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Are Tarawih Prayers Mandatory for Women?

26 April, 2020
Q Dear scholars, As-Salamu `alaykum. Is Tarawih mandatory on women? Is it a confirmed Sunnah? Can you please shed some light on this issue for women who can’t go to the mosque for some reasons? Must they perform Tarawih as compulsory prayer, or is it nafl (supererogatory)? Jazakum Allah khayran.

Answer

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, Dr. Muhammad Abu Laylah
26 April, 2020

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In this fatwa:

According to the consensus of Muslim scholars, Tarawih is not considered mandatory on either men or women. Rather, it is only considered a recommended act.

In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

According to the consensus of Muslim scholars, Tarawih is not considered mandatory on either men or women. Rather, it is only considered a recommended act.

There is no evidence in the sources to make it obligatory. As far as I know, no jurist or imam has expressed such an opinion.

Tarawih can be performed individually at home or at the mosque. If, for some reason, you cannot go to the mosque, you can pray Tarawih at home.

We know from the traditions that the wives of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and other companions often used to pray Tarawih at home. Some of them even opened the Qur’an and read from it while performing Tarawih.

Based on the above, if you are not able to go to the mosque, you would not be deprived of the reward or blessings if you were to perform it at home.

Moreover, the prominent Muslim scholar Dr. Muhammad Abu Laylah, professor of the Islamic Studies & Comparative Religions at Al-Azhar Univ., adds:

Tarawih prayer is a Sunnah and to do it in a mosque is also a Sunnah. Women and even children should attend it at the Mosque because it displays the unity among Muslims and cements their relationships.

Remember that we should honor the month of Ramadan to the utmost of our ability because in this month the Quran which is our light, guide, and legal and spiritual force was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Allah the Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.