Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling if a person prays half of the Tarāwīḥ rakʿāt with the Imām and completes the rest later during the last part of the night?
This is permissible, but the virtue of completing the entire Qiyām with the Imām will not be fully attained.
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه narrates:
“We fasted in Ramaḍān with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he did not lead us in Qiyām until the 23rd night, in which he led us for one-third of the night.
On the 24th night, he did not lead us.
On the 25th night, he led us for half the night.
I said: O Messenger of Allah! If only you had led us for the whole night!
He ﷺ replied:
إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا صَلَّى مَعَ الإِمَامِ حَتَّى يَنْصَرِفَ، كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ.
“When a man prays with the Imām until he finishes, it is recorded for him as if he stood in prayer for the entire night.”
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/159
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1375
Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 1606
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 806
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1327
Chain is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ).
Conclusion:
❖ Question:
What is the ruling if a person prays half of the Tarāwīḥ rakʿāt with the Imām and completes the rest later during the last part of the night?
✿ Answer:
This is permissible, but the virtue of completing the entire Qiyām with the Imām will not be fully attained.
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه narrates:
“We fasted in Ramaḍān with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he did not lead us in Qiyām until the 23rd night, in which he led us for one-third of the night.
On the 24th night, he did not lead us.
On the 25th night, he led us for half the night.
I said: O Messenger of Allah! If only you had led us for the whole night!
He ﷺ replied:
إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا صَلَّى مَعَ الإِمَامِ حَتَّى يَنْصَرِفَ، كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ.
“When a man prays with the Imām until he finishes, it is recorded for him as if he stood in prayer for the entire night.”
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/159 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1375 Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 1606 Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 806 Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1327 Chain is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ). Conclusion:- If someone splits their Tarāwīḥ — part with the Imām and part later — it is valid.
- However, to gain the reward of an entire night’s Qiyām, one must remain with the Imām until he finishes.
