What Does Taraweeh Mean? First, we need to understand the meaning of the Arabic word Taraweeh. The word Taraweeh is the plural of the word Tarweeha which literally means ‘to rest’. In the context of Salat Al-Taraweeh, it means to rest between every four raka’at. (Lisan Al-Arab) Looking at this meaning we can understand that if we perform eight raka’at followed by Witr, we get only two rest periods (Tarweehatain). One rest period we get after the first four raka’at and the second after the next four raka’at. This prayer according to the above definition cannot be called Taraweeh because we must have more than two rest periods for it to be called Taraweeh (according to the Arabic language less than three is not plural). It should also be noted that Salat Al-Taraweeh is not the same as Salat Al-Lail. The latter term is used for the Tahajjud prayer. How Did Salat Al-Taraweeh Begin? Once, in the holy month of Ramadan, the Prophet (PBUH) came out of his home and led Salat Al-Taraweeh. The Sahabah (R A) who were present at the time, prayed behind him in congregation. The second and the third nights, a larger number of Sahabah (R A) came and performed Salat Al-Taraweeh behind the Prophet (PBUH). On the fourth night, an even larger number of Sahabah (R A) showed up in the Masjid expecting to pray this new salat behind the Prophet (PBUH). But, he did not come out to lead Salat Al-Taraweeh that night. The Sahabah (R A) waited all night. When the Prophet (PBUH) finally emerged for the Fajr prayer he told them: “I knew you were waiting for me, but I did not come out to lead Salat Al-Taraweeh last night because I was afraid it might become an obligation (Fard) on the Ummah which they might find difficult to fulfill.” (Bukhari, h872; Muslim, h1271; Abu Dawood, h1166) In other words, if it were made obligatory like the rest of the five daily prayers, we would have to perform it even if we were traveling or ill. Since, then, Sahabah started to perform Salat Al-Taraweeh in small congregations in the Masjid or in their homes. How Many Raka’at Did The Prophet (PBUH) Perform on Those Three Nights? The great muhaddith, Hafiz Ibn Hajar (Rahmatullah ‘Alay), who is well-known for his interpretation of Sahih Al-Bukhari has reported in his book Al-Talkhees Al-Habeer on the authority of ‘Aisha (Radhiallahu anhaa) that the Prophet (PBUH) performed twenty raka’at Taraweeh on those three nights (Al-Talkhees Al-Habeer, h540). Imam Ibn Habban (Rahmatullah ‘Alay), on the other hand, has reported a hadith in which it is asserted that the Prophet (PBUH) performed eight raka’at of Taraweeh on those three nights. However, this hadith is extremely weak because one of the people in the chain of narrators is a person named Isa Ibn Jaariyah. Imam Nasa`i (Rahmatullah ‘Alay) and Imam Abu Dawood (Rahmatullah ‘Alay) have strongly questioned the authenticity of this narrator. Consequently, both of these Imams of hadith concluded that ahadith narrated by Isa Ibn Jaariyah must never be accepted. However, even if the hadith narrated by Isa Ibn Jaariyah was not weak, it would still not be adopted because it goes against a clearly established practice and consensus of Sahabah (R A). As a rule of Islamic jurisprudence, any hadith that goes against the clearly established practices and consensus of Sahabah (R A) will not be adopted for practice.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 06:44:53 +0000
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