Critical Review of Proofs for Twenty Rak‘ahs of Tarawih

This excerpt is taken from the book “Tahqeeqi Jaiza: Ta‘daad Raka‘at Qiyam Ramadan” by the Hadith scholar of the era, Shaykh Zubair Ali Za’i رحمه الله.

Review of an Advertisement on the Issue of Tarawih​

One of my friends (Hafiz Firdaus Hadhrawi) gave me an advertisement in which the claim was made that the Sunnah Tarawih consists of twenty rak‘ahs, and a demand was made that a reasoned response be written to it. Therefore, this brief reply is presented for the fair-minded reader.

The statements of the claimant who asserts that twenty rak‘ahs of Tarawih are Sunnah are quoted verbatim, followed by their answers.

Claim: Hadith No. 1​

It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه that indeed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray twenty rak‘ahs of Tarawih and Witr in Ramadan.
Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 2/393

Answer​

This hadith is fabricated (mawdu‘).

In Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah (2/394), this narration is reported with the chain:
Ibrahim bin ‘Uthman → al-Hakam → Miqsam → Ibn ‘Abbas

Regarding Ibrahim bin ‘Uthman, the Hanafi scholar ‘Allamah Zayla‘i رحمه الله (d. 762 AH) states:

قال أحمد: منكر الحديث
Imam Ahmad رحمه الله said: He narrates rejected (munkar) ahadith.

Reference: Nasb al-Rayah 1/53

‘Allamah Zayla‘i also declared one of his narrations weak in Nasb al-Rayah (2/66), and on page 67 he quoted from Imam al-Bayhaqi رحمه الله:

وهو ضعيف
He is weak.

And on (2/153), he quoted Abu’l-Fath Salim bin Ayyub al-Razi al-Faqih:

وهو متفق على ضعفه
There is consensus on his weakness.

‘Ayni al-Hanafi states:

كذبه شعبة وضعفه أحمد وابن معين والبخاري والنسائي وغيرهم، وأورد له ابن عدي هذا الحديث في الكامل في مناكيره
Shu‘bah declared him a liar, and Ahmad, Ibn Ma‘in, al-Bukhari, al-Nasa’i and others declared him weak. Ibn ‘Adi mentioned this hadith among his rejected narrations in al-Kamil.

Reference: ‘Umdat al-Qari 8/128

Ibn al-Humam al-Hanafi criticized this hadith in Fath al-Qadir (1/333), and ‘Abdul Hayy Lucknawi رحمه الله did so in his Fatawa (1/354).

Anwar Shah Kashmiri al-Deobandi wrote:

وأما عشرون ركعة فهو عنه ﷺ بسند ضعيف وعلى ضعفه اتفاق
As for twenty rak‘ahs, it is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ with a weak chain, and there is consensus on its weakness.

Reference: Al-‘Urf al-Shadhi 1/126

Other Deobandi scholars have also criticized this hadith and its narrator, such as Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi in Awjaz al-Masalik (1/397).

For severe criticism of Abu Shaybah Ibrahim bin ‘Uthman, see Mizan al-I‘tidal (4761) and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (1/144–145).

‘Allamah al-Suyuti رحمه الله said:

هذا حديث ضعيف جدا لا تقوم به حجة
This hadith is extremely weak; no proof can be established from it.

Reference: Al-Hawi 1/347

Thus, this narration has not been accepted by the scholars; rather, leading scholars such as Hafiz al-Dhahabi, Zayla‘i, ‘Ayni, and Ibn al-Humam rejected it. Deceiving uneducated people with it is highly blameworthy.

Claim: Hadith No. 2​

Yahya bin Sa‘id رحمه الله states that ‘Umar رضي الله عنه ordered a man to lead the people in twenty rak‘ahs.

Answer​

This chain is disconnected (munqati‘).

Nimawi (d. 1322 AH) writes:

قلت: رجاله ثقات لكن يحيى بن سعيد الأنصاري لم يدرك عمر
I say: its narrators are trustworthy, but Yahya bin Sa‘id al-Ansari did not meet ‘Umar.

Reference: Hashiyat Athar al-Sunan p. 253

Presenting disconnected reports in such an important issue—what kind of service to religion is this?

Claim: Hadith No. 3​

Imam Hasan رحمه الله states that ‘Umar رضي الله عنه used to make people pray twenty rak‘ahs of Tarawih.
Nuskhat Abi Dawud

Answer​

This is a blatant lie.

In our copy of Sunan Abi Dawud (2/136, Hadith 429, Egyptian edition), the wording is:

فكان يصلي لهم عشرين ليلة
He would lead them for twenty nights.

Al-Sunan al-Kubra 2/498

Imam al-Bayhaqi also transmitted this narration from Abu Dawud with the wording “twenty nights”, not twenty rak‘ahs. The same wording is found in Mishkat al-Masabih, Tuhfat al-Ashraf, and others.

Hafiz Zayla‘i also quoted it from Abu Dawud as ‘ishrin laylah (twenty nights). This is sufficient for a fair-minded person—may Allah curse the liars.

Claim: Hadith No. 4​

Yazid bin Ruman رحمه الله states that during the time of ‘Umar رضي الله عنه, people used to pray 23 rak‘ahs in Ramadan.

