Remembrance 1 from Chapter 143
The adhkār of the tarāwīḥ ṣalāh
KNOW THAT THE ṣalāh of Tarāwīḥ is Sunnah according to the consensus of the ‘ulamā’. It consists of twenty rak‘ahs with a salām after every two rak‘ahs. The characteristics of Tarāwīḥ ṣalāh are similar to those of all the other ṣalawāt which we have already described. One should say all the adhkār, like the opening du‘ā’, the completion of the remaining adhkār, the full tashahhud, and the du‘ā’ after it. Although this is obvious and well-known, we have drawn attention to it because many people are lax about it and omit most of the adhkār. The correct view is the former [i.e. that one should say them]. The recitation preferred and practiced by most people is to finish a complete recitation of the Qur’ān in the Tarāwīḥ of the month. One Juz’ [1].should be recited every night. It is mustaḥabb to recite the Qur’ān slowly and to be careful not to lengthen the recitation to more than one Juz’. One should be extremely wary of the practice that has become customary among the ignorant Imams of some mosques of reciting Sūrat al-An‘ām in its entirety in the last rak‘ah of the seventh night of Ramaḍān in the belief that it was revealed all at once. This is an ignorant and obvious innovation that entails many vices. We have discussed this in the chapter on the recitation of the Qur’ān.