Is Tarāwīh Salah the same as Tahajjud Salah?

The people who are advocates of 8 Rak'āt Tarāwīh usually argue that Tarāwīh and Tahajjud are the same Salāh and that there is no difference between the two. Hence, the Prophet ﷺ would read this all year, including Ramadhān.

Apart from the fact that there is no evidence to support this claim, the word Tarāwīh itself repudiates the notion of them two prayers [Tarāwīh & Tahajjud] being the same, because the word Tarāwīh is the plural of the Arabic word *Tarwīhatun*, which means to rest once, like the rest people have after every four Rak'āt in Tarāwīh.

Hāfidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalanī al-Sha'fi'ī has stated in his Fathul Barī:

وَالتَّرَاوِيحُ جَمْعُ تَرْوِيحَةٍ وَهِيَ الْمَرَّةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ مِنَ الرَّاحَةِ كَتَسْلِيمَةٍ مِنَ السَّلَامِ

"Tarāwīh is the plural of Tarwīhah, which is to rest once, like [the word] Taslīmah is [to say] Salam [once]" (4:315).

Imām al-Aynī al-Hanafī has also stated a similar definition in his Umdatul Qarī (8:241).

In Fatāwā of Ulamā Ahl-Hadīth it is mentioned: "The reason Tarāwīh Salāh is named as Tarāwīh is because in there, after every four Rak'āt, people take rest. This is due to the reason that the word Tarāwīh is plural of Tarwīhah, and Tarwīhah means to have rest once" (6:241).

It is very clear that in the Arabic language in order to call a prayer Tarāwīh the Salah must at least have three rests. So, after the first four Rak'āt it would be Tarwīhah [singular], after the second four Rak'āt if would be Tarwihatāni [dual, which means two rests], then after the third four Rak'āt the prayer would be called Tarāwīh.

From the above, we can understand that in the Arabic language to call a prayer Tarāwīh one must read *at least* 12 Rak'āt. Hence, regarding 8 Rak'āt as Tarāwīh is unjust, absurd and doesn't exist in the Arabic language. One should be careful when he reads 8 Rak'āt and then assumes he's read Tarāwīh, because he hasn't.

Now, I will state briefly the major differences between Tarāwīh and Tahajjud, so that it becomes clear to the readers that both prayers are different and, therefore, to deem them as one is incorrect:

1. Tarāwīh is usually known as Qiyām Ramadhān, whereas Tahajjud is known as Qiyām al-Layl, and these two prayers are different. Hence, the famous Ahl-Hadīth scholar, Nawāb Siddique Hasan Khān writes:

‎وأما قيام الليل فهو غير قيام رمضان -نزل الابرار ص٣٠٤

"Qiyām al-Layl is different from Qiyām Ramdhān"

2. The timings of Tarāwīh and Tahajjud are different. Hence, it is stated in the Fatāwā of the Ulamā of Ahl-Hadīth: "Tarāwīh is after Ishā prayer, in the beginning part of the night and Tahajjud is in the latter part of the night" (6:251).

The famous Ahl al-Hadīth scholar, Mawlānā Thanā'ullah Amratsarī, has mentioned in his famous Fatāwā: "Tahajjud time is before morning [before Fajr starts], there is no Tahajjud in the beginning of the night" (Fatāwā Thanāiyyah, 1:431);

3. Tarāwīh is Sunnah Mu'akkadah [emphasised Sunnah] according to all, whereas Tahajjud is not Sunnah Mu'akkadah according to anyone. Rather, it is Sunnah Ghair Mu'akkadah [non emphasised Sunnah] or Mustahab [desirable]. (Jāmi al-Rumooz, 1:95, al-Mughnī of Ibn Qudāmah, 1:802);

4. Tarāwīh is from the apparent Sha'āir [those apparent worships which have special significance in the Dīn], but Tahajjud isn't (Nayl al-Awtār by Imām al-Shawkānī, 3:57);

5. The legislation of Tahajjud was via Qur'an [Surah Banī Isrā'eel, verse 79 and Surah al-Muzammil, verse 2], and the legislation of Tarāwīh was via Hadīth. Hence, the Prophet ﷺ said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى فَرَضَ صِيَامَ رَمَضَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَسَنَنْتُ لَكُمْ قِيَامَهُ

"Indeed Allah has made the fasting of Ramadhān obligatory upon you, and I have made it's Qiyām [Tarāwīh] Sunnah for you (Sunan al-Nasa'ī, 1,339)

6. It is established from the narrations reported by Imām Bukhārī, Imām Muslim, etc, that the Prophet ﷺ only read Tarāwīh in congregation for three days in Madīnah, then He ﷺ stopped praying in congregation due to the fear that Tarāwīh might become obligatory upon His Ummah. However, the obligation of Tahajjud was already abrogated in Makkah. Hence, our mother Ayesha [May Allah be pleased with her] has mentioned that Allah had made Tahajjud obligatory because of the beginning verses of Surah al-Muzammil [which was revealed in Makkah], then later this prayer of Tahajjud was made optional (See Muslim, 1:256).

