What is the number of rak'ahs in the tarawih prayer?

Q: What is the number of rak'ahs in the tarawih prayer? Is there a specific number? And what is the best way to pray it?

A: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions, and whoever follows his guidance.
As for what follows:
It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) what indicates that there is flexibility in the night prayer and that no specific number of rak'ahs is fixed, and that the Sunnah is for the believer—and so the female believer—to pray in pairs, offering the closing salam after every two. Among this is what is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
His statement (peace and blessings be upon him): is a report that implies a command, meaning: "Pray at night in pairs." And the meaning of is: he offers the salam after every two, then concludes with one, which is the witr. And so it was that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would do; he would pray at night in pairs, then conclude with one (peace and blessings be upon him), as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Ibn 'Abbas, and a group of others narrated.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: And she said (may Allah be pleased with her): It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Some people have thought that these four are performed with a single salam, but that is not the case. Rather, her intention is that he offers the salam after every two, as stated in her previous narration; and because of his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): , and because it is also established in the Sahih from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would offer the salam after every two.
In her statement (may Allah be pleased with her): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not exceed eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise," there is an indication that the best in the night prayer in Ramadan and otherwise is eleven, offering the salam after every two, and concluding with one. It is also established from her (may Allah be pleased with her) and others that he (peace and blessings be upon him) sometimes prayed thirteen rak'ahs.
This is the best of what has been reported, and the most authentic of what has been reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) is concluding with thirteen or eleven rak'ahs, and eleven is better. If he concludes with thirteen, that is also a Sunnah and good. This number is more comfortable for people and helps the imam to be humble in his bowing and prostration, in his recitation, in reciting with deliberation and reflection, and in not rushing in everything.
If he concludes with twenty-three, as 'Umar and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did in some nights of Ramadan, there is no harm; for the matter is broad. It is established from 'Umar and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that they concluded with eleven, as in the hadith of Aisha.
Both of these are established from 'Umar. It is established from him (may Allah have mercy on him) that he ordered those he appointed from the Companions to pray eleven, and it is established from them that they prayed twenty-three by his order. This indicates flexibility in this, and that the matter was broad with the Companions, as indicated by his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): .
But the best, in terms of his action (peace and blessings be upon him), is eleven or thirteen. It has been mentioned previously what indicates that eleven is better, due to the statement of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not exceed eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise," meaning: usually.
For this reason, it is established from her (may Allah be pleased with her) that he prayed thirteen, and it is established from others, which indicates that her intention was the usual case. She was aware of what he did in her presence, and she would ask. She was the most knowledgeable of the women and the most knowledgeable of the women regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). She would report what he did in her presence and what she witnessed, and she would ask the other Mothers of the Believers and the Companions. She was eager for knowledge, and for this reason she preserved a great deal of knowledge and many hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) due to her great memory and her asking the other Companions about what they had preserved (may Allah be pleased with them all).
If he varies and prays eleven in some nights and thirteen in others, there is no harm in it, for it is all Sunnah. But it is not permissible to pray four all together; rather, the Sunnah and the obligation is to pray two by two; due to his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): , and this is a report that implies a command.
If he concludes with five all together or three all together in one sitting, there is no harm, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so. But he does not pray four all together, or six all together, or eight all together; because this has not been reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him), and because it is contrary to the command in his statement: .
If he prays seven or nine in succession, there is no harm, but the best is to sit in the sixth for the first tashahhud, and in the eighth for the first tashahhud, then stand up and complete it.
All of this has been reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him), and it has come from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prayed seven in succession and did not sit. The matter is broad in this, and the best is to offer the salam after every two, and conclude with one, as mentioned previously in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar: . This is the best, and it is also more comfortable for people, for some people may have needs that they wish to go after two rak'ahs, or after two salams, or after three salams. The best and most preferable for the imam is to pray two by two, and not to pray five or seven in succession. If he does it sometimes to clarify the Sunnah, there is no harm in that.
As for praying the even and the odd in succession, like the Maghrib prayer, it is not recommended, and the least of its states is that it is disliked; because the prohibition has been reported regarding likening it to the Maghrib, so he prays them in succession, three with one salam and one sitting. And Allah is the guarantor of success.