Answer​

This narration is disconnected, as explicitly stated by ‘Ayni al-Hanafi in ‘Umdat al-Qari (11/27).

Nimawi said:

يزيد بن رومان لم يدرك عمر بن الخطاب
Yazid bin Ruman did not meet ‘Umar bin al-Khattab.

Reference: Athar al-Sunan, Hashiyah p. 253

Claim: Hadith No. 5​

Sa’ib bin Yazid رضي الله عنه states that during the time of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman رضي الله عنهما, people used to pray twenty rak‘ahs of Tarawih.

Answer​

Firstly, in al-Bayhaqi (2/496), it is absolutely not stated that people prayed twenty rak‘ahs during the time of ‘Uthman. Attributing this to ‘Uthman is a blatant lie.

Secondly, one narrator of this report, ‘Ali bin al-Ja‘d, was criticized for Shi‘ite tendencies and for disparaging Mu‘awiyah رضي الله عنه and other Companions.

Although his narrations appear in Sahih al-Bukhari as corroborations and many scholars declared him trustworthy, how can a disputed narrator’s shadh report be presented against the authentic narration of Muwatta’ Imam Malik?

Claim: Hadith No. 6​

It is narrated from Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami رحمه الله that ‘Ali رضي الله عنه in Ramadan … etc.

Answer​

This narration is severely weak.

In al-Sunan al-Kubra (2/496), one narrator is Hammad bin Shu‘ayb, whom Ibn Ma‘in, al-Nasa’i, and Abu Zur‘ah declared weak. Imam al-Bukhari said:

منكر الحديث… تركوا حديثه
His hadith is rejected; his narrations were abandoned.

Reference: Lisan al-Mizan 2/348

See Nimawi’s criticism in Hashiyat Athar al-Sunan p. 254.

Another narrator, ‘Ata’ bin al-Sa’ib, suffered from ikhtilat (memory confusion). Zayla‘i al-Hanafi said:

لكنه اختلط بآخره وجميع من روى عنه في الاختلاط إلا شعبة وسفيان
He suffered confusion at the end of his life, and all who narrated from him did so after the confusion, except Shu‘bah and Sufyan.

Reference: Nasb al-Rayah 3/58

Selecting weak, rejected, and fabricated narrations to mislead people is extremely reprehensible. One must remember death and accountability.

Claim: Hadith No. 7​

Abu’l-Hasna’ رحمه الله states that ‘Ali رضي الله عنه commanded …

Answer​

This chain is also weak.

Abu’l-Hasna’ is unknown (majhul).

Reference: Taqrib al-Tahdhib, Ibn Hajar, no. 8053, p. 201

Hafiz al-Dhahabi said:

لا يعرف
He is not known.

Reference: Mizan al-I‘tidal 4/515

Nimawi also stated:

وهو لا يعرف

Reference: Hashiyat Athar al-Sunan p. 255

Claim: Hadith No. 8​

Imam Husayn رضي الله عنه states that ‘Ali رضي الله عنه ordered twenty rak‘ahs.
Musnad Zayd p. 139

Answer​

Citing the fabricated Musnad of the Zaydi Shi‘a is astonishing. Its narrator ‘Amr bin Khalid al-Wasiti was unanimously declared a liar by the hadith scholars.

Imam Ahmad and Ibn Ma‘in said:

كذاب

Reference: Tahdhib al-Tahdhib

He narrated fabricated reports from Zayd bin ‘Ali.

Reference: Mizan al-I‘tidal 3/257

Another narrator, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin Ishaq bin al-Baqqal, was also an extremist Shi‘a and weak.

Reference: Lisan al-Mizan 4/25; Tarikh Baghdad 1/458

This book contains many fabricated narrations, e.g., see Musnad Zayd p. 405.

Claim: Hadith No. 9​

‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه used to lead twenty rak‘ahs of Tarawih.
Qiyam al-Layl p. 9

Answer​

This chain is disconnected.

In our copy of Qiyam al-Layl by al-Marwazi (p. 20), this narration is reported without a chain from al-A‘mash. In ‘Umdat al-Qari (11/127), the chain includes Hafs bin Ghiyath → al-A‘mash.

Ibn Mas‘ud رضي الله عنه died in 32 or 33 AH, while al-A‘mash was born in 61 AH. He was a well-known trustworthy mudallis. Thus, this is a disconnected narration. Hafs bin Ghiyath was also a mudallis and narrates with ‘an‘anah. Such reports are like a drowning person clutching at a straw.

Claim: Hadith No. 10​

‘Ata’ رحمه الله states: I found people praying twenty rak‘ahs of Tarawih and three Witr.
Ibn Abi Shaybah 2/393

Answer​

① This is neither Qur’an, nor Hadith, nor consensus.
② Nor is it the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
③ The word “only” in this translation is incorrect.
④ The practice of unknown people is not a legal proof.
⑤ Their practice contradicts the command of a Rightly Guided Caliph, as will be mentioned later.
⑥ The people of Madinah used to pray 41 rak‘ahs.

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhi 1/162, Hadith 802

Is their practice a legal proof as well?