✿ A Detailed Response to a Common Question
Many people question the Shar‘i basis for offering Tarawih prayer in congregation, especially under the leadership of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه).
This article addresses three key questions with authentic evidence from Qur’an and Hadith, along with the practical implementation by the rightly-guided Caliphs.
Yes, the Prophet ﷺ did lead Tarawih prayer in congregation for a few nights during Ramadan, but then stopped not due to prohibition, but out of concern that it might be made obligatory.
Abū Dharr (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
“I said: O Messenger of Allah, why don't you lead us in prayer the rest of the night?” He ﷺ said:
«إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا صَلَّى مَعَ الإِمَامِ حَتَّى يَنْصَرِفَ، كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ»
“Whoever prays with the Imam until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as if he spent the entire night in prayer.”
[Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, Nasā’ī, Ibn Mājah]
✿ This Hadith indicates that the virtue of congregational Qiyām al-Layl (including Tarawih) was affirmed by the Prophet ﷺ.
✿ The Prophet ﷺ did not forbid the practice, but paused it to avoid it becoming an obligatory act (farḍ).
«فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ صَلَاةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلَّا الْمَكْتُوبَةَ»
“The best prayer of a man is in his home, except for the obligatory prayers.”
[Bukhārī – Kitāb al-Adhān; Muslim – Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfirīn]
✿ This encourages praying voluntary prayers at home, but does not restrict congregational prayer in the mosque.
During the Khilāfah of Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه):
✿ The Muslim Ummah was facing severe challenges, such as:
– Apostasy (ridda)
– Refusal to pay zakāt
– False claimants to prophethood
✿ Due to these crises, communal Tarawih was not revived — not due to any Shar‘i prohibition, but because the priority was the preservation of the Ummah.
Yes, when the Ummah was stabilized during his Khilāfah, ʿUmar (RA) revived the Sunnah of congregational Tarawih.
‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd al-Qārī said:
“I went out with ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) one night in Ramadan to the mosque, and the people were praying in scattered groups — a man praying alone, a man praying with a few others. ʿUmar said:”
«إِنِّي أَرَىٰ لَوْ جَمَعْتُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ عَلَىٰ قَارِئٍ وَاحِدٍ لَكَانَ أَمْثَلَ»
“I think it would be better if I gathered them behind one reciter.”
So he appointed Ubayy ibn Kaʿb to lead them. Then one night we came out again, and people were praying behind their Imam. ʿUmar said:
«نِعْمَتِ الْبِدْعَةُ هَٰذِهِ»
“What a good innovation this is!”
And he added:
*“But the one they sleep through (i.e., last part of the night) is better than the one they are performing now.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Tarāwīḥ]
✔ ʿUmar (RA) revived a Sunnah left due to fear of obligation
✔ He appointed an official Imam (Ubayy ibn Kaʿb) for Tarawih
✔ He praised the act and referred to it as a “blessed innovation”, meaning reviving a practice in a structured form
❖ The Prophet ﷺ initiated Tarawih in congregation but paused it to avoid making it obligatory.
❖ Abū Bakr (RA) prioritized greater communal challenges during his brief Khilāfah.
❖ ʿUmar (RA) revived and organized congregational Tarawih based on clear Prophetic precedent, not as a new invention.
✔ Therefore, congregational Tarawih is firmly rooted in Sunnah, approved by the rightly-guided Caliphs, and practiced by the entire Ummah since the era of the Companions.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
❖ Introduction
Many people question the Shar‘i basis for offering Tarawih prayer in congregation, especially under the leadership of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه).
This article addresses three key questions with authentic evidence from Qur’an and Hadith, along with the practical implementation by the rightly-guided Caliphs.
✦ ① Did the Prophet ﷺ Lead Tarawih in Congregation for Only Three Nights?
Yes, the Prophet ﷺ did lead Tarawih prayer in congregation for a few nights during Ramadan, but then stopped not due to prohibition, but out of concern that it might be made obligatory.
❖ Hadith Evidence:
Abū Dharr (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
“I said: O Messenger of Allah, why don't you lead us in prayer the rest of the night?” He ﷺ said:
«إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا صَلَّى مَعَ الإِمَامِ حَتَّى يَنْصَرِفَ، كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ»
“Whoever prays with the Imam until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as if he spent the entire night in prayer.”
[Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, Nasā’ī, Ibn Mājah]
✿ This Hadith indicates that the virtue of congregational Qiyām al-Layl (including Tarawih) was affirmed by the Prophet ﷺ.
✿ The Prophet ﷺ did not forbid the practice, but paused it to avoid it becoming an obligatory act (farḍ).
❖ Another Hadith:
«فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ صَلَاةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلَّا الْمَكْتُوبَةَ»
“The best prayer of a man is in his home, except for the obligatory prayers.”
[Bukhārī – Kitāb al-Adhān; Muslim – Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfirīn]
✿ This encourages praying voluntary prayers at home, but does not restrict congregational prayer in the mosque.
✦ ② Why Was Tarawih in Congregation Not Continued in the Time of Abū Bakr (RA)?
During the Khilāfah of Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه):
✿ The Muslim Ummah was facing severe challenges, such as:
– Apostasy (ridda)
– Refusal to pay zakāt
– False claimants to prophethood
✿ Due to these crises, communal Tarawih was not revived — not due to any Shar‘i prohibition, but because the priority was the preservation of the Ummah.
✦ ③ Did ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA) Lead or Initiate Congregational Tarawih? What Is the Evidence?
Yes, when the Ummah was stabilized during his Khilāfah, ʿUmar (RA) revived the Sunnah of congregational Tarawih.
❖ Authentic Hadith from
‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd al-Qārī said:
“I went out with ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) one night in Ramadan to the mosque, and the people were praying in scattered groups — a man praying alone, a man praying with a few others. ʿUmar said:”
«إِنِّي أَرَىٰ لَوْ جَمَعْتُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ عَلَىٰ قَارِئٍ وَاحِدٍ لَكَانَ أَمْثَلَ»
“I think it would be better if I gathered them behind one reciter.”
So he appointed Ubayy ibn Kaʿb to lead them. Then one night we came out again, and people were praying behind their Imam. ʿUmar said:
«نِعْمَتِ الْبِدْعَةُ هَٰذِهِ»
“What a good innovation this is!”
And he added:
*“But the one they sleep through (i.e., last part of the night) is better than the one they are performing now.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Tarāwīḥ]
❖ Key Takeaways from This Report:
✔ ʿUmar (RA) revived a Sunnah left due to fear of obligation
✔ He appointed an official Imam (Ubayy ibn Kaʿb) for Tarawih
✔ He praised the act and referred to it as a “blessed innovation”, meaning reviving a practice in a structured form
✔ Conclusion:
❖ The Prophet ﷺ initiated Tarawih in congregation but paused it to avoid making it obligatory.
❖ Abū Bakr (RA) prioritized greater communal challenges during his brief Khilāfah.
❖ ʿUmar (RA) revived and organized congregational Tarawih based on clear Prophetic precedent, not as a new invention.
✔ Therefore, congregational Tarawih is firmly rooted in Sunnah, approved by the rightly-guided Caliphs, and practiced by the entire Ummah since the era of the Companions.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
