Is it obligatory to recite the opening supplication in all of the tarawih prayer?

Question : May Allah bless you. This questioner says: Some of the imams of the mosques, when they finish the first two rak'ahs of the tarawih prayer and stand up to pray what follows, say the takbir for entering the state of prayer and recite Surat al-Fatihah immediately, without making the opening supplication, neither the imam nor the ma'mums. What is your opinion on this?

Answer : We hold that this constitutes leaving a sunnah (recommended practice) of the prayer. It is incumbent upon the imam, when he says the takbir for entering the state of prayer, to make the opening supplication, whether that is in the first set of two rak'ahs or in the set that follows, because the second set is completely separate from the first set. Therefore, if he breaks his wudu' (ablution) in the middle of the second set, the first set is not invalidated; only the second set, in which the breaking of wudu' occurred, is invalidated. Likewise, if he speaks in it, the first prayer, meaning the first set, is not invalidated; only the set in which the speech occurred is invalidated. This indicates that the second set is a prayer independent of the first set. If that is the case, then the opening supplication is recommended in it, just as it is recommended in the first set.