Is standing in night prayer limited to a specific number, or is it not limited to a number?

The questioner : Regarding standing in night prayer, is it limited to eight rak'ahs and three witr? Is it permissible for a person to perform tahajjud to the extent of his ability?

The Shaykh : Do you imagine this? We know Abu Ali, you are Abu what?

The questioner : Abu Muhammad.

The Shaykh : Abu Muhammad, O Abu Muhammad, do you imagine a person more devout than our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The questioner : God forbid.

The Shaykh : Well, do you know that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to pray more than eleven rak'ahs?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : Did you get the answer or not?

The questioner : I got it.

The Shaykh : Alright,

The questioner : It is permissible to pray over the deceased.

The Shaykh : Be patient a little, let us expand a bit. How did he get the answer? Logically, but is it possible that he was not convinced in the depths of his heart? Many people look at the quantity rather than the quality, and this is a mistake. Today, how many Muslims are there? About one hundred million Muslims, or more, more than a billion. What is the value of a number that inspires fear but has no weight? Why? Because we are looking at the quantity and not the quality. This is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) pointed to in the authentic hadith. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What is the value of this number? Chaff like the chaff of a flood. The point is that a true Muslim does not look only at the quantity, but also at the quality. Therefore, some of the Companions used to say, and I think it was Abdullah ibn Umar: "I wish I had two rak'ahs from my prayer that were accepted, just two rak'ahs." To detail this matter: eleven rak'ahs, not eleven without twenty-three rak'ahs. Do we pray them in twenty-three minutes, twenty-three rak'ahs, or do we pray eleven rak'ahs in twenty-three minutes? Which is better?

The questioner : We pray eleven rak'ahs in twenty-three minutes.

The Shaykh : No, absolutely not. Why? Because the one who prays twenty-three rak'ahs in twenty-three minutes cannot keep up to recite al-Fatihah. He says "In the name of Allah" and reads it quickly, then two prostrations, then "Allahu Akbar." What did he read? What did the people benefit from? Nothing at all. Whereas if you divide the rak'ahs, eleven rak'ahs, you can recite al-Fatihah with some deliberation, and recite after it some verses with tranquility and reflection after al-Fatihah. This is if we say we want to pray tarawih. Eleven rak'ahs in twenty-three minutes, but we have lightened these rak'ahs. Even if we pray eleven rak'ahs, we must also increase in quality, meaning we give the tarawih prayer half an hour, an hour, two hours, and so on. People say, "Do you hear them talking about this issue?" That Umar ibn al-Khattab is the one who prayed or ordered twenty-three rak'ahs. This is first of all incorrect. Attributing the report to Umar is incorrect. The correct view, as in the Muwatta of Imam Malik, is that when Umar ibn al-Khattab revived the Sunnah of congregational prayer in tarawih and ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b, one of the reciting Companions, he ordered him to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs. In a narration, it is said that they used to pray twenty-three rak'ahs in the time of Umar. This weak narration was adopted by some people, and they said this is the Sunnah of Umar. Here the difference in adoption becomes clear to you.