Taraweeh Rak’ahs:
➊ There has never been a consensus of the Muslim Ummah on twenty rak’ahs of Taraweeh during the era of Farooq or before or after that time.
➋ Considering praying twenty rak’ahs of Taraweeh in congregation as the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is completely false and baseless. The raised narration presented for praying twenty rak’ahs without congregation has a fundamental narrator (Abu Shuaybah Ibrahim bin Uthman) who has not been declared trustworthy or reliable by any critic or hadith scholar; rather, unanimously, all have considered him weak and defective. Imam Shu’bah (may Allah have mercy on him) even said he is a liar, and Imam Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) said it is not permissible to take narration from him.
➌ From the practical and verbal Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, eleven rak’ahs of Taraweeh with Witr and eight rak’ahs without Witr are undoubtedly established by authentic and accepted hadiths.
➍ From the blessed era of the Prophet ﷺ until recently, no one has denied that eleven rak’ahs of Taraweeh are the Prophetic Sunnah; even the fair-minded Hanafi scholars acknowledge this. After that, searching whether people practiced this Sunnah or not is fundamentally wrong. Avoiding following an established authentic Sunnah is a mere imitative excuse.
➎ Reading twenty rak’ahs by the order or consent of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is not established according to the agreed rules of the majority of hadith scholars, and even if it were established, its basis would be understanding, insight, ijtihad, and opinion, not any authentic raised hadith. On the contrary, the statement of Hazrat Farooq Azam (may Allah be pleased with him) about eleven rak’ahs is proven by completely authentic narration, and therefore the senior scholars of the Ummah accept that its source is the Prophetic Sunnah.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs of Taraweeh:
When it is established that praying Taraweeh in congregation is lawful and recommended because the Prophet ﷺ saw people praying in congregation and kept them on it, and he himself prayed Taraweeh with the people in congregation and verbally expressed its virtue, now we want to explain how many rak’ahs were in the nights when the Prophet ﷺ prayed Taraweeh with the people in congregation. We have the following two hadiths in this regard:
➊ عن أبى سلمة بن عبدالرحمن، أنه سأل عائشة رضي الله عنها كيف كانت صلاة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فى رمضان؟ فقالت : ما كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يزيد فى رمضان ولا فى غيره على إحدي عشرة ركعة، (1) يصلي أربعا، (2) فلا تسأل عن حسنهن و طولهن، ثم يصلي أربعا، فلا تسأل عن حسنهن وطولهن، ثم يصلي ثلاثا .
This has been narrated by Imam Bukhari (3/25, 4/205), Imam Muslim (2/166), Abu Awana (2/327), Abu Dawood (1/210), Tirmidhi (2/302-303, Ahmad Shakir edition), Nasai (1/248), Malik (1/134), and from them Bayhaqi (2/495-496) and Ahmad (6/36, 73, 104).
“Abu Sulaymah bin Abdul Rahman narrated that he asked Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the manner of the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer (Taraweeh) in Ramadan. She replied that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs, neither in Ramadan nor outside Ramadan. He prayed four rak’ahs, and do not ask how good and long they were; then four rak’ahs, and do not ask how good and long they were; then three rak’ahs.”
➋ عن جابر بن عبدالله رضى الله عنه قال : صلى بنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فى شهر رمضان ثمان ركعات، وأوتر، فلما كانت القابلة اجتمعنا فى المسجد و رجونا أن يخرج، فلم نزل فيه حتي أصبحنا، ثم دخلنا، فقلنا : يا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ! اجتمعنا البارحة فى المسجد، ورجونا أن تصلي بنا، فقال : إني خشيت أن يكتب عليكم .
This has been narrated by Ibn Nasr (p. 90) and Al-Tabarani in “Al-Mu’jam As-Saghir” (p. 108), and its chain combined with the previous one is Hasan (good). Hafiz pointed to its strengthening in “Al-Fath” (3/10) and “At-Talkhees” (p. 119), and it is attributed to “Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah” and “Sahih Ibn Hibban.”
Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed eight rak’ahs and Witr in Ramadan. The next night, we gathered in the mosque expecting him to come out, but he did not. We waited until morning. Then we went to him and said: O Messenger of Allah! Last night we gathered in the mosque hoping you would lead us in Taraweeh prayer. He ﷺ said: I feared it might become obligatory upon you.
The hadith about twenty rak’ahs is very weak; it is not permissible to act upon it:
Hafiz said in “Al-Fath” (4/205-206) while explaining the first hadith (Hadith of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her):
“As for the narration from Ibn Abi Shaybah from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that ‘the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed twenty rak’ahs besides Witr in Ramadan,’ its chain is weak and it contradicts the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), which is in Sahihain, and she was more familiar with the night habits and routines of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ than others.”
Before Hafiz, Hafiz Zailai explained this meaning in “Nasb Ar-Rayah” (2/153).
