Terâvih | Tarawih

Mavi Boncuk | 

Terâvih namazı | Tarawih prayer at Taipei Grand Mosque, Taiwan.
Tarawih (Arabic: تراويح‎) refers to extra prayers performed by Sunni Muslims at night in the Islamic month of Ramadan. 

Tarawih prayers are prayed in pairs of two and can be prayed in at least 08/12/20 raka‘āt according to the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of Sunni Islam. A break is taken after every 4(2+2) raka‘āt. This prayer is performed only during Ramadan of the Islamic calendar after salat of Isha the last Tarawih prayers from moon-sighted evening (Start) to last day of Ramadan . Muslims believe it is customary to attempt a khatm "complete recitation" of the Quran as one of the religious observances of Ramadan by reciting at least one juz' per night in tarawih. Tarawih prayers are considered optional, not obligatory.[1]

In all the Sunni hadith scriptures, the prayer Tarawih has been mentioned as Qiyamul Layl min Ramadan (Standing of night in Ramadan) and Qiyam-ar-Ramadan (Standing of Ramadan). Some Sunni Muslims regard the Tarawih prayers as Sunnat Mu'akkadah. Other Sunni Muslims believe tarawih is an optional prayer that may be performed at home. According to this tradition, Muhammad initially and briefly prayed the tarawih in congregation during Ramadan, but discontinued this practice out of fear it will be mandated but never forbade it, as evidenced in Ahadith. During the time when Umar was the caliph, he reinstated the praying of Tarawih in congregation.

[1] The Prophet (peace be upon him) offered the Tarawih prayer in his mosque the first night when he was joined by one or two people, and on the following night he was joined by a fair-sized congregation. On the third night, he looked through his door and found the mosque full of people. Therefore, he did not come out. When asked why, he said that he did not wish that this prayer should become obligatory. This shows how thoughtful of his community the Prophet was. Even in matters of worship, he always wanted what was easier for them. If he were to offer this prayer in the mosque every night, throughout Ramadan, people would over the years elevate it to the obligatory or semi-obligatory status. Therefore, he decided to offer it at home to retain its status as voluntary night worship, which we can do at any time.

However, it is not true that it was never offered in congregation in the Prophet’s Mosque until Umar did what he did. In fact it continued to be offered in congregation, but without regular arrangements. What Umar did was to organize it in a proper way. One night in Ramadan he came into the mosque and found several groups of worshippers offering the Taraweeh prayer in several congregations. He disliked this, because it suggested division within the Muslim community. Therefore, he told them to form one congregation and appointed Ubayy ibn Kaab to lead the congregation. Ubayy was one of the best reciters of the Qur’an among the Prophet’s companions. Umar did not join because, as caliph, he led the obligatory prayers. Again he was keen not to give this prayer any impression of being obligatory. On the following night, he checked what was happening, and when he saw that there was one congregation, he made his comment that it was a fine bid’ah. He was not referring to the Tarawih prayer itself, because the prayer was known to all and practiced by many. He was simply referring to the fact that it was offered in one congregation. So the addition is the organization of the prayer, not adding a new prayer.