Taraweeh is a night prayer performed during Ramadan. It is prayed after the fard and sunnah of Isha prayer, and before Witr. It consists of 10 voluntary prayers, two raka'at each.
The word means rest or relaxation, Taraweeh is a voluntary prayer performed after the evening prayer, Isha, every single night during Ramadan.
Important to understand that taraweeh is a recommended (sunnah) prayer. Therefore, if you are not praying the obligatory (fard) prayers yet, it is better for you to pray the fard rather than taraweeh. The general principle of Islam is that obligatory actions have the highest priority, then come all voluntary acts as addition to it.
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever prayed at night the whole month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."
Taraweeh is an established Sunnah, and a great opportunity to get closer to Allah during the blessed month.
The strongest opinion is that taraweeh is 20 rakaat, i.e. 10 prayers of 2 raka'at each. This is what the companions did, may Allah be pleased with them. This is also the opinion of the majority of scholars. It is prayed in sets of 2 rakats at a time with the ability to rest after every 4 rakats.
Taraweeh prayer is observed at night any time after the obligatory Isha prayer but before Witr, and the Witr prayer is prayed after the taraweeh.
Yes, Taraweeh can be performed at home. It can also be prayed in the mosque, and generally scholars say it is better for men to pray in the mosque. However, the most important thing is to not miss it if you decided on doing it during the blessed month.
Here’s a simple step-by-step breakdown of how to pray Taraweeh:
1. Pray the Fard of Isha (4 raka'at)
2. Pray the Sunnah of Isha (2 raka'at)
3. Pray two prayers of taraweeh (2 raka'at each).
4. Take a short break.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you reach 10 prayers (20 raka'at) in total.
6. End the night with Witr prayer.
7. MashaAllah, you've done it. May Allah accept your prayers!