I say that this hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) is completely weak, as Imam Suyuti said in “Al-Hawi Lil-Fatawa” (2/73). The reason for its weakness is that it contains Abu Shuaybah Ibrahim bin Uthman. Hafiz said in “At-Taqreeb” that he is “abandoned in hadith.” I examined all the chains of this hadith but found no chain except through Ibrahim. Its classification was done by Ibn Abi Shaybah in “Al-Musannaf” (2/90/2), Abd bin Humayd in “Al-Muntakhab min Al-Musnad” (43/1-2), Tabarani in “Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir” (3/148/2) and “Al-Awsat,” as mentioned by Dhahabi in “Al-Muntaqi min Al-Awsat” (3/2) and others in “Al-Jam’ bayn Al-Awsat wa Al-Saghir” (119/1), Ibn Adi in “Al-Kamil” (1/2), Khateeb in “Al-Muwadhah” (1/219), and Bayhaqi in his “Sunan” (2/496), all through Ibrahim, who narrates from Hakam, who narrates from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) raised. Imam Tabarani said that Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) is narrated only through this chain, and Imam Bayhaqi said: “Abu Shuaybah is unique in this and he is weak.” Similarly, Haithami said in “Al-Majma'” (3/172) that he is weak.
The reality is that this hadith is very weak, as Hafiz’s previous statement “abandoned in hadith” proves. It is preferable and correct to consider it abandoned. Ibn Mu’in said: “He is not trustworthy,” and Juzjani declared him “defective.” Shu’bah denied him in a narration of a story, and Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “People have remained silent about him.” Ibn Kathir mentioned in “Ikhtisar Ulum Al-Hadith” (p. 118) that Imam Bukhari’s statement about someone is proof that he is of the lowest and worst rank. Therefore, I consider this hadith as fabricated because it contradicts the hadiths of Aisha and Jabir (may Allah be pleased with them), as Hafiz Zailai and Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on them) have stated above. Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) counted Ibrahim’s hadith among its “Munaakir” (deniers), and the jurist Ibn Hajar Haithami wrote in “Al-Fatawa Al-Kubra” (1/195) after mentioning this hadith:
“This hadith is very weak; the great Imams severely criticized one narrator of this hadith and condemned him. Among this criticism is that he narrates fabricated hadiths such as ما هلكت أمة إلا فى آذار and لا تقوم الساعة إلا فى آذار, and this hadith about Taraweeh prayer is among his denials. Subki clarified that the condition for acting upon a weak hadith is that its weakness should not be severe.” Imam Dhahabi said: “If an expert like Shu’bah is denied, his hadith is negligible.”
I say that Imam Haithami’s narration of Subki’s statement subtly indicates that he does not support acting upon twenty rak’ahs of Taraweeh.
Then Suyuti mentioned the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated by Ibn Hibban and said:
“The conclusion is that the proof of twenty rak’ahs is not from the practice of the Prophet ﷺ, and as for the matter of the authentic narration of Ibn Hibban, it is equivalent to our proof from the Sahih Bukhari hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), in which she said that the Prophet ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs in Ramadan or outside Ramadan. This statement agrees with the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), which states that the Prophet ﷺ prayed eight rak’ahs of Taraweeh and then three rak’ahs of Witr, totaling eleven rak’ahs. This also indicates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did a good deed, he was consistent in it, as he was consistent in the two rak’ahs he made up after Asr, even though at that time voluntary prayers were prohibited. If he had ever prayed twenty rak’ahs, he would never have abandoned it, and if that had happened, it would not have been hidden from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), whose clear statement has already been mentioned.”
I say that in his (Suyuti’s) statement there is a strong indication that his preferred and chosen number is eleven rak’ahs, and the twenty rak’ahs mentioned in the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) is abandoned because it is very weak. Please consider this carefully.
Only eleven or thirteen rak’ahs of Taraweeh are established by Sunnah:
Whoever reflects on the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ will be convinced that in all these cases the best is eleven or thirteen rak’ahs, whether in Ramadan or outside Ramadan, because this was his usual practice. Also, it is easier and more convenient for the worshippers and closer to humility, concentration, tranquility, and peace.
For one praying Taraweeh with the Imam during Ramadan, it is best to complete the prayer with the Imam because the Prophet ﷺ said:
إن الرجل إذا قام مع الإمام حتي ينصرف كتب الله له قيام ليلة
“Indeed, whoever stands with the Imam until he finishes, it is recorded for him as if he stood the entire night.”
Ramadan is the springtime of worship:
In this month of Ramadan, all Muslims should make every effort to perform various acts of worship, such as voluntary prayers, reciting the Qur’an with reflection, frequently saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, seeking forgiveness, supplicating with prayers established from the Book and Sunnah, enjoining good, forbidding evil, inviting to the religion of Allah Almighty, caring for the poor and needy, striving to treat parents well, maintaining kinship ties, looking after neighbors, visiting the sick, performing Umrah if possible, etc.
The Prophet ﷺ said in an authentic hadith:
عمرة فى رمضان تعدل حجة أو قال معي
“An Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to Hajj, or he ﷺ said it is equal to Hajj with me.”
There are many hadiths and reports encouraging competing in various acts of worship and good deeds during this blessed month.
We ask Allah Almighty to grant us and all Muslims the ability to perform all deeds that please Him, accept our fasting and standing in prayer, rectify our conditions, and protect us all from misleading trials. We also ask Allah to reform the leaders of the Muslims and unite them upon the truth. He is the Guardian and Able over all things.
And peace and blessings of Allah be upon you.
(‘Allamah Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz, may Allah have mercy on him)
سكتوا عنه
