The specific promise of getting the reward of “standing the whole night” is only obtained when you finish tarawih and witr with the Imam from the beginning to the end, based on the hadith:
“Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, Allah will record for him the standing of a whole night.” (Reported by al Tirmidhi in al Sawm no. 734, Ibn Majah in Iqamat al Salah wa al Sunnah fiha no. 1317, and Imam Ahmad in Musnad al Ansar no. 20450.)
Shaykh Ibn Baz رحمه الله explained that the Sunnah is to complete Tarawih with the imam, whether he prays eleven, thirteen, or twenty three rakʿahs, so that this hadith applies. Leaving after some rakʿahs gives the reward of what was prayed, but not the full reward mentioned in the hadith. (Majmuʿ Fatawa Ibn Baz 11/325–326)
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen رحمه الله said that whoever wants this reward must remain with the imam until he finishes witr, whether the prayer is short or long, or the number of rakʿahs few or many. (Kitab Fatawa al Shaykh Ibn Jibrin 9/6)
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله said that in a masjid with two imams in one night, they are treated as one continuous imamate, so the one seeking the reward of “a whole night” should stay until the second imam also finishes, because he completes what the first began. (Majmuʿ Fatawa wa Rasāʾil Fadīlat al Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al ʿUthaymīn 14/206–208)
The Sunnah is to complete the Tarawih prayer with the imam
Question: If a person in Ramadan prays with those who pray twenty three rakʿahs and he limits himself to eleven rakʿahs and does not complete the prayer with the imam, is this action in accordance with the Sunnah?
Shaykh Bin Baz replied: The Sunnah is to complete the prayer with the imam even if he prays twenty three rakʿahs, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب الله له قيام ليلة
“Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, Allah will record for him the standing of a whole night.” (Reported by al Tirmidhi in al Sawm no. 734, Ibn Majah in Iqamat al Salah wa al Sunnah fiha no. 1317, and Imam Ahmad in Musnad al Ansar no. 20450.)
In another wording:
بقية ليلته
“The rest of his night.” (Reported by Imam Ahmad in Musnad al Ansar no. 20474.)
Therefore it is better for the one praying behind the imam to stand with the imam until he finishes, whether he prays eleven rakʿahs, thirteen, twenty three, or any other number.
This is what is better, that he follows the imam until he finishes. The twenty three rakʿahs were performed by ʿUmar رضي الله عنه and the companions, and there is no deficiency in that and no fault in it. Rather it is from the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs. It is also indicated by the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما from the Prophet ﷺ who said:
صلاة الليل مثنى مثنى فإذا خشي أحدكم الصبح صلى واحدة توتر له ما قد صلى
“The prayer of the night is two by two, and when one of you fears the coming of dawn he should pray one rakʿah which will make his prayer odd.” (Agreed upon.)
This is because the Prophet ﷺ did not specify a particular number. Rather he said: “The prayer of the night is two by two.” However, if the imam limits the Tarawih prayer to eleven or thirteen rakʿahs, then this is better, giving the salam after every two rakʿahs. This was most often the practice of the Prophet ﷺ and it is easier for the people in Ramadan and at other times.
If someone increases or decreases the number there is no harm, because the night prayer has broad allowance in it. Allah is the One who grants success.
Majmuʿ Fatawa Ibn Baz 11/325–326
من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب الله له قيام ليلة
“Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes will have recorded for him the standing of a whole night.”
إنه من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب له قيام ليلة
‘Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes will have recorded for him the standing of a whole night.’”
He was asked, may Allah have mercy on him: If someone prays the Tarawih prayer with the first imam and then leaves, saying: “I have the reward of standing the whole night based on the wording of the hadith: ‘Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes will have recorded for him the standing of a whole night.’ I began with the imam and left with him,” is this correct?
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn replied: As for the statement, “Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes will have recorded for him the standing of a whole night,” this is authentic and established from the Prophet ﷺ.
This occurred when the companions asked him to lead them in prayer for the remainder of the night. He had stopped the prayer at half of the night, so they said: “O Messenger of Allah, if only you would lead us in prayer for the rest of our night.” He replied:
“Indeed whoever stands with the imam until he finishes will have recorded for him the standing of a whole night.”
However, are the two imams in one masjid each considered independent, or is each of them acting on behalf of the other?
What appears more likely is the second possibility: that each of them acts on behalf of the other and completes his prayer. Based on this, if a masjid has two imams leading the prayer, then these two imams are regarded as though they are one imam. Therefore a person should remain until the second imam finishes, because we know that the second completes the prayer of the first.
Accordingly, what I advise my brothers is that they should follow the imams here in the Haram until they finish completely. Some brothers leave after praying eleven rakʿahs and say: “This is the number that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to perform.” We agree with them that the number which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed and limited himself to is better, and no one doubts this.
However, I see that there is no harm in increasing the number, not out of turning away from the number chosen by the Prophet ﷺ, but because this is among the matters of goodness in which the Sharia has given breadth.
When he was asked about the night prayer he said:
“The prayer of the night is two by two, and when one of you fears the coming of dawn he should pray one rakʿah which will make his prayer odd.”
Since this matter permits increase, what is better for a person is not to separate himself from the congregation, but rather to follow them. The companions رضي الله عنهم, when ʿUthman رضي الله عنه completed the prayer in Mina, some of them said Inna lillah when they heard about it.
Yet despite that they prayed behind him four rakʿahs, adding two rakʿahs to a prayer that does not exceed two rakʿahs, for the sake of agreeing with the congregation, maintaining unity, and avoiding division.
Agreement and unity carry great importance. None of you should take a path by which he separates himself from the congregation and divides the community, saying: “Are you with me or with so and so?” This is a mistake.
Therefore, as long as the matter is permissible and contains no prohibited element in the Sharia, then agreement with the congregation is better. It is the Sunnah, it is what unites the community, and it prevents the appearance of rancour and hostility.
Since the matter has broad allowance, and it has been reported from the righteous predecessors various practices in this regard, as Imam Ahmad and Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمهما الله said, then let what sufficed the Salaf suffice us. Those who preceded us from the Salaf have already gone ahead of us, so it is not appropriate for us to deviate.
I repeat the call to unity and to avoiding disagreement in matters where scholarly judgement is acceptable.
However, a real question arises: if there are two witr prayers in one night, what should the person praying behind the imam do?
We say: if you intend to pray the tahajjud with the second imam, then when the first imam performs witr, add one rakʿah so that it becomes an even prayer of two. If you do not intend to perform tahajjud later in the night, then perform witr with the first imam. If it later happens that you pray tahajjud, then make the witr with the second imam even.
Majmuʿ Fatawa wa Rasāʾil Fadīlat al Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al ʿUthaymīn 14/206–208
