The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Whoever prays Taraweeh with the Imam until he finishes, it will be recorded as if he spent the whole night in prayer.” ( Al-Tirmidhi).

Culled from Surobi Scribbles

What is Taraweeh?

One of the most beautiful blessings of Ramadan that we Muslims get is this special prayer known as Qiyaam or Taraweeh. Taraweeh prayers help the Ummah and all the Muslims to get together and pray, regardless of the gender, race or age. It is a very spiritual time that reminds us that prayer always gives peace to the soul. However, there is more to this special prayer that we may have thought.

Some interesting facts about Taraweeh prayer

The word Taraweeh means ‘rest and relaxation’

This word means rest and relaxation because back in the days, people used to take a break and rest after every four ra’kats as it is a long prayer.

Your 5 daily prayers are more important than Taraweeh

Your 5 daily prayers are Fardh (obligatory) whilst Taraweeh is Sunnah (recommended). Try your best to do them but your 5 daily prayers should always be the top priority.

The Prophet requested the Taraweeh prayer to be a Sunnah.

In the last year of the Prophet’s life, he started praying Taraweeh in the night. Some people prayed that night with him. Since word spread around about this, more and more people started coming to pray this Taraweeh prayer. By the fourth night, the mosque was packed with people wanting to pray Taraweeh and waiting for the Prophet (pbuh). However, the Prophet did not go because he said:

“Nothing prevented me from coming out to you except the fact that I feared that it would be made obligatory for you.” (Muslim)

Therefore, this prayer became a Sunnah because not everyone would be able to pray Taraweeh every night.

If one finishes Taraweeh with the Imam, he or she get the reward for praying the whole night

This is an immense blessing. If you go to the mosque to pray Taraweeh, try to pray however many ra’kats the Imam is doing that day and finish your prayer there.

Your past sins will be forgiven if you pray Taraweeh in the night

It has been said in a Hadith that if you pray Taraweeh prayers in the hope of receiving Allah’s rewards, then you will have all your past sins forgiven.

The reward of offering Taraweeh all month can be said to be equal to the reward of performing Hajj

Another amazing reward that you can get from praying Taraweeh consistently every night, is getting the same rewards as performing Hajj. This is a great opportunity for everyone.

Umar (pbuh) asked people to offer in one congregation behind the Imam

After the Prophet (pbuh) had passed away, the Deen was complete and the Taraweeh prayers would not be able to be Fardh. Therefore, Umar (pbuh) made the decision to congregate all the people behind Hazrat Ubay ibn Ka’ab (pbuh). If Muslims performed it with congregation it would bring them the same reward without making the Taraweeh a Fard. Since the time of Umar (RA) the offering of Taraweeh in the congregation has become a part of the daily Ramadan prayers for all the Muslims.

May Almighty Allah Grant us our heart desires and enable us to witness more of the Holy Month of Ramadan.