How to pray taraweeh, at the masjid or at home.
Taraweeh is the night prayer of Ramadan. Step through it two rakahs at a time, with the rest after every four, for 20 rakahs or 8.
Taraweeh begins after the Isha prayer and its two rakahs of sunnah, and comes before witr. Its time runs until Fajr. See tonight's Isha time.
Intend two rakahs of taraweeh, a sunnah of Ramadan. Say the takbir and the thana, recite Al-Fatiha and a surah in each rakah, and finish the two rakahs with tashahhud, salawat, dua and salam. Behind an imam, listen to his recitation in silence.
اللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar
Allah is the Greatest.
سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالٰى جَدُّكَ وَلَا إِلٰهَ غَيْرُكَ
Subḥānakallāhumma wa biḥamdika wa tabārakasmuka wa taʿālā jadduka wa lā ilāha ghayruk
Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You.
Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami at-Tirmidhi, from Aishah and Abu Said al-Khudri.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 4 of 20, or 8.
This is the tarwihah, the rest that gives taraweeh its name. Sit for a little while, about as long as four rakahs took. Recite Quran, make dhikr such as Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah, send salawat or sit quietly. No special dhikr is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ for this pause.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 6 of 20, or 8.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 8 of 20, or 8.
This is the tarwihah, the rest that gives taraweeh its name. Sit for a little while, about as long as four rakahs took. Recite Quran, make dhikr such as Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah, send salawat or sit quietly. No special dhikr is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ for this pause.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 10 of 20.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 12 of 20.
This is the tarwihah, the rest that gives taraweeh its name. Sit for a little while, about as long as four rakahs took. Recite Quran, make dhikr such as Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah, send salawat or sit quietly. No special dhikr is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ for this pause.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 14 of 20.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 16 of 20.
This is the tarwihah, the rest that gives taraweeh its name. Sit for a little while, about as long as four rakahs took. Recite Quran, make dhikr such as Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah, send salawat or sit quietly. No special dhikr is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ for this pause.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 18 of 20.
Stand and pray two more rakahs in the same way, ending with salam. That makes 20 of 20.
This is the tarwihah, the rest that gives taraweeh its name. Sit for a little while, about as long as four rakahs took. Recite Quran, make dhikr such as Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah, send salawat or sit quietly. No special dhikr is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ for this pause.
After taraweeh, pray the three rakahs of witr. In Ramadan it is prayed in congregation and the imam recites aloud. See how to pray witr. If you plan to pray tahajjud later, you may delay witr until then.
Ramadan nights are a time for dua, especially in the last ten. Aishah asked what to say on Laylat al-Qadr and the Prophet ﷺ taught her: Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbul-afwa fafu anni (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3513). See Laylat al-Qadr 2027.
- Ruling
- Sunnah muakkadah for men and women (Hanafi)
- Rakahs
- 20 in the Hanafi school, in pairs; 8 is a view held by some
- Time
- After Isha until Fajr, every night of Ramadan
- First night 2027
- Sun 7 Feb 2027, expected. Countdown
The method shown first is the Hanafi one. Where the other madhhabs differ, the guide below explains how. Use the arrow keys to move between steps.
Guide
Taraweeh, what it means and how many rakats.
Taraweeh is prayed after Isha in Ramadan, two rakahs at a time, with a short rest after every four. In the Hanafi school it is 20 rakahs, followed by witr. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever stands in prayer in Ramadan with faith and hoping for reward will have his past sins forgiven."1
What does taraweeh mean?
Taraweeh is the plural of tarwihah, "a rest". The early Muslims sat to rest after every four rakahs of the long Ramadan night prayer, so the whole prayer came to be called "the rests". The prayer itself is qiyam Ramadan, standing in prayer in the nights of Ramadan.
How many rakats is taraweeh?
Taraweeh is 20 rakahs, prayed as ten sets of two, and it is a sunnah muakkadah for men and women. Praying it in congregation in the masjid is a communal sunnah (sunnah ala al-kifayah). Completing the whole Quran once in taraweeh during the month is also sunnah. The 20 rest on the practice of the Companions: Umar gathered the people behind Ubayy ibn Kab,2 and al-Sa'ib ibn Yazid reported that in Umar's time they prayed 20 rakahs, a report al-Bayhaqi narrates with a chain that al-Nawawi and others graded sahih.3
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Hanbali
- 20 rakahs, as in the Hanafi school.
- Maliki
- 20 rakahs, or 36, which was the practice of the people of Madinah in Imam Malik's time.
- The 8 view
- Some scholars, mostly later ones such as al-Albani, hold that 8 rakahs is the sunnah, from Aishah's report that the Prophet ﷺ did not pray more than eleven rakahs at night in Ramadan or outside it, eight and three of witr.4 Hanafi and other scholars read that hadith as describing his tahajjud.
A report that the Prophet ﷺ himself prayed 20 rakahs is weak, and scholars across the schools say so. The case for 20 is the consensus of the Companions under Umar, not that report. Pray with your masjid: the Prophet ﷺ said whoever prays with the imam until he finishes is written as having prayed the whole night.5
Praying taraweeh at home
If you cannot reach the masjid, pray taraweeh at home, alone or with your family. Recite what you know, from any part of the Quran. You may read from a mushaf in your hand in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools; the Hanafi school does not allow reading from a mushaf during the prayer, so recite from memory. Women pray it at home or at the masjid.
The Prophet ﷺ and taraweeh
The Prophet ﷺ led the night prayer in congregation in Ramadan for a few nights, then stopped, saying he feared it would be made obligatory on his ummah.6 After his death that fear was gone, and Umar revived it in congregation.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 37; Sahih Muslim 759.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2010.
- Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, from al-Sa'ib ibn Yazid. Also al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Mabhath Salat al-Tarawih.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1147; Sahih Muslim 738.
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 806, from Abu Dharr, graded hasan sahih by Tirmidhi.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1129 and 2012. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know.
How many rakats is taraweeh?
20 in the Hanafi school and in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, prayed in pairs. The Maliki school has 20 or 36. Some later scholars hold that 8 is the sunnah.
What does taraweeh mean?
It means "the rests", from tarwihah, a rest. The early Muslims rested after every four rakahs of the long Ramadan night prayer.
Is taraweeh compulsory?
No. It is a sunnah muakkadah, a confirmed sunnah, for men and women in the Hanafi school. Leaving it regularly without a reason is blameworthy.
Can I pray 8 rakats if my masjid prays 20?
You may leave after 8 and pray witr at home, but it is better to complete the prayer with the imam. The Prophet ﷺ said whoever prays with the imam until he finishes is written as having prayed the whole night.
Can I pray taraweeh at home alone?
Yes. Pray it two rakahs at a time with whatever surahs you know, then pray witr.
When does taraweeh start in 2027?
The first taraweeh of Ramadan 2027 is expected on the night of Sunday 7 February 2027, after Isha, the night before the first fast.