Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Does it really matter how many rakats of Salatul tarawih we pray? After all, salatul tarawih is a matter of sunnah isn’t it? So should it really matter if we pray 8, 12, 20, or 36? I always assumed that the more one prays the more hasanah one is receiving for oneself… So isn’t it up to the individual how many rakats one is able to pray taking into consideration the time available. ( this mainly concerns women… since they can’t always go to the masjid to pray in congregation ) Also, there is an Egyptian masjid near my college where i most often go to pray. And they pray only 8 rakats and witr… I most often pray the 8 rakats in congregation and then come home and finish the rest of my salah…is this alright to do?
Walaikum assalam,
Sunnas are of different types. There are recommended sunnas, such as praying at night or drinking while sitting, which have reward when performed but are not blameworthy to perform and even performing them habitually is not sinful.
Other sunnas are confirmed sunnas, because the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) did inevitably, strongly encouraged to perform, and rarely if ever left. Such sunnas are blameworthy to leave without excuse, and leaving them habitually is sinful, because it is considered “turning away from the sunna.” The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said, “Whoever turns away from my sunna is not of my people.” (i.e. Not those following him in the way Allah has ordered us to follow the Prophet in countless verses of the Qur’an.)
The practice of the Companions can also establish or clarify the sunna, because the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) himself said, “Hold fast to my sunna, and the sunna of the rightly guided leaders after me.”
Tarawih is among such confirmed sunnas. According to the consensus of the companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace), it is 20 rakats. This is the relied upon position of all sunni schools of fiqh (though there is a position for 36 rakats being preferable in the Maliki school), and the position of 1400 years of inherited practice of the elite and commoners of the Ummah of the Beloved of Allah.
In any legal system, the law is there to protect certain meanings, but its form must also be upheld. For example, the rule of stopping at red lights is for particular wisdom, which we all understand. However, even in the middle of the night, with no one in sight, one cannot run the red light.
May Allah grant us the success to follow His Beloved (peace and blessings unlimited by upon him, his family, companions, and followers), outwardly and inwardly.
[As for the final part of your question, yes, it is permitted to complete one’s tarawih at home.]
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.