How to Pray Tarawih and the Number of Its Rak'ahs
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The questioner:
In ten units of voluntary prayer in Ramadan, some scholars pray four taslims lightly, then pray two taslims in which they lengthen the prayer.
The Shaykh:
This is a broad matter; I say it is a broad matter with nothing wrong with it.
The questioner:
They call them tarawih.
The Shaykh:
There is no fixed number or continuity.
The questioner:
They call them tarawih; they used to call them that.
The Shaykh:
It is continuous, continuous, with no break; he prays ten, or he does not pray eleven, or he does not pray ten, or he does not pray thirty-six, according to what Allah makes easy for him.
The questioner:
There is a choice between lengthening and shortening.
The Shaykh:
As for what is recited, if they pray lightly at the beginning, they lengthen the prayer at the end of the night so that the people become refreshed.
The questioner:
The beginning of the night is distinguished. The first one prays four prayers.
The Shaykh:
It is a broad matter, a broad matter; there is breadth in this prayer, no difficulty. Yes. Yes. It becomes like the seventy. If people become accustomed to it, there is nothing wrong with it. They called them the tarawih of the Salaf and they called them qiyam. Praise be to Allah. Yes.
There is no obstacle. If it coincides with the last quarter of the night, there is no harm. If it is brought forward, there is no harm. If he prays some of it at the beginning of the night and some at the end of the night, there is no harm. It is a broad matter. Yes. This is the prayer, and that he prays with the imam until he is forgiven, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever stands in prayer with the imam the night of Qiyamah." Yes, there is nothing wrong. Yes. I seek refuge in Allah from myself and from the length of the five prayers. In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Allah’s generosity was this: when they asked him to pray with them after three days, he ordered them to pray in their homes, saying, "I fear it will become obligatory upon you." Then he said, "I pray in the house." So, as for voluntary prayer, it is better in the house, except for what Allah has prescribed in congregation: the eclipse prayer, the prayer for rain. These are in congregation. For tarawih, it is better in congregation in the mosque; in the house is better. Yes. Yes.
If it is accidental or habitual, it did not happen. If it is accidental, like when Salman ibn Burdah visited and prayed with a congregation, or like when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited the mother of Anas and prayed with a congregation, this is if it was during the time of Uthman, praying with a congregation for something important, meaning arranged. If it is accidental, there is no harm. But if it is arranged, no, the arrangement is not valid; the arrangement is a bid'ah (religious innovation).
In ten units of voluntary prayer in Ramadan, some scholars pray four taslims lightly, then pray two taslims in which they lengthen the prayer.
The Shaykh:
This is a broad matter; I say it is a broad matter with nothing wrong with it.
The questioner:
They call them tarawih.
The Shaykh:
There is no fixed number or continuity.
The questioner:
They call them tarawih; they used to call them that.
The Shaykh:
It is continuous, continuous, with no break; he prays ten, or he does not pray eleven, or he does not pray ten, or he does not pray thirty-six, according to what Allah makes easy for him.
The questioner:
There is a choice between lengthening and shortening.
The Shaykh:
As for what is recited, if they pray lightly at the beginning, they lengthen the prayer at the end of the night so that the people become refreshed.
The questioner:
The beginning of the night is distinguished. The first one prays four prayers.
The Shaykh:
It is a broad matter, a broad matter; there is breadth in this prayer, no difficulty. Yes. Yes. It becomes like the seventy. If people become accustomed to it, there is nothing wrong with it. They called them the tarawih of the Salaf and they called them qiyam. Praise be to Allah. Yes.
There is no obstacle. If it coincides with the last quarter of the night, there is no harm. If it is brought forward, there is no harm. If he prays some of it at the beginning of the night and some at the end of the night, there is no harm. It is a broad matter. Yes. This is the prayer, and that he prays with the imam until he is forgiven, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever stands in prayer with the imam
until He forgives, He writes for him
حتى يغفر كتب الله لهAllah’s generosity was this: when they asked him to pray with them after three days, he ordered them to pray in their homes, saying, "I fear it will become obligatory upon you." Then he said, "I pray in the house." So, as for voluntary prayer, it is better in the house, except for what Allah has prescribed in congregation: the eclipse prayer, the prayer for rain. These are in congregation. For tarawih, it is better in congregation in the mosque; in the house is better. Yes. Yes.
If it is accidental or habitual, it did not happen. If it is accidental, like when Salman ibn Burdah visited and prayed with a congregation, or like when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited the mother of Anas and prayed with a congregation, this is if it was during the time of Uthman, praying with a congregation for something important, meaning arranged. If it is accidental, there is no harm. But if it is arranged, no, the arrangement is not valid; the arrangement is a bid'ah (religious innovation).
Source
التعليق على بعض أحاديث موطأ مالك، من أول باب: النَّظَرِ فِي الصَّلاَةِ إِلَى مَا يَشْغَلُكَ عَنْهَا، إلى باب: مَا جَاءَ فِي صَلاَةِ اللَّيْلِ — islamhouse.com (1:12:18)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.