Is it obligatory to pray the entire Tarawih prayer with the imam, or is it permissible to pray part of it and then perform the Witr?
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Question:
He asks and says: If I come to pray Tarawih with the imam, do I have the right to leave after finishing two or four rak'ahs and complete the Witr afterwards? Or is it obligatory for me to follow the imam until he finishes the entire Tarawih prayer? May Allah reward you with good.
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, the best and most complete thing is to pray the entire Tarawih with the imam and not leave except with the imam, so that he may attain the reward that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us of and encouraged us to seek, by saying: "Whoever stands in prayer with the imam until he leaves, it is written for him as if he had stood in prayer for the whole night." This is a great favor. As for leaving before the imam after two or four taslams, this is permissible and there is no harm in it. Praise be to Allah.
And he concludes his prayer with Witr, meaning he performs Witr for himself. This is permissible, but the most complete thing is to continue with the imam until he leaves, unless he has an excuse that requires him not to complete following the imam. In that case, he prays whatever is easy for him with the imam and concludes his prayer with Witr. And Allah the Exalted knows best. Yes.
He asks and says: If I come to pray Tarawih with the imam, do I have the right to leave after finishing two or four rak'ahs and complete the Witr afterwards? Or is it obligatory for me to follow the imam until he finishes the entire Tarawih prayer? May Allah reward you with good.
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, the best and most complete thing is to pray the entire Tarawih with the imam and not leave except with the imam, so that he may attain the reward that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us of and encouraged us to seek, by saying: "Whoever stands in prayer with the imam until he leaves, it is written for him as if he had stood in prayer for the whole night." This is a great favor. As for leaving before the imam after two or four taslams, this is permissible and there is no harm in it. Praise be to Allah.
And he concludes his prayer with Witr, meaning he performs Witr for himself. This is permissible, but the most complete thing is to continue with the imam until he leaves, unless he has an excuse that requires him not to complete following the imam. In that case, he prays whatever is easy for him with the imam and concludes his prayer with Witr. And Allah the Exalted knows best. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تجب صلاة التراويح كاملة مع الإمام أم يجوز صلاة بعضها ثم أداء الوتر؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
