What is the ruling on praying the tarawih prayer alone?
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Question:
A message was sent by one of the listening brothers, who wrote his name in Latin letters, asking a collection of questions—Your Eminence, the Shaykh—among which is a question that says: May I pray the tarawih prayer while I am alone? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Praying the tarawih prayer in congregation is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed it with his Companions in congregation for several nights, then he left it off, and said:Sahih Muslim 761b When he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and the revelation ceased, 'Umar gathered the people behind a single imam to pray with them in the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque in... the month of Ramadan. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 806Sahih (Darussalam).
So it is better that you pray with the congregation for the sake of this great virtue. And if you pray in your house, there is nothing wrong with it, because it is a voluntary prayer. But whoever prays it with the congregation obtains the virtue of the congregation, and he obtains the virtue of standing in night prayer in its entirety if he stands with the imam until he finishes, yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
A message was sent by one of the listening brothers, who wrote his name in Latin letters, asking a collection of questions—Your Eminence, the Shaykh—among which is a question that says: May I pray the tarawih prayer while I am alone? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Praying the tarawih prayer in congregation is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed it with his Companions in congregation for several nights, then he left it off, and said:
I was afraid that (my observing prayer continuously) might make the night prayer obligatory for you
إني أخاف أن تفرض عليكم صلاة الليلIndeed, 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 ليلةSo it is better that you pray with the congregation for the sake of this great virtue. And if you pray in your house, there is nothing wrong with it, because it is a voluntary prayer. But whoever prays it with the congregation obtains the virtue of the congregation, and he obtains the virtue of standing in night prayer in its entirety if he stands with the imam until he finishes, yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.