Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar and encourages Muslims to focus on strengthening their faith through fasting and other acts of worship, pleasing Allah (SWT) and earning rewards from Him. It’s a month where every Muslim around the world spend as much time as possible dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, reflection and giving to others. These acts, particularly fasting, build resilience and show devotion to Allah (SWT), while straying away from the temptations of worldly distractions to purely focus on growing spiritually and connecting to God.
Since the month is about increasing time spent in worship, it’s a time to offer voluntary acts of worship, alongside the typical acts that should be done throughout Ramadan. One of the most special and blessed voluntary acts is the Taraweeh prayer. This is an additional nightly prayer that only occurs in Ramadan and is a sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Due to the prayer being tied to the holy month, it can be hard to know how to pray Taraweeh, so we’ve created this step-by-step guide to help you perform this beautiful prayer this Ramadan.
Taraweeh is a special voluntary additional prayer for Ramadan, which is performed at night. Muslims offer this prayer after the Isha prayer (the evening prayer) and before Witr (night prayer). Taraweeh works differently from the five obligatory prayers because it focuses on rest and relaxation. This means that the Taraweeh prayer has brief pauses of rest between every four rak’ahs (units of prayer).
It’s an important prayer to do during Ramadan because the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) performed it, making it a highly recommended act of worship. Due to this, many Muslims come together to perform congregational Taraweeh every night throughout the month, but it can be done at home. However you perform the prayer in Ramadan, making sure you perform it consistently can earn you immense rewards and forgiveness for your past sins.
The Taraweeh prayer is important because it strengthens Muslims' connection to Allah (SWT) and also makes their faith stronger. It can even help them gain forgiveness from Allah (SWT) for their past sins, while also following the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). By following the sunnah and performing this additional prayer, Muslims can earn great rewards and blessings, which is shown in the following hadith that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”
[Sunan an-Nasa’i: Hadith 43]
Taraweeh should be performed throughout the holy month of Ramadan after the Isha prayer and before the Witr prayer. You can perform it in congregation or at home, as the Prophet (PBUH) did both. However, he mostly performed this prayer at home to prevent it from becoming an obligatory act of worship for his followers. This means that the prayer is voluntary, but it’s still very important to do.
If you’re wondering how to pray Taraweeh, we’ve created this simple step-by-step guide to help you perform the prayer properly this Ramadan. Make the most of the blessed month and offer this additional prayer to please Allah (SWT) and earn reward from Him.
It’s important to prepare for the Taraweeh prayer before starting it, so that you can begin the prayer in the right way. Whether you’re in congregation at a mosque or at home, you need to perform wudu (ablution) and wear loose clothing. For men, this clothing must cover your awrah and, for women, the clothing must cover everything but the face, hands and feet.
After this, find a clean place to pray, such as on a prayer mat.
Before starting Taraweeh, you need to make sure that you’re facing the Qiblah. This is the Ka’bah in Makkah, which, in the UK, is in the southeast. For a more exact direction, you should use a mobile app to help you face the Qiblah accurately.
If you struggle with standing, you can perform the prayer sat down.
Your intention (Niyyah) can be either silent or verbal because it’s for Allah (SWT) and is between you and Him, as long as it comes from the heart. This should state that you intend to perform two Taraweeh rakats for Allah (SWT).
Starting the prayer is different for men and women.
For men, their hands should be raised to their earlobes, while women raise their hands to their shoulders.
After this, say Allahu Akbar, which translates to Allah is the Greatest.
Men should then place their right hand over their left below the navel, while women place their right hand over their left on the chest.
Say quietly:
Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika wa tabarakasmuka, wa ta’ala jadduka wa la ilaha ghairuk
(Glorious You are O Allah, and with Your praise, and blessed is Your Name, and exalted is Your majesty, and none has the right to be worshipped but You.)
This is a key part of the Taraweeh prayer. Ask for protection from Allah (SWT) by quietly reciting Bismillah:
Auzubillah Minashaitan Nirajeem
And
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Recite Surah Al-Fatiha and close it by saying Ameen.
This step requires you to recite any other short Surah that you know. At a minimum, the length of it should be three short verses. You can choose to recite one longer verse that’s equal in length to three short verses if you want to.
Taraweeh involves Ruku, which is bowing. Before you bow, you need to say Allahu Akbar and then bow down.
Make sure that your back is straight and your hands are on your knees.
