Tarawih is the twenty Rakat Salaah that is Sunnah-e-Maukida and is prayed in
the month of Ramadan after the Fardh Salaah of 'Isha every night.
1) The time of Tarawih is after praying the Fardh of 'Isha until the beginning
of the break of dawn [Hidaya]. In Tarawih the Jamaat is Sunnah-e-Kifayaa, meaning
if all the people of the Mosque missed it then they would all be responsible
for the sin and if one person prayed at home alone then he has not committed
a sin [Hidaya, Qazi Khan].
2) It is Mustahhab to delay it until one third
of the night has passed and if you wait until half the night has passed then
there is no harm [Durr-e- Mukhtar, Bahar-e-Shariah].
3) Just as the Tarawih is Sunnah-e-Maukida for men, in the same way it is
Sunnah-e-Maukida for women and they are not allowed to miss it [Qazi Khan].
4) The twenty Rakats of Tarawih are to be prayed in two, two Rakats i.e.
performing salaam after every two Rakats and therefore in total ten salaams.
After every four Rakats it is Mustahhab to rest for the duration it took to
pray the four Rakats, this rest is called Tarwih [Alamgiri, Qazi Khan].
5) After the Tarawih has finished the fifth Tarwih is also Mustahhab. If
the fifth Tarwih is a burden on people then do not do it [Alamgiri, etc.].
6) There is flexibility in Tarwih, whether you remain quiet or you can pray
some Tasbeeh, Qur'an, Durood or Dua and if he wished he can pray Nafl alone,
but to do this with Jamaat is Makrooh [Qazi Khan].
7) Those who have not prayed the Fardh of 'Isha cannot pray the Tarawih
nor Witr until he prays the Fardh.
8) Those who prayed the Fardh of 'Isha alone can pray the Tarawih with Jamaat
but he must pray the Witr alone [Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar].
9) If you have prayed the 'Isha Fardh with Jamaat and then prayed the Tarawih
alone, he can join the Jamaat for Witr [Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar].
10) If you have some Rakats of Tarawih left and the Imam has stood up for
Witr then it is better to pray the Witr with Jamaat as long as you have prayed
'Isha Fardh with Jamaat and then you can pray the remaining Rakats of Tarawih.
It is also allowed to complete your Rakats of Tarawih and then pray Witr alone
[Alamgiri, Radd-ul-Mohtar].
11) If people have prayed the Tarawih and now they want to pray it again
then they can pray it alone but it is not allowed to pray it with Jamaat again
[Alamgiri]. If one Imam prays Tarawih in two mosques and if he prays the full
Tarawih in both mosques then this is not allowed. If the Muqtadee prays the
Tarawih in full in both mosques then there is no problem, however, he is not
allowed to pray Witr again if he has already prayed in the first mosque [Alamgiri].
12) It is better to pray the Tarawih with Jamaat in the mosque. If the Tarawih
is prayed in a house with Jamaat then you will not get the sin of missing Jamaat
as it will still be counted but the reward will be less than praying in the
mosque [Alamgiri].
13) The Tarawih prayed behind a child will not count for any adults who
prayed behind the child [Hidaya, Durr-e-Mukhtar, Alamgiri].
14) In the whole month of Ramadan to finish the Qur'an once is Sunnah-e-Maukidah
and to finish it twice is virtuous and to finish it three times is a good thing.
You should not miss this opportunity just because people are idle [Durr-e-Mukhtar].
15) To give a Hafiz a salary for praying the Tarawih is not allowed and
the giver and taker are both sinners. A salary is not just a fixing of the fee
such as I will take this much for praying the Tarawih or I will give you so
much for praying the Tarawih, but if a Hafiz believes he will pray at a certain
place he will get so much then this is also not allowed. If the people say we
will not give you anything or the Hafiz says I will not take anything and then
the public decide to give the Hafiz a gift or some money as a gesture to thank
him for his efforts then there is no problem with this [Bahar-e- Shariah].
Shabinah
Shabinah meaning to finish the whole Qur'an in one night in Tarawih. During
today's era where a Hafiz prays the Qur'an at great speed that the words cannot
be understood. Never mind praying the words where the pronunciation is done
correctly the listeners are also in a state where some are sat down, some are
lying down, some are even sleeping and some perform the Takbeer-e-Tahrimah when
the Imam goes into the Ruku and then they are doing this very quickly, in all
these situations the Shabinah is not allowed. If the Hafiz prays speedily to
pose off then this is Haram and is a sinner.