Tarāwīh Ṣalāh Time
Question
Someone recently told me that in the opinion of some Ḥanafī scholars it is permissible to perform the Tarāwīḥ prayer before the time of ʿIshāʾ begins. Is this true?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Answer
According to the majority of Ḥanafī jurists, the time of Ṭarāwīḥ Ṣalāh is after performing ʿIshāʾ Ṣalāh. (See Hidāyah and Bināyah, 2: 555; Fatḥ al-Qadīr, 1: 469; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ, 1: 288; al-Muḥīṭ al-Burhānī, 1: 458; Tuḥfat al-Mulūk, 1: 81; Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq, 1: 178; Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī, 1: 413; Radd al-Muḥtār, 2: 44).
Some Ḥanafī scholars are of the view that the time of Tarāwīḥ Ṣalāh begins as soon as the time for ʿIshāʾ Ṣalah begins. (See al-Muḥīṭ al-Burhānī, 1: 458; Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq, 1: 178; Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī, 1: 413; Radd al-Muḥtār, 2: 44).
It is true that a small number of ḥanafī jurists from Balkh were of the view that Tarāwiḥ can be performed before ʿIshāʾ Ṣalāh time begins. However, this is a weak view and cannot be practiced upon. ʿAllāmah Ibn Nujaym (d. 970/1563) writes that he has not come across any jurist who has validated this position (al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq, 2: 73).
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir, Blackburn, UK
25 Jumādā al-Thāniyah 1437 / 3 April 2016
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmad Sahib