Repeat the following three times:
Subhana Rabbiyal ‘Adheem
(Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great)
Stand up straight and say:
Sami‘Allahu liman hamidah
(Allah hears those who praise Him)
And then say:
Rabbana lakal hamd
(O our Lord, all praise belongs to You)
Say Allahu Akbar and perform sujood.
When you go into prostration, make sure that your forehead, nose, palms, knees and toes are touching the ground.
Then, repeat three times:
Subhana Rabbiyal A‘la
(Glory be to my Lord, the Most High) iH
Before the next prostration, take a moment.
Say Allahu Akbar and sit. Place your palms on your knees.
Men should sit on their left foot and keep their right foot upright, while women should lean on their left hip with their toes pointing right.
Again, say Allahu Akbar and go into sujood.
Repeat this three times to complete one rak’ah.
As you’re standing back up, say Allahu Akbar. This stage of the Taraweeh prayer repeats the same steps as above.
So, you should recite Surah Al-Fatihah, another Surah you know, perform Ruku and do sujood twice.
After the second sujood, you need to sit and recite:
At-tahiyyatu Lillahi wa-salawatu wa’t-tayyibat, as-salamu ‘alayka ayyuha’n-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allahi wa barakatuhu. As-salamu ‘alayna wa ‘alaa ‘ibad-Illah is-saliheen. ashhadu alla ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu.
(All compliments, prayers, and pure words are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger)
This is an important part of Taraweeh. Recite Durood:
Allahumma Salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin, kama sallaita ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hamidum-Majeed. Allahumma barik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin kama barakta ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hameedum-Majeed.
(O Allah, send your grace, honour and mercy upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your grace, honour and mercy upon Ibrahim, You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon Ibrahim, You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious)
After this, make dua. You could use the following for this part:
“Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil-aakhirati hasanatan wa qina ‘adhaban-naar.”
(O our Lord, grant us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.)
The final part of the Taraweeh prayer is ending it with Tasleem.
Turn your head to the right and left, while saying:
“Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah.”
Once done, turn to the left and repeat it to finish.
This will then complete the two Taraweeh rakats and finishes your prayer. Now that this prayer is done, you should perform the Witr prayer to end the day.
Many wonder how many Taraweeh rakats (rak’ahs) should be completed during the holy month, and it’s a topic often debated amongst scholars. Every sect has a different opinion based on various interpretations of Islamic texts and practices.
Traditionally, after the Prophet (PBUH), many Muslims performed 20 rak’ahs. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) never shared a specific number of rak’ahs to complete in Ramadan with his ummah because he didn’t want the act to become obligatory, which is why the prayer evolved into 20 rak’ahs in congregation.
However, there are variations of this between different sects, so it depends on the school of thought you follow.
The Hanafi, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools continue with the traditional 20 rak’ahs, while the Maliki school perform 8. The Maliki school choose 8 due to a hadith that mentions that the Prophet (PBUH) didn’t pray more than 11 rak’ahs during Ramadan or otherwise. [Sahih Bukhari, Book 32, Hadith 230]
Ramadan is the month when the angel Jibril revealed the first verses of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and they both reviewed it every year during the month. Because of this, Muslims are encouraged to increase their Quran recitation during the month, and many wonder if they need to complete the Quran in Ramadan through Taraweeh.
There is no obligation to recite the whole Quran in Taraweeh or the month of Ramadan. It’s entirely up to the person performing the prayer and their spiritual goals for the month.
However, many mosques follow the tradition of completing the Quran in the Taraweeh prayer by reciting one Juz every night of the month.
Completing your five daily prayers every day throughout Ramadan is important, and so is the Taraweeh prayer. This may only be an additional act of worship, but it’s a highly encouraged act to do during Ramadan. It’s a special, powerful prayer dedicated to the holy month and can help you strengthen your faith, grow spiritually, become closer to Allah (SWT) and earn rewards from Him because it focuses on sincerity, seeking Allah’s pleasure and devotion.
Alongside this special prayer, it’s vital that you don’t forget to help those in desperate need around the world. Ramadan is a time for giving and helping the less fortunate. At CLF, we take donations during the holy month and help the most vulnerable communities suffering from hunger, devastation, conflict and hardship. With your generosity this Ramadan, we can help to feed struggling families who cannot break their fast, providing them with a wholesome supper after a day of fasting. Just one food pack can feed a family for the entire month! Donate now and save countless lives.
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