[Q 578] Durood in Taraweeh Middle Sitting

QUESTION:

Usually in Sunnah e Muakhada Salah we don’t recite Durood after Tashahud in the middle sitting so why are we required to recite Durood after Tashahud & start third Rakah from Sana in Taraweeh Salah if one is offering 4 Rakat or 20 altogether?

ANSWER:

The fuqaha (Islamic jurists) have fundamentally divided Salah into two main categories: Fard (obligatory) and Nafl (voluntary). Apart from the five daily prayers and Witr, all other prayers are counted among Nawafil (voluntary prayers). The scholars then further divided Nawafil into Sunan Mu’akkadah (emphasised Sunnah) and Sunan Ghair Mu’akkadah (non-emphasised Sunnah).

Therefore, the general rulings that apply to Nafl prayers also apply to the Sunan prayers, except in cases where a specific ruling has been excluded.

In Nafl prayers, the ruling is that in the Qa‘dah Ula (first sitting) one should recite Durood (sending blessings upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and dua (supplication) after Tashahhud, and when standing for the third Rak‘ah, one should begin with Sana (the opening supplication: Subhanak Allahumma…).

However, the jurists made an exception to this rule for those four-Rak‘ah Sunan Mu’akkadah prayers which are legislated as a complete and independent four-Rak‘ah prayer, and whose performance is not considered valid if only two Rak‘ahs are prayed. Because of this, the ruling of reciting Durood and dua in the first sitting and reciting Sana at the beginning of the third Rak‘ah does not apply to them.

As for Taraweeh, it was originally legislated as two Rak‘ahs, and every set of two Rak‘ahs is considered an independent prayer. In this way, it resembles Nafl prayers. Therefore, if someone performs four Rak‘ahs together, the ruling of Nafl applies — meaning that after the first sitting (Qa‘dah Ula) one should recite Durood and dua, and in the third Rak‘ah one should begin with Sana.

The twenty Rak‘ahs of Taraweeh should ideally be prayed with ten salams, meaning one should give salam after every two Rak‘ahs. If someone prays twenty Rak‘ahs with a single salam while still sitting for Qa‘dah after every two Rak‘ahs, the prayer will still be valid; however, performing it in this manner is Makruh (disliked). It is permissible to perform up to eight Rak‘ahs with one salam.

It is mentioned in Al-Durr al-Mukhtar:

“(وفي البواقي من ذوات الأربع يصلي على النبي) – صلى الله عليه وسلم – (ويستفتح) ويتعوذ ولو نذرا لأن كل شفع صلاة.”
(Al-Durr al-Mukhtar wa Hashiyat Ibn ‘Abidin, Volume 2, Page 16)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 10th March 2026.