➊ It is narrated in Sahih Bukhari that Abu Salamah bin Abdul Rahman asked Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): How was the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in Ramadan? She replied:
ماكان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يزيد فى رمضان ولا فى غيره على إحدى عشرة ركعة
Translation: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs in Ramadan and other months.”
➋ Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught us to pray eight rak’ahs and Witr in Ramadan. The next night came and we gathered, hoping that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would come out of his house, but we waited until morning. Then we spoke to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about this, and he said: “I feared that Witr might be made obligatory upon you.”
The chain of this hadith was graded Hasan by Sheikh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) in the authentication of Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah. Some hadith scholars criticized the narrator Isa bin Jariyah, which is ambiguous, but Abu Zur’ah and Ibn Hibban authenticated it, so the ambiguous criticism is outweighed.
➌ Imam Malik narrated from Al-Sa’ib bin Yazid that “Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) and Tamim Al-Dari (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead eleven rak’ahs.”
From these ahadith it is understood that:
➊ The night prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in Ramadan and other months was eleven rak’ahs.
➋ These same eleven rak’ahs were led by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in congregation for the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in Ramadan.
➌ Then when Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered people for Taraweeh prayer, he also ordered two companions, Ubayy bin Ka’b and Tamim Al-Dari (may Allah be pleased with them), to lead eleven rak’ahs.
Taraweeh itself is Tahajjud in Ramadan
“Hazrat Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says that we fasted Ramadan with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), but he did not make us stand in prayer until only seven fasts remained. Then on the 23rd night, he prayed with us and recited so long that one-third of the night passed. Then on the 24th night, he did not lead the prayer. On the 25th night, he prayed with us until half the night passed. Then on the 26th night, he did not pray. On the 27th night, he prayed so long that we feared missing Suhoor.”
From this hadith it is understood that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was content with the Taraweeh prayer in Ramadan and did not pray Tahajjud afterward, because he continued to lead Taraweeh prayers until Suhoor. If there were a difference between Taraweeh and Tahajjud or if they were separate prayers, he would have prayed Tahajjud after Taraweeh. Therefore, Taraweeh in Ramadan is the Tahajjud prayer, and the prayer called Tahajjud on ordinary days is called Taraweeh in Ramadan. This is why hadith scholars have narrated Hazrat Aisha’s (may Allah be pleased with her) first hadith in the book of Taraweeh, and it is absolutely incorrect to interpret it as Tahajjud prayer and then differentiate between it and Taraweeh.
Did Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) not order Taraweeh to be prayed?
We have quoted from Al-Muwatta and Ibn Abi Shaybah the narration of Al-Sa’ib bin Yazid that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered Ubayy bin Ka’b and Tamim Al-Dari (may Allah be pleased with them) to lead eleven rak’ahs. Imam Malik, immediately after narrating this, also brought another narration stating that Yazid bin Ruman said that people used to pray 23 rak’ahs in Ramadan during the time of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).
But this second narration is disconnected (da’if) because its narrator Yazid bin Ruman did not live during Umar’s time. Even if it were accepted as authentic, the first narration would still be stronger because it states that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered two companions to lead eleven rak’ahs, whereas the second narration states that people prayed 23 rak’ahs during Umar’s time. The ruling of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is preferred because it is according to the Sunnah.
Note: All narrations about Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordering twenty rak’ahs of Taraweeh are weak, and none of them is proven authentic.
Summary of the Discussion
From the previous brief discussion, it has become clear that the correct Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ regarding Taraweeh prayer is eleven rak’ahs, and Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also revived this Sunnah and adhered to eleven rak’ahs.
As for the position of some esteemed scholars that Taraweeh prayer can be more than eleven rak’ahs, this is not based on the Sunnah being more than that, but merely on the basis that these are voluntary (nafl) prayers, and in nafl prayers, the number can vary. Therefore, more than eleven, twenty, or even more rak’ahs can be prayed. Our view is that at least on this point there is consensus; the difference lies only in what is Sunnah and what is preferable. When it has been established that the Prophet ﷺ used to pray eleven rak’ahs and that the night voluntary prayers he used to pray on ordinary days are called Taraweeh in Ramadan, then certainly the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ regarding Taraweeh prayer is eleven rak’ahs. If someone prays more than eleven rak’ahs considering them as nafl, there should be no objection to that, but it cannot be considered Sunnah. This position has been adopted by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and the Saudi scholars.
