Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is it sahih to pray less than twenty cycles of taraweeh? If one does, is one committing a sin, will one’s praying of eight, ten, etc. cycles be valid? Is praying eight cycles only a salafi practice? Why does it seem that it is mostly Arab brothers and sisters who pray eight cycles? How has this practice become so wide spread?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam,
It is not correct to pray less than 20 rakats in tarawih. It is a salafi practice that others have adopted, as it is easier on the nafs. However, it has little basis in traditional Islamic scholarship. You can find a couple of detailed articles on the topic if you go to the Miscellaneous Articles section of Sidi Mas’ud Khan’s excellent web page (http://www.masud.co.uk)
Wassalam,
Faraz