Esselamu Aleykum Mufti Ebrahim, after I found this page some months ago, casually surfing the internet, I am sure I found the best and most reliable place where to learn about islamic jursipodence. I pray All-llah, Subhane ue Te?ala, to give you and all those who contribute to this great work, more knowledge and reward all of you with Jannat. When reading the questions and the answers, I came accross the question nr. 1827( Can taraweeh be prayed in sets of four instead of 2), where the answer is the following : ?Taraweeh salaah must be performed in units of two, two rakats and not four, four rakats ?. I live in the country where Hanafi madhab is practiced, but the taraweeh, in every masjid, is performed with twenty rakats in units of four ( 5 X 4 rakats) plus 3 rakts of Witr and also performed very fast ( for less than one hour). Also, in some places ( not masjids), the taraweeh is performed with only eight rakats in units of two plus 3 rakts of Witr( which last much longer, because the whole Kur?an is recited till the end of the Ramadhan), you can recognise that this is the way the ?salafis? do (here I must mention that the Imam as a?salafi? supposably makes Masah on regular socks). The question is the following:
It is Sunnat ot perform 20 rakaats taraweeh in units of 2. It is Makrooh Tanzihi to perform it in units of four as this is contrary to the practice of the Ummah. (Imdaadul fattaah pg.459; Kabeeri pg.405; Khayrul Fataawa vol.2 pg.526)
However, it would be better for you to perform 20 rakaats in sets of four than to perform 8 rakaats only.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai