Ruling on omitting standing in voluntary prayers, such as tarawih

Question:
Our sister also asks and says: Is it valid in the tarawih prayer in Ramadan not to stand? When the imam is about to bow, he says the takbir, then recites al-Fatihah, and I bow with him. I do this because I am unable to stand for the entire rak'ah, as I feel very tired.

Answer:
There is no blame on you for that, because tarawih is a voluntary prayer, whether in the first twenty nights or the last ten; it is all voluntary. People call the last ten nights "standing" (qiyam), and they call the prayer in the first twenty nights "tarawih." All of it is called the standing of Ramadan, and it is voluntary.
So if a person prays while sitting, there is no blame on him, and he gets half the reward. If he is unable to stand because he is old or weak and it is difficult for him to stand, and he prays while sitting, there is nothing wrong with that. If he sits until some of the recitation has passed, then stands to recite while standing, and then bows with the imam, there is nothing wrong with that. The matter is broad, praise be to Allah. However, the best is that he stands to recite the recitation while standing if it is easy for him. If he sits until the bowing is near, recites while sitting, and then when the imam says the takbir for bowing, he stands and bows, there is nothing wrong with this either, and praise be to Allah.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.