The Issue of Taraweeh and Saudi Scholars
The position of the Saudi scholars on the issue of Taraweeh is exactly the same as mentioned above. Let us look at their statements:
➊ Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him)
والأفضل ما كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يفعله غالبا وهو أن يقوم بثمان ركعات يسلم من كل ركعتين، ويوتر بثلاث مع الخشوع والطمأنينة وترتيل القراءة، لما ثبت فى الصحيحين من عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت : كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يزيد فى رمضان ولا فى غيره على إحدى عشرة ركعة
“And the best is what the Prophet ﷺ used to do most often, which is that a person prays eight rak’ahs, and after every two rak’ahs he gives salam, then prays three rak’ahs of Witr, and throughout the prayer, humility, tranquility, and recitation with tartil are necessary. It is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim from Hazrat Aisha that the Prophet ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs in Ramadan or other months…”
➋ Fatwa Committee (Saudi Arabia’s Fatwa)
صلاة التراويح سنة سنها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقد دلت الأدلة على أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم ما كان يزيد فى رمضان ولا فى غيره على إحدى عشرة ركعة
“Taraweeh prayer is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the evidence indicates that the Prophet ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs in Ramadan or throughout the year.”
This fatwa is signed by four Saudi scholars:
Shaykh Abdullah bin Qa’ud, Shaykh Abdullah bin Ghudayan, Shaykh Abdul Razzaq Afifi, Shaykh Ibn Baz
➌ Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
واختلف السلف الصالح فى عدد الركعات فى صلاة التراويح والوتر معها، فقيل : إحدى وأربعون ركعة، وقيل : تسع و ثلاثون، وقيل : تسع و عشرون، وقيل ثلاث وعشرون، وقيل : تسع عشرة، وقيل : ثلاث عشرة، وقيل : إحدى عشرة، وقيل : غير ذلك، وأرجح هذه الأقوال أنها إحدى عشرة أوثلاث عشرة لما فى الصحيحين عن عائشة رضي الله عنها . . . وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عهنما قال : كانت صلاة النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم ثلاث عشرة ركعة، يعني من الليل، رواه البخاري، وفي الموطأ عن السائب بن يزيد قال : أمر عمر بن الخطاب رضى الله عنه أبى بن كعب و تميما الداري رضي الله عنهما أن يقوما للناس بإحدى عشرة ركعة
“The pious predecessors differed regarding the rak’ahs of Taraweeh prayer including Witr. Some said forty-one, some forty-nine, some thirty-nine, some thirty, some nineteen, some thirteen, and some eleven rak’ahs. Others have also reported different numbers besides these. But among all these opinions, the most authentic is the one stating eleven or thirteen rak’ahs, because in Sahihayn
Aisha narrated eleven rak’ahs, and in another narration of Bukhari Ibn Abbas mentioned thirteen rak’ahs, and in the Muwatta of Imam Malik, it is narrated from As-Saib bin Yazid that Hazrat Umar ordered Ubayy bin Ka’b and Tamim ad-Dari to lead eleven rak’ahs.”
From the above excerpts of the Saudi scholars, it is understood that:
➊ These scholars rely on the hadith of Hazrat Aisha regarding the number of rak’ahs of Taraweeh prayer, and they consider the eleven rak’ahs mentioned therein as the eleven rak’ahs of Taraweeh prayer.
➋ The preferable practice in Taraweeh is to follow the number of rak’ahs established from the Prophet ﷺ, which is eleven rak’ahs including Witr.
➌ The Saudi scholars agree that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also ordered the prayer of eleven rak’ahs.
Note: The thirteen rak’ahs mentioned by Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) actually include two rak’ahs that the Prophet ﷺ prayed once or twice after Witr. Scholars say that since the Prophet ﷺ prayed Witr in the last part of the night and then the Fajr call to prayer was made, perhaps he prayed the two Sunnah rak’ahs of Fajr, which Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) considered part of the night prayer, or the Prophet ﷺ prayed these two rak’ahs after Witr so that the permissibility of praying nafl after Witr would remain. And Allah knows best!
