Reference: binbaz.org.sa
Questioner: He asks: “What is the ruling on praying taraweeh (night prayers) in Ramadhaan for a man praying alone in his home? And how many raka’aat [should be prayed in total]?” And may Allaah reward you with good.
Response: Performing the night prayers of Ramadhaan is a Sunnah in the masaajid.
He ﷺ said:
Performing the night prayer of Ramadhaan with his brothers in the masaajid is better, but if he prays at home, there is no harm [in that].
There is no fixed limit [for the number of rak’ahs]. However, it is better [to pray a total of] 11 [rak’ahs] or 13 [rak’ahs]; this is best.
And if he prays more [than this, let’s say] 20 plus the witr, [or] 30 plus the witr, or 40 plus the witr – there is no harm [in that], [and] all Praise is due to Allaah [alone].
However, the best is what the Prophet ﷺ did: 11 or 13 [rak’ahs in total]. This is the most that is [authentically] reported from him ﷺ.
[So] he should say the tasleem after every 2 rak’ahs, and then [finally] perform the witr as a single rak’ah – [and] this is what is best – whether he prays during the first [part] of the night, or the middle [part] of the night, or the last [part] of the night, or if he divides it [across the entire night] and prays some during the first [part], and some during the middle [part] – and some during the first [part] and some during the last [part] – [then] there is no harm in any of this.
And likewise in the masaajid, if they pray the entire [taraaweeh] prayer during the first [part] of the night, or the last [part] of the night, or [pray] some of it during the first [part] of the night and some of it during the last [part] of the night – then all Praise is due to Allaah [alone] – there is no harm in any of this, [since] the issue is flexible because the Messenger ﷺ did not stipulate a specific arrangement [in this regard, as] he said:
– and when the last 10 [nights of Ramadhaan] began, he ﷺ remained awake throughout them all.
So the issue in this regard is open. So if he remains awake the entire night during [each of] the last ten [nights] – from the beginning through to its end – then that is the best.
And if he rests in between, then there is no harm [in that].
And if he prays the taraaweeh prayer during the first [part] of the night, or if they agree to pray it during the last [part] of the night, then there is no harm in any of that, and all Praise is due to Allaah [alone].
Questioner: May Allaah reward you with good.
Translation originally published on 20 April, 2020
