Authentic Ruling, Virtues, and Rakʿahs of Tarawih Prayer

Source​

Taken from: Ṣaḥīḥ Namāz-e-Nabawī ﷺ
Published by Maktabah Dār al-Andalus
Authored by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAzīz

✔ The Description of Tarāwīḥ​

Ruling of the Tarāwīḥ Prayer​

❀ Tarāwīḥ prayer is a voluntary (nafl) prayer; it is neither obligatory nor compulsory.

Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah al-Ṣiddīqah رضي الله عنها narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed (Tarāwīḥ) in the mosque one night during Ramaḍān, and people prayed behind him. He prayed again on the second night, and the number of worshippers increased. On the third or fourth night, people gathered again, but he ﷺ did not come out. In the morning, he said:

قد رأيت الذى صنعتم ولم يمنعني من الخروج إليكم إلا أني خشيت أن تفرض عليكم

“I saw what you did, and nothing prevented me from coming out to you except that I feared it might be made obligatory upon you.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Tahajjud, Bāb Taḥrīḍ al-Nabī ʿalā Qiyām al-Layl: 1129; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 761

❀ Some people have spread the notion that whoever does not pray Tarāwīḥ, his fast will not be accepted, and whoever prays Tarāwīḥ becomes obliged to fast even if Sharīʿah has excused him (due to illness, travel, or being underage). As a result, those who do not fast also abandon Tarāwīḥ. Both of these notions are completely false and based on ignorance.

Virtue of Tarāwīḥ​

❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

من قام رمضان إيمانا واحتسابا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه

“Whoever stands (in prayer) during Ramaḍān with faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Tarāwīḥ: 2009; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 759

Congregation of Tarāwīḥ​

Tarāwīḥ is voluntary and may be offered individually or in congregation. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led the congregation for three nights, then discontinued due to fear of it becoming obligatory, as mentioned in the narration of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها.

This practice continued until the early period of Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه’s caliphate. One night, he entered the mosque and saw people praying individually or in small groups. He said:

“If I gather them behind one imām, it would be better.”

Thus, he united them behind Sayyidunā Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Tarāwīḥ: 2009–2010; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 759

❀ Some scholars hold that praying Tarāwīḥ in congregation is superior, because the Prophet ﷺ abandoned it only out of fear of obligation, and Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه later organized it. The Prophet ﷺ also said:

“Whoever stands with the imām until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as standing the whole night.”

Reference: Abū Dāwūd: 1375; Ibn Ḥibbān: 2547; Musnad Aḥmad: 21476 – Ṣaḥīḥ

❀ Other scholars hold that praying Tarāwīḥ at home is superior, based on the Prophet’s ﷺ statement:

“Pray in your homes, for the best prayer of a person is in his home except the obligatory prayer.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Adhān: 731

Hence, if arrangements such as congregation or listening to the Qur’an are only possible in the mosque, then praying in the mosque is preferable due to these added benefits.

Number of Rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ​

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions رضي الله عنهم always prayed eight rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ, and none of them ever prayed more than this. Some people have turned this into a disputed issue, despite it being clearly established in the aḥādīth.

First Ḥadīth​

Abū Salamah bin ʿAbd al-Raḥmān asked Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها about the prayer of the Messenger ﷺ during Ramaḍān. She replied:

“He never prayed more than eleven rakʿahs, in Ramaḍān or outside it.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1147, 2013; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 738

Clarification of an Objection​

Some claimed this refers to Tahajjud, not Tarāwīḥ. The response is:

① The question was specifically about Ramaḍān prayer.
② Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud are two names for the same night prayer; Tarāwīḥ is simply the Ramaḍān designation.

Supporting Proofs​

① Qur’ān – Command of Qiyām al-Layl for all nights

Reference: al-Muzzammil: 1–4

② The Prophet ﷺ called Tarāwīḥ Ṣalāt al-Layl

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 729; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 761

③ Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه reported long congregational prayers up to near Suḥūr

Reference: Abū Dāwūd: 1375 – Ṣaḥīḥ

④ Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه preferred later-night prayer

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2010

⑤ Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī (Deobandī) affirmed Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud are one prayer

Reference: Fayḍ al-Bārī: 2/420

⑥ Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī affirmed the same

Reference: Laṭāʾif Qāsimiyyah

⑦ Imām Muḥammad (student of Abū Ḥanīfah) included the Ḥadīth under Qiyām Ramaḍān

⑧ Ibn al-Humām (Ḥanafī) declared 20-rakʿah reports contradictory to authentic ḥadīth

Reference: Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 1/205

Second Ḥadīth​

Jābir رضي الله عنه said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed eight rakʿahs and witr with us in Ramaḍān.”

Reference: Ibn Ḥibbān: 2409; Ibn Khuzaymah: 1070 – Ṣaḥīḥ

Third Ḥadīth​

Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه led his family in eight rakʿahs and witr, and the Prophet ﷺ approved it.

Reference: Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 1801 – Ḥasan

Fourth Ḥadīth​

Sāʾib ibn Yazīd رضي الله عنه said:

“ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ordered Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and Tamīm al-Dārī to lead the people in eleven rakʿahs.”

Reference: Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik; al-Bayhaqī; Ibn Abī Shaybah

Conclusion​

From these authentic narrations, it is clearly established that Tarāwīḥ consists of eight rakʿahs (with witr making eleven), and anything beyond this is not proven from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Key Principle​

❀ Since Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud are the same prayer, the rulings of Tahajjud apply equally to Tarāwīḥ.