A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham
Question:
Is Ṣalāt at-Tarāwīḥ 8 or 20 rakʿah? What is the evidence?
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):
Ṣalāt at-Tarāwīḥ is twenty rakʿah by consensus of all the imams, without any difference of opinion. As for the ḥadīth in which ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about how the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed in Ramaḍān and she replied, ‘In Ramaḍān and outside of it, he would not do more than eleven rakʿah. He would pray four, and do not ask me about their excellence or their length, and then he would pray another four, and do not ask me about their excellence or their length, and then he would pray three’, it has to do with ṣalāt al-Witr, and ṣalāt al-Witr remains the same, whether in Ramaḍān or not.
Ramaḍān is distinguished by ṣalāt at-Tarāwīḥ and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed it in the masjid for three or four days and then did not pray it in the masjid, for fear that it would be made obligatory upon the people.[1]
Ibn Ḥajar, and he is the Commander of the Believers in ḥadīth, says the following in Fatḥ al-Bārī, ‘It is on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said, “I was with ʿUmar in the masjid and he heard the tumult of the people, so he said, ‘What is this?’ It was then said that the people had left the masjid, and this was in Ramaḍān. He said, ‘Whatever remains of the night is more beloved to me than what has passed.’” A similar narration is from the path of ʿIkrimah on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. ʿUmar said, “What a good innovation [niʿma al-bidʿah hādhihi] this is!” In some narrations, it is niʿmat al-bidʿah, with a tāʾ at the end. The original meaning of bidʿah is something that is invented and has no precedent, and in the Revealed Law it is that which is opposite to the Sunnah, and thus it is blameworthy. It is a matter of fact that if it falls under that which is approved of in the Revealed Law then it is good, and if it falls under that which is disapproved of in the Revealed Law then it is disapproved of. If it is neither, it comes under the category of that which is permissible, and it could take any one of the five rulings.[2] As for his statement that to sleep through it is better, this is a clear statement from him that prayer in the latter part of the night is better than in the first part, but it does not contain anything to suggest that performing the night prayer by oneself is better than performing it in congregation. In conclusion, in this narration, there is no mention of the number of rakʿah that Ubay ibn Kaʿb prayed,[3] and there are different narrations. In al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, it is on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf, on the authority of as-Sāʾīb ibn Yazīd that it was twenty-one. Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr has related it from another path and added that they would recite 200 āyāt, and they would stand with sticks because of how long they were standing. Muḥammad ibn Naṣr al-Marwazī has related from the path of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf, who said, “thirteen”. ʿAbdur Razzāq has narrated it from another path on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf, who said, “twenty-one”. Mālik has related from the path of Yazīd ibn Khuṣayfah on the authority of as-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd that it is twenty, and this is understood to be exclusive of witr. It is on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, who said, “In the time of ʿUmar, the people would perform twenty-three.” Muḥammad ibn Naṣr has related from the path of ʿAṭāʾ, who said, “I came upon them in Ramaḍān and they were praying twenty rakʿah and three rakʿah for witr.” Combining between these narrations is possible based on differing circumstances and it is conceivable that these differences are due to the length of the recitation, such that when the recitation was long, the number of rakʿah was less, and vice versa, and ad-Dāwūdī and others were resolved upon this position. The first number agrees with the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah that is mentioned after this ḥadīth in the chapter. The second is close to it, and the difference therein regarding anything more than twenty goes back to the difference over witr, such that sometimes witr would be prayed as one and other times it would be prayed as three. Muḥammad ibn Naṣr has related from the path of Dāwūd ibn Qays, who said, “I came upon the people under the rule of Abāna ibn ʿUthmān and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdul ʿAzīz., i.e. in al-Madīnah, and they were praying thirty-six rakʿah and then three for witr, and Mālik said, ‘This is an old matter for us.’” It is on the authority of az-Zaʿfarānī from ash-Shāfiʿī, “I saw the people praying thirty-nine in al-Madīnah and twenty-three in Makkah, and there is no limitation in this whatsoever.” It is also narrated from him that he said, “If they stand for longer and do fewer prostrations then good, and if they do more prostrations and recite less then good. The former is more beloved to me.” At-Tirmidhī said, “The most that has been said in this regard is that it is prayed as forty-one rakʿah, i.e. with witr.” This is what he said, and Ibn ʿAbdul Barr has transmitted on the authority of al-Aswad ibn Yazīd that it is prayed as forty rakʿah followed by seven for witr. It has also been said that it is thirty-eight, as mentioned by Muḥammad ibn Naṣr from Ibn Ayman, from Mālik. It is possible to place this with the first by joining it with three for witr, but he made it clear in his narration that he would do witr as one, and thus it is forty with the exception of one. Mālik said, “This is what is acted upon.”’