Now, if Tahajjud and Tarāwīh were the same, why would the Prophet ﷺ fear Tarāwīh being made obligatory in Madīnah, when it was already, categorically, abrogated in Makkah? There would be no chance of fear of Tarāwīh being made obligatory if it's abrogation was already established in Makkah. Hence, this fact will have to compel one to concede that both prayers [Tarāwīh and Tahajjud] are totally different;

7. It is established from the Prophet ﷺ, His companions, and the great Scholars of this Ummah, Imām Bukhārī, etc, that they would read Tahajjud after performing Tarāwīh prayer. This is also established from the scholars of the Ahl-Hadīth movement.

We know from an authentic Hadīth that the Prophet ﷺ lead the Sahābah in Tarāwīh for three nights, and from those three nights one night He ﷺ read Salah separately, which was the Tahajjud prayer. Hence, Hadhrat Anas [May Allah be pleased with him] reports:

"كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، يُصَلِّي فِي رَمَضَانَ، فَجِئْتُ فَقُمْتُ إِلَى جَنْبِهِ وَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ آخَرُ، فَقَامَ أَيْضًا حَتَّى كُنَّا رَهْطًا فَلَمَّا حَسَّ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّا خَلْفَهُ جَعَلَ يَتَجَوَّزُ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، ثُمَّ دَخَلَ رَحْلَهُ، فَصَلَّى صَلَاةً لَا يُصَلِّيهَا عِنْدَنَا"

"The Prophet ﷺ in Ramadhān [one night] was reading [Tarāwīh] Salah. I came and I stood on His side, and then came another man who also stood [next to us], until we formed a group [Jamā'ah]. When the Prophet ﷺ noticed that I was behind Him, He began to shorten the Salah [by completing it], then he walked to/entered His 'Rahl' [which is like a room], and read that Salah [Tahajjud] which heﷺ didn't read with us [Muslim, 1:352].

Now, it is obvious that the Salah which the Prophet ﷺ read with His two companions was Tarāwīh, and the Salah he read in his room was Tahajjud, because he ﷺ would always read Tahajjud in his room. This is why our mother Ayesha [May Allah be pleased with her] reports: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فِي حُجْرَتِهِ

"The Prophet ﷺ would read at night [Tahajjud prayer] in his room" [Bukhārī, 1:101].

In addition to this, the words of Hadhrat Anas "فَصَلَّى صَلَاةً لَا يُصَلِّيهَا عِنْدَنَا" i.e. "He ﷺ read that Salah which he didn't read with us", clearly indicates to the fact that the Salah which was performed in congregation was Tarāwīh, and the Salah which the Prophet ﷺ read on his own, in his room, was Tahajjud. Therefore, one has to acknowledge that Tarāwīh and Tahajjud are different prayers.

It is also transmitted from Hadhrat Talq Bin Ali, the companion of the Prophet ﷺ, that he would read Tahajjud after performing Tarāwīh. Hence, his son Qais Bin Talq reports about his father:

زَارَنَا طَلْقُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ فِي يَوْمٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، وَأَمْسَى عِنْدَنَا، وَأَفْطَرَ، ثُمَّ قَامَ بِنَا اللَّيْلَةَ، وَأَوْتَرَ بِنَا، ثُمَّ انْحَدَرَ إِلَى مَسْجِدِهِ، فَصَلَّى بِأَصْحَابِهِ، حَتَّى إِذَا بَقِيَ الْوِتْرُ قَدَّمَ رَجُلًا، فَقَالَ: أَوْتِرْ بِأَصْحَابِكَ، فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «لَا وِتْرَانِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ».

"[Our father] Talq Bin Ali visited us one day in Ramadhān, and stayed with us till the evening, and broke his fast [with us]. Then he lead us in [Tarāwīh] prayer, and in Witr. He then went to his Masjid and lead his companions in [Tahajjud] prayer, until Witr was still left to prayer. So, he put a man forward and said to him: lead your companions in Witr, for indeed I have heard the Prophet ﷺ saying: there is no two Witr in one night" [Abu Dawūd, 1:310].

