Short answer
Taraweeh is a sunnah mu'akkadah (emphasised sunnah) for every adult man and woman in Ramadan, not a mere nafl and not fard. Leaving it without a reason as a habit is blameworthy. Praying it in congregation at the masjid is a sunnah kifayah, met when some people of the area do it. The four schools agree it is a sunnah.
Taraweeh is sunnah mu'akkadah for men and women, prayed after Isha. Its congregation in the masjid is sunnah 'ala al-kifayah: if the people of an area all leave it, they are all blameworthy; if some pray it in the masjid, the rest are not sinful for praying at home.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Taraweeh is a recommended sunnah, and praying it at home is better for someone who will not become lazy, as long as the masjids are not left empty.
Explanation
People ask this because taraweeh is not one of the five daily prayers, so it is easy to treat it as an optional extra. In the Hanafi school it is more than that. It is a sunnah mu'akkadah, the kind of sunnah the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions kept to and urged, which a Muslim should not leave without a reason.
Why it is sunnah and not fard. The Prophet ﷺ led the Ramadan night prayer in the masjid for a few nights, then stopped coming out. He explained that he had seen how keen the people were, but feared that it would be made obligatory on them and they would not manage it. So he showed that the prayer is beloved, while keeping it short of fard. He also said that whoever stands in prayer in Ramadan with faith and hoping for reward is forgiven his past sins.
Why it is more than nafl. Umar later gathered the people behind one imam, and the Companions prayed it together every night without dispute. The Rightly Guided Caliphs kept it, and the Prophet ﷺ told us to hold to their way. For this reason the Hanafi texts call taraweeh a sunnah for men and women alike, not an ordinary voluntary prayer.
- Leaving it now and then for a reason (illness, travel, work, children) is not sinful.
- Leaving it as a habit without a reason is blameworthy.
- Women pray it too, ideally at home in the Hanafi school.
- A woman on her period does not pray it and does not make it up.
For the number of rakat see how many rakat is taraweeh, for praying at home see taraweeh at home, and for the method see how to pray taraweeh.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Muzzammil 73:20
۞ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ثُلُثَىِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُۥ وَثُلُثَهُۥ وَطَآئِفَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ مَعَكَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَٱقْرَءُوا۟ مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَىٰ ۙ وَءَاخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ ۙ وَءَاخَرُونَ يُقَٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَٱقْرَءُوا۟ مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ ۚ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًۭا ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍۢ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًۭا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًۭا ۚ وَٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۢ ﴿٢٠﴾
Indeed, your Lord knows, [O Muhammad], that you stand [in prayer] almost two thirds of the night or half of it or a third of it, and [so do] a group of those with you. And Allah determines [the extent of] the night and the day. He has known that you [Muslims] will not be able to do it and has turned to you in forgiveness, so recite what is easy [for you] of the Qur'an. He has known that there will be among you those who are ill and others traveling throughout the land seeking [something] of the bounty of Allah and others fighting for the cause of Allah. So recite what is easy from it and establish prayer and give zakah and loan Allah a goodly loan. And whatever good you put forward for yourselves - you will find it with Allah. It is better and greater in reward. And seek forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Standing at night in prayer is praised, and Allah made it light for this community.
Sahih al-Bukhari 37
Sahih... من قام رمضان إيمانا واحتسابا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه ...
"Whoever stands in prayer in Ramadan out of faith and hoping for reward, his past sins are forgiven."
Standing at night in Ramadan is a sunnah with a great promise.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2012
Sahih... ولكني خشيت أن تفترض عليكم فتعجزوا عنها ...
"Your presence was not hidden from me, but I feared that it would be made obligatory on you and you would be unable to do it."
The Prophet ﷺ kept the prayer from becoming fard, which shows it is a sunnah.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the night prayer of Ramadan. Taraweeh is sunnah, and its congregation is sunnah on the community.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on witr and nawafil, section on taraweeh. Taraweeh is sunnah mu'akkadah for men and women; its congregation is sunnah kifayah.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Nawafil. The Maliki view that taraweeh is recommended and may be better at home.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.