The Number of Rak'ahs in the Tarawih Prayer and the Ruling on Leaving Before the Imam
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Question:
We ask Your Eminence the Shaykh to clarify the stronger position regarding the number of rak'ahs in the Tarawih prayer, and what is the ruling for one who does not pray with the imam in the Haram except eleven rak'ahs?
Answer:
There is no fixed limit for the Tarawih prayer established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he did not set a specific number for us. Rather, he encouraged standing in night prayer and standing in Ramadan, but did not specify a limit. However, he (peace and blessings be upon him) himself did not exceed thirteen or eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise, but he would lengthen the recitation, bowing, and prostration. For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), combining the evidence, said: "Whoever lengthens the recitation, standing, bowing, and prostration reduces the number of rak'ahs, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. And whoever lightens the recitation, standing, bowing, and prostration increases the number of rak'ahs." The Companions used to pray twenty-three rak'ahs in the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque; they would pray Tarawih twenty-three rak'ahs in the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque in the time of 'Umar, and they would lighten the prayer considering the conditions of the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So they consider the conditions of the ma'mum, who cannot bear lengthening, so they lighten the recitation and increase the rak'ahs in exchange for the lightening. This is how the evidence comes together. As for those who leave before the imam leaves, they have deprived themselves of the reward that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 806Sahih (Darussalam) They have deprived themselves of this great reward. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify a number for us, saying, "Do not pray more than this."
We ask Your Eminence the Shaykh to clarify the stronger position regarding the number of rak'ahs in the Tarawih prayer, and what is the ruling for one who does not pray with the imam in the Haram except eleven rak'ahs?
Answer:
There is no fixed limit for the Tarawih prayer established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he did not set a specific number for us. Rather, he encouraged standing in night prayer and standing in Ramadan, but did not specify a limit. However, he (peace and blessings be upon him) himself did not exceed thirteen or eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise, but he would lengthen the recitation, bowing, and prostration. For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), combining the evidence, said: "Whoever lengthens the recitation, standing, bowing, and prostration reduces the number of rak'ahs, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. And whoever lightens the recitation, standing, bowing, and prostration increases the number of rak'ahs." The Companions used to pray twenty-three rak'ahs in the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque; they would pray Tarawih twenty-three rak'ahs in the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque in the time of 'Umar, and they would lighten the prayer considering the conditions of the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever leads the people in prayer, let him lighten it, for among them are the old, the sick, and those in need.
من أم الناس فليخفف، فإن فيهم الكبير والمريض وذا الحاجة،Indeed, whoever stands (praying) with the Imam until he finished, then it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.
من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب له قيام ليلة
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 10 من 27|دروس التفسير في الحرم المكي|تفسير سورة آل عمران|064-071|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:00:29)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.