How to Pray Tarawih: Rak'ahs, Timing, and Method

Tarawih is one of the most distinctive acts of worship that gives Ramadan its special blessing, filling the nights of the month with devotion. This guide explains what the Tarawih prayer is, its ruling, how many rak'ahs it is, its time, and — step by step — how it is prayed by giving the salam after every two rak'ahs.

What Is the Tarawih Prayer?

The word Tarawih is the plural of the Arabic tarwiha, meaning "to rest or relieve." As the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes in its entry on "Tarawih," the prayer takes this name because a short pause for rest is taken after every four rak'ahs. The name itself, then, points to the resting intervals built into how the prayer is offered.

Tarawih belongs to Ramadan alone; no prayer bears this name at any other time of the year. It is performed after the Isha prayer and is one of the clearest ways of devoting the nights of Ramadan to worship — of reviving, or ihya, of those nights. The Qur'an describes what sets Ramadan apart from other months:

The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur'an was sent down, a guidance for people and clear signs of guidance and the criterion between right and wrong.

Reviving the nights of the very month in which the Qur'an was revealed is a fitting response to the spiritual weight the month carries. Our article on the virtues of Ramadan covers in more detail the climate into which Tarawih fits.

The Ruling on Tarawih

The Tarawih prayer is an emphasized Sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah) for every accountable person, men and women alike — a practice the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) performed in Ramadan and strongly encouraged, one it is not fitting to neglect. Diyanet's High Board of Religious Affairs likewise defines Tarawih this way and describes it as "a supererogatory prayer that may be offered after the Isha prayer until the Fajr time enters."

The clearest encouragement toward the merit of Tarawih is this authentic hadith reporting the reward of reviving the nights of Ramadan with worship:

Whoever prays through the nights of Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven.

Along the same principal chain of narration, the fast of Ramadan is mentioned with a similar glad tiding. This report from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) joins fasting and night worship as two complementary acts:

Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven.

Taken together, these two glad tidings show that spending the days of Ramadan in fasting and its nights in Tarawih and similar worship is an integrated means of spiritual purification.

Tarawih in the Sunnah and in History

The source of Tarawih is the Prophet's own practice. According to the reports, the Prophet prayed on a few of the nights of Ramadan in congregation at the mosque; when he saw the people's eagerness increasing, he stopped leading it in congregation — fearing it might be made obligatory upon them — and continued praying it at home. In this way Tarawih was established as a Sunnah that is carefully maintained without rising to the level of a Fard duty.

The prayer took on its present, organized congregational form in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). As the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam relates, Umar gathered the people — who had been praying separately — behind a single imam in the year 14 AH, and from that day Tarawih became a tradition offered collectively in the mosques. This practice, adopted by the Companions with agreement, has reached us today.

How Many Rak'ahs Is Tarawih, and When Is It Prayed?

How many rak'ahs Tarawih should be has been assessed differently across the schools of law. Taking as their basis the practice that settled in the era of the Companions, most scholars in the Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali lines held it to be twenty rak'ahs. In the Maliki school it was traditionally held to be thirty-six rak'ahs, though some Maliki scholars said it could be prayed as twenty. The practice long established in Turkey, in line with this majority view, is twenty rak'ahs.

The time of Tarawih begins after the Isha prayer has been performed and continues until the Fajr prayer time (the break of dawn) enters. In terms of order, Tarawih is prayed after the Fard of Isha, while the Witr prayer is left until after Tarawih. When prayed in congregation, Witr too is usually offered in congregation after Tarawih. You can find the details of how to pray it in our how to pray Witr guide.

How to Pray Tarawih Step by Step

In its manner of performance, Tarawih is like any other voluntary prayer; it has no special peculiarity. The most virtuous and most widespread form is to give the salam after every two rak'ahs. By this method, a two-rak'ah prayer is repeated ten times to complete twenty rak'ahs in total. Each two-rak'ah unit is prayed as follows:

1. Intention and opening: Make the intention — "I intend to pray the Tarawih prayer for the sake of Allah" — say the opening Takbir "Allahu akbar," and recite Subhanaka.
2. First rak'ah: Say the ta'awwudh and basmala, recite al-Fatihah, then add a surah or a few verses; perform the bowing (ruku) and two prostrations.
3. Second rak'ah: Stand and recite al-Fatihah and a surah, perform the ruku and prostrations; in the final sitting recite al-Tahiyyat, the Salli-Barik, and the Rabbana supplications, then give the salam first to the right and then to the left.
4. Repetition: This two-rak'ah prayer is repeated ten times so that it totals twenty rak'ahs.
5. Witr: After Tarawih is completed, the three-rak'ah Witr prayer is prayed to seal the night's worship.

Whoever wishes may also pray Tarawih in units of four rak'ahs, sitting after every two and giving the salam at the end of the four. However, as Diyanet's High Board of Religious Affairs notes, giving the salam after every two rak'ahs is more virtuous. Whichever method is chosen, one must not forget that a surah is to be recited after al-Fatihah in every rak'ah.

In Congregation or Alone?

Praying Tarawih in congregation at the mosque is a Sunnah and its reward is great; the mosques filling up on the nights of Ramadan is one expression of this Sunnah. At the same time, Tarawih may validly be prayed alone at home. Those who cannot make it to the congregation, are unable to leave work, or are ill fulfill the Sunnah when they offer the prayer at home. To review the general steps of prayer, you may consult our how to perform Salah guide.

Anyone praying Tarawih alone who has not yet memorized longer surahs may recite the short surahs he knows after al-Fatihah (such as al-Ikhlas, al-Kawthar, and al-Nasr); this is enough for the prayer to be valid. For those who wish to improve in reciting the Qur'an, the site's Qur'an and hadith sections can be a helpful starting point.

The Resting Intervals and What Is Recited

The resting intervals that give Tarawih its name are taken by sitting briefly after every four rak'ahs, and this sitting is recommended (mustahabb). During these pauses it is fitting to make tahlil (the declaration of Divine unity), send salawat upon the Prophet, glorify Allah, and supplicate; the practice in many mosques of reciting hymns and salawat collectively in these sections rests on this tradition. These intervals are not an obligation but an etiquette that makes it easier to continue the prayer with humble focus without wearying the worshipper.

Making the Most of the Nights of Ramadan

Tarawih is one of the finest ways to bring blessing to the nights of Ramadan, to draw together in congregation, and to complete the day's fasting with night worship. If praying all twenty rak'ahs feels difficult, one may pray according to one's capacity and increase it over time; what matters is sustaining this Sunnah throughout Ramadan. Following the Isha and Fajr times and praying Tarawih without neglect raises the month's spiritual gain to its fullest.

References

1. "Tarawih" entry, TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi) — islamansiklopedisi.org.tr (definition, ruling, rak'ah count, congregation, and the historical practice in the time of Umar).
2. Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, High Board of Religious Affairs, "What is the ruling and nature of the Tarawih prayer?" — kurul.diyanet.gov.tr (ruling, time, method, and resting intervals).
3. Sahih al-Bukhari, Salat al-Tarawih, Hadith No. 2008 — from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him); the hadith on reviving the nights of Ramadan (listed as authentic on sunnah.com).
4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Iman, Hadith No. 38 — from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him); the hadith on the fast of Ramadan, graded authentic (agreed upon) on hadeethenc.com.
5. Surah al-Baqarah, 185 — kuran.diyanet.gov.tr (Diyanet Presidency translation; Ramadan as the month in which the Qur'an was revealed).