Now, it is very clear from the above that Talq Bin Ali [May Allah be pleased with him] read Tahajjud after performing Tarāwīh, because this cannot happen that he lead Tahajjud in the house and then lead the same Salah in his Masjid. The reason to this is because the Prophet ﷺ has prohibited us from offering the same prayer twice in one day. Hadhrat Abdullah Bin Umar [May Allah be pleased with him] has reported that the Prophet ﷺ has said: لا تصلوا صلوة في يوم مرتين; "Don't pray one Salah twice in a day." [Abu Dawūd, 1/86].

The great Mālikī jurist, Ibn al-Hāj, has mentioned in his book al-Madkhal that Imām Mālik, Imām Abu Muhammad, and the famous saint Shaykh Abul Hasan Siyāt would pray Tahajjud after performing the Tarāwīh [2:299].

According to the famous Ahl-Hadīth scholar, Shaykh Wahīd al-Zamān, even Imām Bukhārī would offer Tahajjud after performing Tarāwīh [See Tayseer al-Barī Sharh Bukhārī, 1:49].

The famous Ahl-Hadīth scholar, "Shaykh al-Kull" Mawlānā Miya Nazīr Hussain Dehlwī would also offer Tahajjud after performing Tarāwīh [Natā'ij al-Taqleed: 29].

If we look at the books of the Muhaddithīn, we will realise that they have given separate title headings for Tahajjud and Tarāwīh. For example, Imām Bukhārī in his Sahīh; Imām Muslim in his Sahīh; Imām Abu Dāwūd, Imām Tirmidhī, Imām Nasa'ī in their Sunan; Imām Malik and Imām Muhammad in their Mu'atta; Imām Abdur Razzāq and Imām Ibn Abi Shaybah in their Musannaf; Imām Bayhaqī in his al-Sunan al-Kubrā; Hāfidh Ibn Hajar in his Bulūgh al-Murām; the great al-Imām al-Azam Abu Hanīfa in his Kitāb al-Athār, etc. Even in the books of the "Ahl-Hadīth", such as Salāh al-Rasūl, Tahajjud and Tarāwīh are titled with separate headings. From this, we can understand that according to the great Muhaddithīn of this Ummah Tarāwīh and Tahajjud are two different prayers.

In addition to this, the great jurists of this Ummah have mentioned Tahajjud and Tarāwīh as two separate prayers in their books. For example, the great Hanbalī scholar Imām Ibn Qudāmah in his Kitāb al-Mughnī [page 184]; the Malikī scholar Ibn al-Hāj in his al-Madkhal [2:300]; and Imām Ibn Rushd al-Mālikī in his Bidāyatul Mujtahid [1:153]. Many others have also done the same.

From the above revelatory evidences and other citations, we can clearly understand that Tahajjud and Tarāwīh are two separate prayers. To argue otherwise is absurd and goes against the masses of this Ummah.

I hope that the above references will suffice for anyone who is seeking the truth, Insha'Allah.

I do not wish to give references regarding the number of Rak'āt in Tarāwīh, as my purpose was only to highlight the differences between Tarāwīh and Tahajjud. However, I would like to mention, on a side point and as a thought-provoking question, [which I heard from our great teacher Allāmah Dr Khalid Mahmood] to those who read 8 Rak'āt as Tarāwīh: in the Hadīth of Bukhārī, it is stated that the Prophet ﷺ only read Tarāwīh in congregation for 3 days. Why do the advocates of 8 Rak'āt pray Tarāwīh all month [29/30 days]? Where have they taken this practice from? The Hadīth of the Prophet ﷺ *only* states three days! If they want to strictly adhere to the Hadīth of the Prophet ﷺ, then they should only read three days Tarāwīh in their Masjid. Is there a pseudo-Salafī or Ahl-Hadīth Masjid in the world where only three days Tarāwīh are read, strictly following the Hadīth of Bukhārī? If they have taken the days of Tarāwīh [29 or 30] from Hadhrat Umar [May Allah be pleased with him], then why don't they take the number of Tarāwīh from him too? This is for them to answer.

May Allah keep us on the truth and the path of the Sahabah. Amīn.

P.S. The above quotes and citations were taken from the book 'ركعات تراويح', written by a great scholar and a good friend of mine, Allāmah Zahoor Ahmed al-Husainī [May Allah protect him and reward him immensely].
The book can be downloaded here

Indeed, several books have been written on Tarāwīh, but the book of Shaykh Zahoor is very comprehensive and very well referenced, and it also answers all the Shubhāt and objections. Shaykh Zahoor has written several works defending the creed of the Ahl-Sunnah. May Allah prolong his life and fill it with blessings and goodness.

Amīn.