This excerpt is taken from the book A Research Review of the Number of Rakʿahs of Qiyām Ramaḍān, authored by the contemporary ḥadīth scholar Shaykh Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يُصَلِّي فِيمَا بَيْنَ أَنْ يَفْرُغَ مِنْ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ، وَهِيَ الَّتِي يَدْعُو النَّاسُ الْعَتَمَةَ، إِلَى الْفَجْرِ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً، يُسَلِّمُ بَيْنَ كُلِّ رَكْعَتَيْنِ، وَيُوتِرُ بِوَاحِدَةٍ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray eleven rakʿahs from after finishing the ʿIshāʾ prayer until dawn. He would give salām after every two rakʿahs and would perform one rakʿah of witr.”
The ʿIshāʾ prayer is also referred to by the people as “al-ʿAtamah.”
❀ Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān رحمه الله asked Umm al-Muʾminīn Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah al-Ṣiddīqah رضي الله عنها about how the night prayer (Tarāwīḥ) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was during Ramaḍān. She replied:
مَا كَانَ يَزِيدُ فِي رَمَضَانَ وَلَا فِي غَيْرِهِ عَلَىٰ إِحْدَىٰ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً
“He never exceeded eleven rakʿahs, neither in Ramaḍān nor outside Ramaḍān.”
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه that:
صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي رَمَضَانَ ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ وَالْوِتْرَ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in prayer during Ramaḍān; he prayed eight rakʿahs and witr.”
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه that he said:
“I prayed eight rakʿahs and witr during Ramaḍān, and I informed the Prophet ﷺ about it. He ﷺ did not say anything. Thus, it became an approved Sunnah.”
❀ Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī رحمه الله (d. 807 AH) said regarding this ḥadīth:
إِسْنَادُهُ حَسَنٌ
“Its chain is good.”
This report has been declared authentic by numerous scholars. Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Nīmāwī رحمه الله (d. 1322 AH) wrote regarding it:
وَإِسْنَادُهُ صَحِيحٌ
“Its chain is authentic.”
❀ It is mentioned in Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (d. 235 AH):
إِنَّ عُمَرَ جَمَعَ النَّاسَ عَلَىٰ أُبَيٍّ وَتَمِيمٍ، فَكَانَا يُصَلِّيَانِ إِحْدَىٰ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً
“Indeed, ʿUmar gathered the people behind Ubayy and Tamīm, and they used to lead them in eleven rakʿahs.”
This narration has a completely authentic chain. It was also reported by ʿUmar ibn Shabbah رحمه الله (d. 262 AH) in Tārīkh al-Madīnah (2/713).
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā al-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd رضي الله عنه:
كُنَّا نَقُومُ فِي زَمَانِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ ﷺ بِإِحْدَىٰ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً
“We used to perform eleven rakʿahs during the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه.”
❀ Regarding this narration, ʿAllāmah Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله (d. 911 AH) said:
بِسَنَدٍ فِي غَايَةِ الصِّحَّةِ
“It is narrated with an extremely authentic chain.”
إِنَّهُ مَنْ قَامَ مَعَ الْإِمَامِ حَتَّىٰ يَنْصَرِفَ كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ
“Whoever stands (in prayer) with the Imām until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as though he stood in prayer for the entire night.”
❀ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said:
هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ
“This ḥadīth is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.”
❀ Anwar Shāh Kāshmīrī al-Deobandī (d. 1352 AH) said:
وَلَا مَنَاصَ مِنْ تَسْلِيمِ أَنَّ تَرَاوِيحَهُ ﷺ كَانَتْ ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَلَمْ يَثْبُتْ فِي رِوَايَةٍ مِنَ الرِّوَايَاتِ أَنَّهُ ﷺ صَلَّى التَّرَاوِيحَ وَالتَّهَجُّدَ عَلَىٰ حِدَةٍ فِي رَمَضَانَ
“There is no escape from accepting that the Tarāwīḥ of the Prophet ﷺ consisted of eight rakʿahs, and it is not established in any narration that he ﷺ prayed Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud separately in Ramaḍān.”
❀ He further said:
وَأَمَّا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فَصَحَّ عَنْهُ ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَأَمَّا عِشْرُونَ رَكْعَةً فَهِيَ عَنْهُ ﷺ بِسَنَدٍ ضَعِيفٍ، وَعَلَىٰ ضَعْفِهِ اتِّفَاقٌ
“As for the Prophet ﷺ, eight rakʿahs are authentically established from him. As for the narration of twenty rakʿahs, it is reported from him ﷺ with a weak chain, and there is consensus on its weakness.”
❀ From the Rightly Guided Caliph, Sayyidunā ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, twenty rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ are not established with any authentic, connected chain. Whatever the opponents present is either disconnected, or it does not mention any statement, action, or tacit approval of Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه at all. Therefore, presenting such weak, irrelevant narrations and the highly disputed practices of unknown individuals against the authentic, connected, and firmly established ruling of eleven rakʿahs from Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه is an extremely reprehensible act.
The Sunnah Tarāwīḥ with Witr Consists of Eleven Rakʿahs
❀ Umm al-Muʾminīn Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها said:كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يُصَلِّي فِيمَا بَيْنَ أَنْ يَفْرُغَ مِنْ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ، وَهِيَ الَّتِي يَدْعُو النَّاسُ الْعَتَمَةَ، إِلَى الْفَجْرِ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً، يُسَلِّمُ بَيْنَ كُلِّ رَكْعَتَيْنِ، وَيُوتِرُ بِوَاحِدَةٍ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray eleven rakʿahs from after finishing the ʿIshāʾ prayer until dawn. He would give salām after every two rakʿahs and would perform one rakʿah of witr.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/254, ḥadīth: 736
The ʿIshāʾ prayer is also referred to by the people as “al-ʿAtamah.”
