-Dārī to lead people in 20 Rakʿahs.
[Bayhaqī: 2/496]
➍ From ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه):
He instructed someone to lead 20 Rakʿahs.
– This report includes Abū al-Ḥasnāʾ, a majhūl (unknown) narrator.
[Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 2/412; Mizān al-Iʿtidāl: 7/356]
❖ Analysis
◈ The narrations used to support 20 Rakʿahs are mostly weak and not reliable.
◈ Based on strongest authentic Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ offered 11 Rakʿahs, and this includes Qiyām al-Layl / Tarawih / Tahajjud.
✅ Conclusion
- Tarawih is the same as Qiyām al-Layl.
- The Prophet ﷺ prayed 11 Rakʿahs consistently, even in Ramadan.
- The stronger view (according to Hadith evidence) supports 11 Rakʿahs.
- For further rulings, refer to the chapter on Qiyām al-Layl.
