Source: Extracted from Hudiyyat al-Muslimīn – Namāz ke Aham Masāʾil maʿ Maqmal Namāz al-Nabawiyyah ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Zai رحمه الله
From ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray eleven rakʿahs between finishing the ʿIshāʾ prayer — which the people call al-ʿAtamah — and the Fajr prayer. He would say salām after every two rakʿahs, and then offer one rakʿah as Witr."
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/254, Ḥadīth 736]
① This ḥadīth proves that the total night prayer is 11 rakʿahs (2+2+2+2+2+1).
② The prayer the Prophet ﷺ prayed in Ramadan was eight rakʿahs plus three Witr.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 2/138, Ḥadīth 1070; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 4/62, Ḥadīth 2401]
③ ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) instructed Ubayy bin Kaʿb (رضي الله عنه) and Tamīm al-Dārī (رضي الله عنه) to lead the people in 11 rakʿahs in Ramadan.
[Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik: 1/114, Ḥadīth 249 – authenticated by al-Ḍiyāʾ al-Maqdisī in al-Mukhtārah, al-Nīmāwī, and strengthened by al-Ṭaḥāwī]
④ Imām Mālik also held the view of only 11 rakʿahs.
[Kitāb al-Ṣalāh wa al-Tahajjud by ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Ishbīlī, p. 287]
⑤ Imām Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad bin ʿUmar al-Qurṭubī (d. 665 AH) said:
"Many scholars have said that the number of rakʿahs for Qiyām in Ramadan is eleven, basing their proof on the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) mentioned earlier."
[al-Mufhim limā Ashkala min Talkhīṣ Kitāb Muslim: 2/390]
⑥ According to Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī, Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud are the same prayer.
[Fayḍ al-Bārī: 2/420; al-ʿUrf al-Shadhī: 1/166]
Ḥadīth Evidence
From ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray eleven rakʿahs between finishing the ʿIshāʾ prayer — which the people call al-ʿAtamah — and the Fajr prayer. He would say salām after every two rakʿahs, and then offer one rakʿah as Witr."
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/254, Ḥadīth 736]
Benefits and Rulings
① This ḥadīth proves that the total night prayer is 11 rakʿahs (2+2+2+2+2+1).
- In a narration of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, it is stated that whether in Ramadan or outside it, the Prophet ﷺ never prayed more than 11 rakʿahs.
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1/269, Ḥadīth 2013] - The narration used to prove 20 rakʿahs has been unanimously declared weak by ḥadīth scholars. Even Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī (Deobandī) said: “There is consensus on its weakness.”
[al-ʿUrf al-Shadhī: 1/166]
② The prayer the Prophet ﷺ prayed in Ramadan was eight rakʿahs plus three Witr.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 2/138, Ḥadīth 1070; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 4/62, Ḥadīth 2401]
- Its narrators are trustworthy according to the majority.
- A supporting narration exists in Musnad Abī Yaʿlā, which al-Haythamī graded ḥasan.
[Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: 2/74]
③ ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) instructed Ubayy bin Kaʿb (رضي الله عنه) and Tamīm al-Dārī (رضي الله عنه) to lead the people in 11 rakʿahs in Ramadan.
[Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik: 1/114, Ḥadīth 249 – authenticated by al-Ḍiyāʾ al-Maqdisī in al-Mukhtārah, al-Nīmāwī, and strengthened by al-Ṭaḥāwī]
- Based on this command, the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) used to pray 11 rakʿahs in Ramadan.
[Sunan Saʿīd bin Manṣūr; al-Ḥāwī fī al-Fatāwā by al-Suyūṭī: 1/350] - No authentic report exists proving that ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) commanded, approved, or practiced 20 rakʿahs for Tarāwīḥ. The narration from Yazīd bin Rumān is munqaṭiʿ (disconnected) and describes the action of unknown people, not the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions.
④ Imām Mālik also held the view of only 11 rakʿahs.
[Kitāb al-Ṣalāh wa al-Tahajjud by ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Ishbīlī, p. 287]
- This was also the conclusion of Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī and others.
[ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/19]
⑤ Imām Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad bin ʿUmar al-Qurṭubī (d. 665 AH) said:
"Many scholars have said that the number of rakʿahs for Qiyām in Ramadan is eleven, basing their proof on the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) mentioned earlier."
[al-Mufhim limā Ashkala min Talkhīṣ Kitāb Muslim: 2/390]
⑥ According to Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī, Tarāwīḥ and Tahajjud are the same prayer.
[Fayḍ al-Bārī: 2/420; al-ʿUrf al-Shadhī: 1/166]
