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What is the Sunnah regarding Tarawih prayer, and is there a limit to how long one can prolong the recitation or not?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It has been established that the Prophet (PBUH) used to pray eleven rak'ahs at night, with prolonged recitation and postures, to the extent that he recited more than five juz' in one rak'ah. It has also been established that Umar gathered the Companions for Tarawih prayer, and they used to pray twenty rak'ahs, reciting about thirty verses in each rak'ah. Therefore, the Sunnah in Tarawih prayer is to prolong the recitation and postures. If the recitation is shortened, the number of rak'ahs should be increased. There is no limited number for Tarawih prayer; rather, what is required is that it be prayed within a time that allows for tranquility and deliberation.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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