Taraweeh Prayer: Rak'ahs, History, How to Pray and Common Questions

Taraweeh is the voluntary night prayer offered in Ramadan after the Isha prayer, and it is not compulsory. The name is the plural of tarwihah, a rest: Egypt's Dar al-Ifta cites the lexicographer Ibn Manzur explaining that it was named after the pause taken after each set of four rak'ahs.

Hanafi and Shafi'i answers on SeekersGuidance describe it as an emphasised Sunnah (sunna mu'akkada) for men and women. Muwatta Malik records that the Prophet encouraged night prayer in Ramadan without commanding it, and Sahih al-Bukhari 2009 promises forgiveness of previous sins to whoever prays at night in Ramadan out of faith and hope of reward.

Sources: [11] [14] [17] [1] [5]

Taraweeh began with the Prophet leading night prayer in the mosque for a few nights of Ramadan. Aisha's report in Sahih al-Bukhari 2012 describes the crowd growing each night until, on the fourth, he did not come out, explaining that he feared the night prayer would be made obligatory for them.

People then prayed individually or in small groups, which Ibn Shihab says in Sahih al-Bukhari 2009 continued under Abu Bakr and early in Umar's caliphate. Sahih al-Bukhari 2010 describes Umar gathering the scattered groups behind one reciter, Ubayy ibn Ka'b.

Umar called the arrangement an excellent bid'ah. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains on SeekersGuidance that Umar used the word in its linguistic sense of something not done before, and that the Companions accepted it because it matched the Prophet's guidance. Umar added that prayer at the end of the night, which people slept through, was better still.

Sources: [3] [1] [2] [13]

Taraweeh is commonly prayed as eight or twenty rak'ahs before Witr, and thirty-six was the historical practice of Madinah; each number has a documented basis. Aisha said in Sahih al-Bukhari 2013 that the Prophet did not pray more than eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or at other times, and Muwatta Malik records Umar instructing Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Tamim ad-Dari to lead eleven.

The Muwatta also records twenty-three rak'ahs in the time of Umar. In his Arabic commentary to hadith 806, Imam at-Tirmidhi says most scholars follow the twenty reported from Umar, Ali and other Companions, while some held forty-one including Witr, the view and practice of Madinah. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta calls twenty the relied-upon position of the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools and the well-known Maliki view, and quotes al-Nafrawi that Madinah prayed thirty-six besides Witr in the time of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the number Imam Malik chose in al-Mudawwanah.

Institutions differ in the number they prefer: Dar al-Ifta argues for twenty, while IslamQA regards eleven as following the Prophet's own practice. IslamQA nonetheless quotes Ibn Taymiyyah that twenty, thirty-six, thirteen or eleven are all acceptable because nothing fixes the number, and says neither practice should be denounced.

Sources: [4] [5] [6] [11] [12]

Taraweeh is prayed after Isha in units of two rak'ahs, each closed with salam. This follows Sahih Muslim 749a, which describes night prayer in pairs, and the Shafi'i account on SeekersGuidance describes twenty rak'ahs with ten salams.

The Shafi'i source recommends praying Witr in congregation after Taraweeh unless you intend to pray Tahajjud later, in which case Witr waits until after it. The Witr guide explains the forms taught by each school.

• Pray Isha first; al-Dardir, quoted by Dar al-Ifta, places Taraweeh after it.
• Intend Taraweeh in your heart and begin with the opening takbir, as in any prayer.
• Pray two rak'ahs, reciting Al-Fatihah and a further passage in each, then close with salam.
• After every four rak'ahs, take the short rest described in the Hanafi account, which gives the prayer its name.
• Continue to the number you are following, then pray Witr.

Sources: [7] [17] [14] [11]

Both are valid, but the schools cited here encourage men to join the mosque congregation. Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam, quoting Haskafi and Ibn Abidin on SeekersGuidance, explains that congregational Taraweeh is a communal Sunnah in the Hanafi school: a man who prays at home is not blameworthy but misses the mosque's extra reward.

The same answer cites Abdullah ibn Umar advising a man who knew the Quran by heart to pray at home, and Sahih al-Bukhari 731 records the Prophet saying, after some Ramadan night prayers in the mosque, that a person's best prayer is at home except the obligatory prayers. Tirmidhi notes that Ibn al-Mubarak, Ahmad and Ishaq preferred praying with the imam, while al-Shafi'i preferred a capable reciter to pray alone.

The Shafi'i answer on SeekersGuidance calls congregation recommended for men but not required. Jami at-Tirmidhi 806, graded sahih on the page, adds that whoever stands with the imam until he finishes is recorded as having prayed the whole night.

Sources: [15] [8] [6] [17] [12]

Completing the Quran over the month in Taraweeh is a widespread, recommended practice, but it is not a condition of the prayer. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani's Hanafi answer calls it recommended rather than emphasised, and says briefer recitation is fine where community circumstances call for it.

Dar al-Ifta quotes the Maliki jurist al-Dardir recommending a juz' each night across the twenty rak'ahs, and the Shafi'i answer calls long recitation meritorious but not necessary. Muwatta Malik records a reciter covering Surah Al-Baqarah in eight rak'ahs, with twelve thought an easier pace.

At home, a realistic plan might be one juz' a night or simply passages you know well, recited carefully. The Quran planner can spread a completion across the nights you have.

Sources: [14] [11] [17] [5]

Yes, women may attend, and praying at home is equally a valid way to perform Taraweeh. Sahih al-Bukhari 865 records the instruction to allow women who ask to go to the mosque at night, and Sunan Abi Dawud 567, graded sahih by al-Albani, forbids preventing women from the mosques while saying their houses are better for them.

Jami at-Tirmidhi 806 reports that on one of the last nights of Ramadan the Prophet called his family and his women to pray with the congregation. Shaykh Muhammad Fayez Awad's Shafi'i answer says a woman's prayer at home is better unless going brings another benefit, such as a lesson or a skilled reciter, and sets conditions such as modest dress, no perfume and a safe route.

The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance calls Taraweeh an emphasised Sunnah for women as well as men, so a woman praying it at home is still performing Taraweeh.

Sources: [9] [10] [6] [18] [14]

Staying with the imam until he finishes is widely encouraged, whatever number he prays. IslamQA cites Jami at-Tirmidhi 806 on that reward and quotes Ibn Uthaymin criticising worshippers who stop after ten rak'ahs and then sit in the rows talking.

If your mosque prays fewer rak'ahs than your school teaches, a Shafi'i answer on SeekersGuidance says you may pray eight with the congregation and the remaining twelve and Witr at home. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani advises someone who finds twenty hard to pray shorter rak'ahs or spread them through the night.

Sources: [6] [12] [17] [16]

It depends on the school. Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam's Hanafi answer explains that Imam Abu Hanifa held that reciting from a mushaf invalidates the prayer, including Taraweeh, while his students Abu Yusuf and Muhammad held it valid but disliked; the answer concludes that it remains impermissible in the Hanafi school.

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta reports that Aisha's client Dhakwan led her in prayer reciting from the mushaf, that the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools accept an imam doing so, and that the Malikis consider it disliked; it rules it permissible with the majority. Muwatta Malik also records Dhakwan reciting for Aisha in Ramadan.

Sources: [19] [20] [5]

Questions readers often ask

Put this into practice