Which is better for the imam in the tarawih prayer: reading from the mushaf or reading from memory?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Which is better for the imam in the tarawih prayer: reading from the mushaf or reading from memory? Because I heard one scholar forbid the imam from reading from the mushaf entirely, considering it a distraction, and I heard another encourage reading from the mushaf out of fear of stumbling or making a mistake. Please give us a ruling on which of the two we should follow. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
This varies depending on the person.
The presenter:
May Allah send blessings upon him.
The Shaykh:
If the imam is proficient in memorization and reading from memory, he reads from memory and does not read from the mushaf. However, if the imam is not proficient in reading from memory, does not master memorization, or does not memorize at all, there is no harm in him reading from the mushaf in the tarawih prayer or the tahajjud prayer due to the need for it. The result is that the default is for the imam to read from memory, having memorized the Qur'an, and if he cannot, he reads from the mushaf. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Taghabun 64:16]. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Which is better for the imam in the tarawih prayer: reading from the mushaf or reading from memory? Because I heard one scholar forbid the imam from reading from the mushaf entirely, considering it a distraction, and I heard another encourage reading from the mushaf out of fear of stumbling or making a mistake. Please give us a ruling on which of the two we should follow. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
This varies depending on the person.
The presenter:
May Allah send blessings upon him.
The Shaykh:
If the imam is proficient in memorization and reading from memory, he reads from memory and does not read from the mushaf. However, if the imam is not proficient in reading from memory, does not master memorization, or does not memorize at all, there is no harm in him reading from the mushaf in the tarawih prayer or the tahajjud prayer due to the need for it. The result is that the default is for the imam to read from memory, having memorized the Qur'an, and if he cannot, he reads from the mushaf. Allah the Exalted said:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْThe presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، أيهما أفضل في صلاة التراويح للإمام القراءة من المصحف أم عن القراءة عن ظهر قلب؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.