Taraaweeh prayers
Muslims are encouraged to pray extra prayers in the hope of receiving many blessings during Ramadaan. Not least of these are the Qiyaam (night) prayers, which in Ramadaan are known as Taraaweeh prayers. Allah has mentioned those people who pray at night in the Qur'an:
"Their sides forsake their beds to invoke their Lord in fear and hope"
(Qur'an - 32:16)
Also, in the following hadith the topic is mentioned:
The Prophet (PBUH) said: "The best prayer next to obligatory prayer is the night prayer."
(Hadith - Muslim)
In another hadith he said:
"O people! Spread the (Islamic) greeting (i.e. by saying 'assalaamu alaykum - peace be upon you"), give the food (to those who need it), connect your relatives (by visitation) and pray at night while the others are asleep, and you shall enter Jannah (Paradise) peacefully."
(Hadith - Ahmed, At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and Al- Haakim)
During Ramadaan, the reward for night prayers is even greater and thus encouraged to a greater extent.
The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Whoever prayed at night in it (i.e. Ramadaan) out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."
(Hadith - Bukhari & Muslim)
Taraaweeh prayers are optional prayers that come after the last obligatory prayer of the day - 'Isha prayer - and before the Witr ('odd') prayer, which itself is considered a night prayer.
Taraaweeh prayers can be performed individually or in congregation, though in congregation at the mosque is better for men, and at home (preferably in congregation) is better for women. Consequently, most mosques in Ramadaan will hold Taraaweeh prayers in congregation for any men or women who want to attend.
Taraaweeh prayers start on the first
night of Ramadaan and end on the last night of Ramadaan. This means that
the first Taraaweeh prayers are the night before fasting begins, and the
last Taraaweeh prayers are the night before the last day of fasting. This
is because the Islamic day runs from sunset to sunset, rather than
midnight - midnight, so the nighttime of a day comes before the daytime of
the day!
Taraaweeh prayer is usually 8 or 20 rakatayn (iterations) - compared to
the 2, 3 or 4 for the obligatory prayers, and the rakatayn are usually
considerably longer for Taraaweeh. These rakatayn are prayed in sets of 2
rakatayn at a time, and will usually conclude with the Imam (leader of the
prayer) reciting three rakatayn for witr prayer after the 8 or 20 rakatayn.
The witr prayer ('witr'
literally meaning 'odd' in Arabic) always has an odd
number of rakatayn (iterations) with the minimum being one rakat and the
maximum being 11 rakatayn. Three rakat is the number of rakatayn that many
Muslims pray for witr prayer.
It is common practice that the Imam will recite a little more than 1/30th
of the Qur'an on average (usually about 10 verses in each rakat if 20
rakatayn are prayed each night) each night during Taraaweeh prayers, so
that just before the end of Ramadaan, the entire Qur'an will have been
recited.
If a person stays with the congregation and completes the whole Taraaweeh prayer behind the imam on a given night, then it will be counted as if that person had spent the whole in prayer.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, it is equivalent to spending the whole night in prayer."
(Hadith - al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, al-Nasaa'i & Ibn Maajah)
After Taraaweeh prayers, it is also encouraged to offer extra night
prayers (Tahajjud), read Qur'an and make du'aa' (supplication), as much or
little as a person can, during the night, especially the last third of the
night when prayers are most likely to be answered and the angels are the
most attentive.
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