In ʿUmdat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, he[4] said, ‘At-Tarāwīḥ is an emphasised sunnah and it is obligatory to perform it in congregation. In the Rawḍaḥ of our companions, ‘In congregation it is virtuous.’ In the Dhakhīrah of our companions, from the majority of the scholars, establishing it in congregation is a communal sunnah, and whoever prays it at home has relinquished the virtue of the masjid. In al-Mabsūṭ, “If someone were to pray at home, if would not be sinful, as this was done by ʿUmar, Sālim, al-Qāsim, Nāfiʿ and Ibrāhīm. Furthermore, it is twenty rakʿah, and it is the position of ash-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad, and al-Qāḍī has narrated it from the majority of scholars. It has been narrated that al-Aswad ibn Yazīd would pray forty rakʿah followed by seven for witr. According to Mālik, it is nine tarwīḥāt[5] and thirty-six rakʿah exclusive of witr, and his proof is that it is what the people of al-Madīnah did.[6] The proof for the Shāfiʿīs and the Ḥanbalīs is what has been related by al-Bayhaqī with an authentic chain of transmission on the authority of the Companion as-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd, who said, ‘In the time of ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, they would pray twenty rakʿah, and the same in the time of ʿUthmān and ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with both of them.’ If you were to say, ‘He says in al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, “It is on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, who said, ‘In the time of ʿUmar, the people would perform twenty-three in Ramaḍān’”, I would reply, ‘Al-Bayhaqī says that the three is witr, and Yazīd never met ʿUmar, so there is an interruption in the chain of transmission.’”’
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):
Ṣalāt at-Tarāwīḥ is twenty rakʿah by consensus of all the imams, without any difference of opinion. As for the ḥadīth in which ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about how the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed in Ramaḍān and she replied, ‘In Ramaḍān and outside of it, he would not do more than eleven rakʿah. He would pray four, and do not ask me about their excellence or their length, and then he would pray another four, and do not ask me about their excellence or their length, and then he would pray three’, it has to do with ṣalāt al-Witr, and ṣalāt al-Witr remains the same, whether in Ramaḍān or not.
Ramaḍān is distinguished by ṣalāt at-Tarāwīḥ and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed it in the masjid for three or four days and then did not pray it in the masjid, for fear that it would be made obligatory upon the people.[1]
Ibn Ḥajar, and he is the Commander of the Believers in ḥadīth, says the following in Fatḥ al-Bārī, ‘It is on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said, “I was with ʿUmar in the masjid and he heard the tumult of the people, so he said, ‘What is this?’ It was then said that the people had left the masjid, and this was in Ramaḍān. He said, ‘Whatever remains of the night is more beloved to me than what has passed.’” A similar narration is from the path of ʿIkrimah on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. ʿUmar said, “What a good innovation [niʿma al-bidʿah hādhihi] this is!” In some narrations, it is niʿmat al-bidʿah, with a tāʾ at the end. The original meaning of bidʿah is something that is invented and has no precedent, and in the Revealed Law it is that which is opposite to the Sunnah, and thus it is blameworthy. It is a matter of fact that if it falls under that which is approved of in the Revealed Law then it is good, and if it falls under that which is disapproved of in the Revealed Law then it is disapproved of. If it is neither, it comes under the category of that which is permissible, and it could take any one of the five rulings.[2] As for his statement that to sleep through it is better, this is a clear statement from him that prayer in the latter part of the night is better than in the first part, but it does not contain anything to suggest that performing the night prayer by oneself is better than performing it in congregation. In conclusion, in this narration, there is no mention of the number of rakʿah that Ubay ibn Kaʿb prayed,[3] and there are different narrations. In al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, it is on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf, on the authority of as-Sāʾīb ibn Yazīd that it was twenty-one. Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr has related it from another path and added that they would recite 200 āyāt, and they would stand with sticks because of how long they were standing. Muḥammad ibn Naṣr al-Marwazī has related from the path of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf, who said, “thirteen”. ʿAbdur Razzāq has narrated it from another path on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf, who said, “twenty-one”. Mālik has related from the path of Yazīd ibn Khuṣayfah on the authority of as-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd that it is twenty, and this is understood to be exclusive of witr. It is on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, who said, “In the time of ʿUmar, the people would perform twenty-three.” Muḥammad ibn Naṣr has related from the path of ʿAṭāʾ, who said, “I came upon them in Ramaḍān and they were praying twenty rakʿah and three rakʿah for witr.” Combining between these narrations is possible based on differing circumstances and it is conceivable that these differences are due to the length of the recitation, such that when the recitation was long, the number of rakʿah was less, and vice versa, and ad-Dāwūdī and others were resolved upon this position. The first number agrees with the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah that is mentioned after this ḥadīth in the chapter. The second is close to it, and the difference therein regarding anything more than twenty goes back to the difference over witr, such that sometimes witr would be prayed as one and other times it would be prayed as three. Muḥammad ibn Naṣr has related from the path of Dāwūd ibn Qays, who said, “I came upon the people under the rule of Abāna ibn ʿUthmān and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdul ʿAzīz., i.e. in al-Madīnah, and they were praying thirty-six rakʿah and then three for witr, and Mālik said, ‘This is an old matter for us.’” It is on the authority of az-Zaʿfarānī from ash-Shāfiʿī, “I saw the people praying thirty-nine in al-Madīnah and twenty-three in Makkah, and there is no limitation in this whatsoever.” It is also narrated from him that he said, “If they stand for longer and do fewer prostrations then good, and if they do more prostrations and recite less then good. The former is more beloved to me.” At-Tirmidhī said, “The most that has been said in this regard is that it is prayed as forty-one rakʿah, i.e. with witr.” This is what he said, and Ibn ʿAbdul Barr has transmitted on the authority of al-Aswad ibn Yazīd that it is prayed as forty rakʿah followed by seven for witr. It has also been said that it is thirty-eight, as mentioned by Muḥammad ibn Naṣr from Ibn Ayman, from Mālik. It is possible to place this with the first by joining it with three for witr, but he made it clear in his narration that he would do witr as one, and thus it is forty with the exception of one. Mālik said, “This is what is acted upon.”’
In ʿUmdat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, he[4] said, ‘At-Tarāwīḥ is an emphasised sunnah and it is obligatory to perform it in congregation. In the Rawḍaḥ of our companions, ‘In congregation it is virtuous.’ In the Dhakhīrah of our companions, from the majority of the scholars, establishing it in congregation is a communal sunnah, and whoever prays it at home has relinquished the virtue of the masjid. In al-Mabsūṭ, “If someone were to pray at home, if would not be sinful, as this was done by ʿUmar, Sālim, al-Qāsim, Nāfiʿ and Ibrāhīm. Furthermore, it is twenty rakʿah, and it is the position of ash-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad, and al-Qāḍī has narrated it from the majority of scholars. It has been narrated that al-Aswad ibn Yazīd would pray forty rakʿah followed by seven for witr. According to Mālik, it is nine tarwīḥāt[5] and thirty-six rakʿah exclusive of witr, and his proof is that it is what the people of al-Madīnah did.[6] The proof for the Shāfiʿīs and the Ḥanbalīs is what has been related by al-Bayhaqī with an authentic chain of transmission on the authority of the Companion as-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd, who said, ‘In the time of ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, they would pray twenty rakʿah, and the same in the time of ʿUthmān and ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with both of them.’ If you were to say, ‘He says in al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, “It is on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, who said, ‘In the time of ʿUmar, the people would perform twenty-three in Ramaḍān’”, I would reply, ‘Al-Bayhaqī says that the three is witr, and Yazīd never met ʿUmar, so there is an interruption in the chain of transmission.’”’
[1] (tn): This ḥadīth is related by Imams al-Bukhārī and Muslim; please see al-Muʿtamad fī al-Fiqh ash-Shāfiʿī (Damascus: Dar al-Qalam: 1434/2013) by Imam Muḥammad az-Zuḥaylī, v. 1, p. 397-398
[2] (tn): i.e. unlawful (ḥarām, maḥẓūr), disliked (makrūh), permissible (mubāḥ), recommended (mandūb, mustaḥabb, sunnah), or obligatory (wājib, farḍ)
[3] (tn): ‘…and al-Fārūq [i.e. ʿUmar], may Allah be pleased with him, saw the people praying individually in the masjid, or in pairs or congregations of three, so he gathered them behind Ubay ibn Kaʿb and had them pray twenty rakʿah, and the Companions made consensus with him on this.’ Kifāyat al-Akhyār fī Ḥallī Ghāyat al-Ikhtiṣār by Imam Taqī ad-Dīn ad-Dimashqī (Beirut, Dār al-Khayr, 1425/2004), p.112
[4] (tn) i.e. Imam Badr ad-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855 AH), Ḥanafī scholar and contemporary of Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī
[5] (tn): a tarwīhah is a break between sets of two rakʿah
[6] (tn): Please refer to Aqrab al-Masālik li Madhhab al-Imām Mālik by Imam Aḥmad ad-Dardīr (Kano: Maktabah Ayūb, 1420/2000), p.20, in which the author lists the supererogatory prayers and says, ‘…and at-Tarāwīḥ, which is twenty rakʿah...’
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