❀ Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān رحمه الله asked Umm al-Muʾminīn Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah al-Ṣiddīqah رضي الله عنها about how the night prayer (Tarāwīḥ) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was during Ramaḍān. She replied:
مَا كَانَ يَزِيدُ فِي رَمَضَانَ وَلَا فِي غَيْرِهِ عَلَىٰ إِحْدَىٰ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً
“He never exceeded eleven rakʿahs, neither in Ramaḍān nor outside Ramaḍān.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1/269; ʿUmdat al-Qārī: 11/128 – Kitāb al-Ṣawm, Kitāb al-Tarāwīḥ, Bāb Faḍl Man Qāma Ramaḍān
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه that:
صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي رَمَضَانَ ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ وَالْوِتْرَ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in prayer during Ramaḍān; he prayed eight rakʿahs and witr.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 2/138, ḥadīth: 1070 – Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 2406
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه that he said:
“I prayed eight rakʿahs and witr during Ramaḍān, and I informed the Prophet ﷺ about it. He ﷺ did not say anything. Thus, it became an approved Sunnah.”
Reference: Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 3/336, ḥadīth: 1801
❀ Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī رحمه الله (d. 807 AH) said regarding this ḥadīth:
إِسْنَادُهُ حَسَنٌ
“Its chain is good.”
Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: 2/74
Practice of the Rightly Guided Caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه
❀ The Commander of the Believers, Sayyidunā ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, instructed Sayyidunā Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه and Sayyidunā Tamīm al-Dārī رضي الله عنه to lead the people in Ramaḍān with eleven rakʿahs at night.
Reference: Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik: p. 98, ḥadīth: 249
This report has been declared authentic by numerous scholars. Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Nīmāwī رحمه الله (d. 1322 AH) wrote regarding it:
وَإِسْنَادُهُ صَحِيحٌ
“Its chain is authentic.”
Reference: Āthār al-Sunan: p. 250
❀ It is mentioned in Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (d. 235 AH):
إِنَّ عُمَرَ جَمَعَ النَّاسَ عَلَىٰ أُبَيٍّ وَتَمِيمٍ، فَكَانَا يُصَلِّيَانِ إِحْدَىٰ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً
“Indeed, ʿUmar gathered the people behind Ubayy and Tamīm, and they used to lead them in eleven rakʿahs.”
This narration has a completely authentic chain. It was also reported by ʿUmar ibn Shabbah رحمه الله (d. 262 AH) in Tārīkh al-Madīnah (2/713).
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā al-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd رضي الله عنه:
كُنَّا نَقُومُ فِي زَمَانِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ ﷺ بِإِحْدَىٰ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً
“We used to perform eleven rakʿahs during the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه.”
Reference: Sunan Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr, cited in al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwī: 1/349 – Ḥāshiyah Āthār al-Sunan: p. 250
❀ Regarding this narration, ʿAllāmah Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله (d. 911 AH) said:
بِسَنَدٍ فِي غَايَةِ الصِّحَّةِ
“It is narrated with an extremely authentic chain.”
Reference: al-Maṣābīḥ fī Ṣalāt al-Tarāwīḥ by al-Suyūṭī: p. 15 – al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwī: 1/350
Virtue of Standing with the Imām
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidunā Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:إِنَّهُ مَنْ قَامَ مَعَ الْإِمَامِ حَتَّىٰ يَنْصَرِفَ كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ
“Whoever stands (in prayer) with the Imām until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as though he stood in prayer for the entire night.”
Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: vol. 1, p. 162, ḥadīth: 802
❀ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said:
هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ
“This ḥadīth is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.”
Clarification Regarding Twenty Rakʿahs
❀ From the beloved Messenger of Allah ﷺ, twenty rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ are absolutely not established.❀ Anwar Shāh Kāshmīrī al-Deobandī (d. 1352 AH) said:
وَلَا مَنَاصَ مِنْ تَسْلِيمِ أَنَّ تَرَاوِيحَهُ ﷺ كَانَتْ ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَلَمْ يَثْبُتْ فِي رِوَايَةٍ مِنَ الرِّوَايَاتِ أَنَّهُ ﷺ صَلَّى التَّرَاوِيحَ وَالتَّهَجُّدَ عَلَىٰ حِدَةٍ فِي رَمَضَانَ
“There is no escape from accepting that the Tarāwīḥ of the Prophet ﷺ consisted of eight rakʿahs, and it is not established in any narration that he ﷺ prayed Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud separately in Ramaḍān.”
❀ He further said:
وَأَمَّا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فَصَحَّ عَنْهُ ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَأَمَّا عِشْرُونَ رَكْعَةً فَهِيَ عَنْهُ ﷺ بِسَنَدٍ ضَعِيفٍ، وَعَلَىٰ ضَعْفِهِ اتِّفَاقٌ
“As for the Prophet ﷺ, eight rakʿahs are authentically established from him. As for the narration of twenty rakʿahs, it is reported from him ﷺ with a weak chain, and there is consensus on its weakness.”
Reference: al-ʿArf al-Shadhī: 1/166
❀ From the Rightly Guided Caliph, Sayyidunā ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, twenty rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ are not established with any authentic, connected chain. Whatever the opponents present is either disconnected, or it does not mention any statement, action, or tacit approval of Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه at all. Therefore, presenting such weak, irrelevant narrations and the highly disputed practices of unknown individuals against the authentic, connected, and firmly established ruling of eleven rakʿahs from Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه is an extremely reprehensible act.
