Number of Rakʿahs of Tarawih: Research-Based Islamic Review

This excerpt is taken from the book A Research Review of the Number of Rakʿahs of Qiyām Ramaḍān by the Muhaddith of the era, Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على رسوله الأمين، أما بعد :

All praise is for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His trustworthy Messenger. To proceed:

Striving to attain closeness to Allah is never sufficient, no matter how much effort is exerted, because the ultimate objective of the life of the believers is that Allah, the Lord of Might and Majesty, becomes pleased with them in this world, and that they attain success in the Hereafter.

In this regard, one of the best means is Qiyām al-Layl, about which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

عليكم بقيام الليل فإنه دأب الصالحين قبلكم وقربة إلى الله عز وجل ومكفرة للسيئات ومنهاة عن الإثم

“Adopt Qiyām al-Layl, for indeed it was the practice of the righteous before you; it is a means of closeness to Allah Almighty, an expiation for sins, and a protection from wrongdoing.”

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 3549

✔ Its chain is ḥasan

He ﷺ also said:

وأفضل الصلاة بعد الفريضة صلاة الليل

“The most virtuous prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1163

When this same prayer is performed in the month of Ramaḍān, it is called Qiyām Ramaḍān, and among common people it is known as Tarāwīḥ, etc. 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: 1901

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 759

What Is the Number of Rakʿahs of This Highly Virtuous Prayer?​

Umm al-Muʾminīn Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها states:

ما كان يزيد فى رمضان ولا فى غيره على إحدى عشرة ركعة

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rakʿahs, neither in Ramaḍān nor outside it.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2013

From the testimony of Umm al-Muʾminīn Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, it becomes clear that:

① Tahajjud, Qiyām al-Layl, Qiyām Ramaḍān, and Tarāwīḥ are different names for the same prayer.
② Whether in Ramaḍān or outside it, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed eleven rakʿahs at night.

Practice of the Companions رضي الله عنهم​

It is narrated from Sayyidunā Jābir bin ʿAbdullāh al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه:

صلى بنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فى رمضان ثمان ركعات والوتر

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

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 1070

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 2401, 2406

This same number of rakʿahs is also established from the noble Companions رضي الله عنهم.

Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه instructed Ubayy bin Kaʿb رضي الله عنه and Tamīm al-Dārī رضي الله عنه to lead the people in Qiyām Ramaḍān with eleven rakʿahs.

Reference: Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik: 249

Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 2/496

Rather, even the people of taqlīd, including non-Ahl al-Ḥadīth scholars, have acknowledged this reality that the Sunnah is eleven rakʿahs. For example:

Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī al-Ḥanafī said:

فتحصل من هذا كله أن قيام رمضان سنة إحدى عشرة بالوتر فى جماعة فعله عليه الصلوة والسلام

“The conclusion of all this is that Qiyām Ramaḍān is eleven rakʿahs with witr in congregation, and this was the practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”

Reference: Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ 3/382

Khalīl Aḥmad Sahāranpūrī al-Deobandī wrote:

“Being Sunnah Muʾakkadah, eight rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ is unanimously agreed upon.”

Reference: Barāhīn Qāṭiʿah (p. 195)

When it is established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the Companions رضي الله عنهم, and even senior non-Ahl al-Ḥadīth scholars that Tarāwīḥ is 8 + 3 = 11 rakʿahs, then what meaning does dispute and argument have?

Such people should keep in mind the saying of Allah Almighty:

فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“So let those beware who oppose his command, lest a trial afflict them or a painful punishment befall them.”

Reference: Sūrah al-Nūr: 63

About the Book​

This book was previously published under the title A Research Review of the Number of Rakʿahs of Qiyām Ramaḍān, which was a compilation of several articles. The original book is Nūr al-Maṣābīḥ fī Masʾalah al-Tarāwīḥ, but the responses written at different times to various objections and doubts were also incorporated into it.

Style of the Book​

At the beginning of the book, Faḍīlat al-Shaykh Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله wrote a thought-provoking introduction, in which he exposed the falsehoods, fallacies, contradictions, dishonesty, ignorance, and deceptive tactics of the people of blind following, clarifying how they attempt to mislead simple-minded Muslims.

After the introduction, Nūr al-Maṣābīḥ fī Masʾalah al-Tarāwīḥ begins, wherein the respected teacher establishes with sound, scholarly, and research-based discussion that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions رضي الله عنهم prayed 8 + 3 = 11 rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ.

When some people published a pamphlet titled “The Sunnah Tarāwīḥ Are Twenty Rakʿahs”, scholarly and research-based analysis tore apart its weak and hollow arguments.

When a person named Masʿūd Aḥmad Khān Deobandī wrote a book titled Ḍiyāʾ al-Maṣābīḥ fī Masʾalah al-Tarāwīḥ attempting to portray falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood, the respected teacher took up his pen only to clarify the reality for the people. Similarly, responses were written to Muḥammad Shuʿayb Quraishī to correct his misunderstandings and to provide benefit to others.

At the end, two comprehensive discussions—complete responses to the Chapters of Tarāwīḥ in Ḥadīth and Ahl al-Ḥadīth, and the discussion on eight rakʿahs of Tarāwīḥ along with additions by non-Ahl al-Ḥadīth scholars—further enhanced the usefulness and comprehensiveness of the book. It should be noted that repetition under the heading of “Benefits” has been deliberately avoided. The book is now being republished with both outward and inward excellence.

Important Note​

For a detailed study regarding Tarāwīḥ, i.e., Qiyām Ramaḍān, refer to the great work of Mawlānā Naẓīr Aḥmad Raḥmānī Aʿẓamī رحمه الله titled Anwār al-Maṣābīḥ bi-Jawāb Rakʿāt al-Tarāwīḥ, as it contains many scholarly and research benefits.

In conclusion, I supplicate to Allah that He accept all the scholarly and religious efforts of our respected teacher Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله, and make this labor and striving a means of salvation. Āmīn

Introduction of the Book​

The entire literature of the blind followers regarding the claim that only twenty rakʿahs of congregational Qiyām Ramaḍān (Tarāwīḥ) are Sunnah Muʾakkadah falls into the following categories:

◈ Falsehoods
◈ Contradictions
◈ Dishonesty
◈ Deceptive tactics
◈ Ignorance
◈ Fallacies
◈ Mismatch between claim and evidence
◈ Low and vulgar language

In these sections, the author exposes fabricated statements, weak and disconnected reports, distortions of scholarly statements, misuse of consensus claims, ignorance in identifying narrators, misleading arguments, and inappropriate language, and he establishes—on the basis of the Qurʾān, Sunnah, consensus, and principles of the muḥaddithīn—that throughout the year, in Ramaḍān and outside it, eleven rakʿahs of Qiyām after ʿIshāʾ until Fajr are Sunnah, with two optional rakʿahs after witr being a special practice of the Prophet ﷺ.

والله أعلم