The Ruling on the Tarawih Prayer and the Number of Its Rak'ahs

Question:
We would like to discuss in this episode the tarawih prayer, its ruling, and the extent of the number of its rak'ahs?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows: What Allah the Exalted and Sublime legislated in the month of Ramadan, specifically for it, is the tarawih prayer. It is performed in congregation in the mosque after the 'Isha' prayer on every night of Ramadan. The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) .
He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it with his Companions for nights in Ramadan, then he stayed away from them on the fourth or third night, and explained to them the reason for his absence by saying (peace and blessings be upon him): When he had performed it and its status as a sunnah (recommended practice) was established, he (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed away to make it clear to them that it is not an obligation, but rather a sunnah. So the tarawih prayer remained a sunnah in the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and this is by the consensus of the scholars, and those among the scholars who are considered authoritative. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it after him, and the practice of it continued among the Muslims until our present time and until what Allah the Exalted and Sublime wills. It is a confirmed sunnah. As for the number of rak'ahs, no evidence has come regarding a specific limit. Rather, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged standing in prayer in Ramadan and said: "Whoever stands in prayer in Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." He did not set a known limit for that. He said: "Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, [it is as if he] stood the whole night," and he did not set a known limit of rak'ahs for that. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was or thirteen rak'ahs, as in the hadith . He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray these prayers alone. He used to lengthen the standing and the recitation. He used to lengthen the ruku' (bowing). And he used to lengthen the sujud (prostration).
So he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in the two rak'ahs more than five parts of the Qur'an, as Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned that he stood with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on one of the nights, and he began with al-Baqarah and continued until he completed it, then he began with al-Nisa' and continued until he completed it, then he began with al-Imran and continued until he completed it. He did not pass by a verse containing mention of mercy without stopping and asking for it, nor did he pass by a verse containing mention of punishment without stopping and seeking refuge from it. Then he bowed a bowing approximately the length of his standing, then he prostrated a prostration approximately the length of his bowing (peace and blessings be upon him). And this was in two rak'ahs. So how about the rest of the prayer? This was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He used to stand on his feet until they cracked from the length of the standing. So no one can endure the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And because he used to pray alone, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When the matter was thus, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) gathered behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b in the tarawih prayer, he used to pray with them twenty-three rak'ahs. So they lightened the manner of the prayer and increased the number compared to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do.
And the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Whoever wants to lengthen the manner of the prayer, let him decrease the number of rak'ahs, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. And whoever wants to lighten the prayer, he increases the rak'ahs, as the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did, praying twenty-three in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and in the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the era of the Muhajireen and the Ansar. So this is their consensus that one is not restricted to what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did, because the Messenger did not specify it for us, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do this, and he used to lengthen the recitation, the ruku', and the sujud. And he used to pray alone, with no ma'mum (followers) behind him who would be burdened by it. So the matter in this requires this distinction; it requires this distinction. We do not combine lightening the number and lightening the manner, because that is the action of the lazy. Rather, if we lighten the manner, we increase the number, as the Companions did. And if we lengthen the manner of the prayer, we decrease the number. This is the moderation, and this is the sunnah, and this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) legislated. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah bless you, Honorable Shaykh,