22/02/2026
~All About Tarawih Prayer
*Introduction*
Tarawih is a supererogatory prayer (salat al-sunnah) performed each night throughout the month of Ramadan, following the obligatory Isha prayer. The term tarawih derives from the Arabic root raha, meaning rest or repose, referring to the brief pause observed by congregants after every four cycles of prayer (raka'at).
The central academic question surrounding this practice concerns the absence of universal agreement on the number of prayer cycles to be performed. Documented practices across different countries and legal schools range from 8 to 20 raka'at, with historical records indicating as many as 36. This article systematically examines the origins of this variation through the lens of primary hadith sources and classical Islamic jurisprudence.
*The Qur'anic Position*
The Qur'an makes no explicit reference to a specific number of raka'at for Tarawih. What it provides are general exhortations to perform the night prayer (qiyam al-layl), most notably in QS. al-Muzzammil 73:2–4 and QS. al-Isra 17:79. Both passages are principial in nature, they encourage nocturnal worship without specifying its technical parameters.
This silence is not a legal gap but a deliberate feature of Qur'anic legislative structure. In the methodology of Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh), when the Qur'an refrains from specifying a technical detail, that detail is delegated to the Prophetic traditions (hadith) and scholarly reasoning (ijtihad). The question of Tarawih's raka'at count falls squarely within this delegated domain.
*Relevant Hadith Texts and Their Methodological Analysis*
a. The Hadith of Aisha: The Prophet Did Not Exceed Eleven Raka'at
"The Messenger of God shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam never performed more than eleven raka'at in his night prayer, whether in Ramadan or outside of it." Reported by al-Bukhari (no. 1147) and Muslim (no. 738)
This hadith carries an uncontested sahih (sound) classification and constitutes the primary textual basis for limiting Tarawih to 8 raka'at (with 3 additional raka'at of witr, totaling eleven).
Several methodological observations, however, qualify its application. The phrase la yazidu ("did not exceed") is more accurately read as descriptive rather than prescriptive, it characterizes the Prophet's habitual practice rather than establishing a binding prohibition. Furthermore, the hadith makes no reference to congregational prayer in a mosque, and does not employ the term tarawih at all. On these grounds, the majority of classical jurists did not treat this narration as a fixed upper limit applicable to the broader community.
b. The Hadith of Ibn Umar: Night Prayer Is Unrestricted in Number
"Night prayer is performed two raka'at at a time." Reported by al-Bukhari (no. 990) and Muslim (no. 749)
This hadith governs the structural format of night prayer, two raka'at per unit, concluded with the taslim without imposing any ceiling on the total count. Applying the foundational juristic principle that what is not explicitly restricted remains permissible, scholars have held that performing 12, 20, or more raka'at is legally valid, provided the established format is observed. This narration thus provides the methodological basis for the permissibility of extended Tarawih.
c. The Hadith of Aisha: Legitimacy of Congregational Performance
"I feared that it would be made obligatory upon you." Reported by al-Bukhari (no. 1129) and Muslim (no. 761)
The Prophet shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam led congregational night prayers in the mosque on several occasions during Ramadan before discontinuing the practice. His reason for doing so was not legal disapproval, but a precautionary measure to prevent the prayer from being decreed obligatory. With the Prophet's death, the operative legal cause ('illa) for this concern ceased to exist, rendering congregational Tarawih not only permissible but encouraged.
*The Origins of Twenty Raka'at: Collective Ijtihad in the Era of Umar ibn al-Khattab*
The practice of performing twenty raka'at does not derive from a Prophetic narration (hadith marfu'), but from a collective decision made by the Companions during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab.
The unification of Tarawih congregations under a single imam, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (no. 2010). The specific figure of twenty raka'at is transmitted in al-Muwatta of Imam Malik and the Sunan al-Bayhaqi.
This practice carries considerable jurisprudential weight for two reasons. First, it constitutes a practical consensus (ijma' 'amali) of the Companions, including senior figures such as Ali ibn Abi Talib, none of whom raised any objection. In usul al-fiqh, the silence of Companions in the face of a publicly conducted practice is treated as tacit approval (taqrir). Second, Umar ibn al-Khattab belongs to the category of rightly-guided caliphs whose example the Prophet shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam explicitly commended: "Follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs after me" (reported by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi). On these grounds, all four major Sunni legal schools, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali adopted twenty raka'at as the normative standard.
*Global Distribution of Practice*
1. Saudi Arabia: 30 raka’at following madzhab (dominant legal school) Hanbali
2. Turkey: 20 raka'at following madzhab (dominant legal school) Hanafi
3. Egypt: 20 raka'at following madzhab (dominant legal school) Shafi'i / Maliki
4. Pakistan & India: 20 raka'at following madzhab (dominant legal school) Hanafi
5. Indonesia (Nahdlatul Ulama): 20 raka'at following madzhab (dominant legal school) Shafi'i
6. Indonesia (part of Muhammadiyah): 8 raka'at following Hadith-oriented
7. Morocco & North Africa: 20 raka'at following madzhab (dominant legal school) Maliki
8. Europe & North America Variable: 8 or 20 raka'at following all of madzhab (dominant legal school) depends on the area
Note: Historical records from classical Medina document the practice of up to 36 raka'at, indicating that flexibility in number was recognized from the earliest generations of Islam.
*The Case of Saudi Arabia: Why the Count Reaches Thirty*
The figure of thirty raka'at commonly observed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, particularly during the final ten nights of Ramadan, does not represent an alteration of Tarawih itself. Rather, it results from the combination of two distinct acts of worship within a single night:
- Tarawih: After Isha, 20 raka'at tarawih + 3 raka'at witr
- Qiyam al-Layl: Before Fajr (final ten nights) 10 raka'at
So, the total raka'at is 30
The basis for the additional Qiyam al-Layl session is the following authenticated report:
"When the final ten nights entered, the Prophet shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam would enliven his nights and awaken his family." Reported by al-Bukhari (no. 2024) and Muslim (no. 1174)
Since night prayer carries no prescribed maximum, the addition of this second session is jurisprudentially valid and considered highly meritorious.
*On the Permissibility of Disagreement*
From the standpoint of Islamic legal methodology, this disagreement falls within the category of ikhtilaf mu'tabar, legitimate scholarly divergence in which each position is grounded in valid textual evidence and recognized reasoning.
The 8 raka'at position derives its strength from a sound and unimpeachable hadith. The 20 raka'at position derives its strength from an uncontested practical consensus of the Companions. Both are situated within the bounds of recognized Islamic scholarship. Importantly, no single authority within Sunni Islam holds the competence to declare one figure exclusively correct and the other invalid.
*Conclusion*
The variation in Tarawih raka'at count is not a legal anomaly but a natural product of Islam's rich tradition of juristic reasoning. The key findings may be summarized as follows:
• The Qur'an establishes the principle of night prayer without specifying a number of raka'at.
• The hadith of Aisha describing eleven raka'at is a descriptive account of the Prophet's personal practice, not a prescriptive upper limit.
• The hadith prescribing two raka'at per unit imposes no ceiling on total count.
• Twenty raka'at originates from a Companion consensus carrying strong jurisprudential authority.
• The 30 raka'at figure observed in Saudi Arabia represents the combination of Tarawih and a separate Qiyam al-Layl session.
• All four major legal schools endorse twenty raka'at; the eight-raka'at position represents a textually valid modern ijtihad.
In Islamic jurisprudence, devotion and sincerity are obligatory. The raka'at count is a secondary matter, not a doctrinal one.
