What is the ruling on praying behind an Imam who does not exceed one or two verses in each rak'ah during Tarawih prayer, and is there a limit to the length or shortness of the recitation of verses in it? And what is the ruling on the Imam's commitment to reciting the verse from Surat Al-Baqarah (the month of Ramadan...) and what follows it (And if My servants ask you) in the seventh and eighth rak'ahs daily?
Taraweeh prayer with one or two verses after Al-Fatihah is valid and sufficient, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not specify a particular length for recitation in it.
However, an Imam reciting only one or two verses goes against the practice of the righteous predecessors, who used to prolong the recitation in Taraweeh. Some of the predecessors even disapproved of short recitations. While it is religiously مطلوب (required/desirable) for the Imam to lighten the burden on the congregants, this should not be done by reciting only one or two verses.
It is also not from the Sunnah for the Imam to commit to specific verses in particular rak'ahs of Taraweeh.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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