part of Tahajjud, to be adjoined to the ‘Ishā’ prayer. And though for the average man the change introduced by ‘Umar is welcome, nevertheless in the month of fasting (Ramadzān) Tahajjud in the latter part of the night and as an individual prayer is preferable.
Tarāwīḥ is the plural of Tarwīḥah which is derived from rāḥah and means the act of taking rest. The name Tarāwīḥ seems to have been given to this prayer because the worshippers take a brief rest after every two rak‘ahs. It is now the practice that the whole of the Holy Qur’ān is recited in the Tarāwīḥ prayers in the month of Ramadzān. But to recite it in a single night is against the express injunctions of the Holy Prophet (Bu. 30:58). The number of rak‘ahs in the Tarāwīḥ prayers seems, at first, to have been eleven, being exactly the number of rak‘ahs in the Tahajjud prayers (including of course three witr rak‘ahs). It is stated that ‘Umar at first ordered eleven rak‘ahs, but later on, the number seems to have been increased to twenty rak‘ahs of Tarāwīḥ and three rak‘ahs of witr, now making a total of twenty-three.68 And this practice is now generally maintained throughout the Muslim world, the Ahl Ḥadīth and the Aḥmadīs being almost the only exception. It is customary for the Imām to recite the whole of the Holy Qur’ān in Tarāwīḥ during the month of fasting, whether the number of rak‘ahs be eight or twenty.
68 Ma.— Targhib fi-l-ṣalā fi Ramadzān.
It is reported that on a certain occasion when there had been a prolonged drought, someone requested the Holy Prophet, while he was delivering the Friday sermon in the mosque, to pray for rain, as both men and cattle were suffering severely, and in response, the Holy Prophet raised his hands and prayed to God for rain (Bu. 11:35). Similarly he is reported to have prayed to God when there was excess of rain (Bu. 11:35). On another occasion, however, he is said to have gone out into the open with the congregation, and to have prayed for rain and then performed two rak‘ahs of prayer in