Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

in namaaz u have to pray 1 sura after sura al hamd!
how then is it allowed to pray 1 sipara in tarawi namaaz? 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality)

Answer:

Must we complete surah in prayer ?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: in namaaz u have to pray 1 sura after sura al hamd!
'Ibadah ibn as-Samit related that the Prophet (saws) said, "There is no prayer for one who does not recite the opening of the Book (al-Fatihah)."

This is related by Al Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and others.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever prays a prayer and does not recite the opening chapter of the Qur'an (Surah Al Fatihah) has not prayed correctly."

Related by Ahmad, al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Said Abu Hurairah, "A recitation should be done in every prayer. What we heard from the Prophet (saws) we let you hear. What he was silent about, we are silent about with you. If one does not add anything to al-Fatihah, it is sufficient. If one does add something, it is good."

Related by al-Bukhari.

It is an obligatory condition of prayer that Surah Fatihah is recited in every rakah of the prayer; whether the prayers are obligatory (fard) or voluntary (Sunnah or Nafl). If one does not pray the Surah Fatihah in any rakah of the prayer, the prayer of the person will not be considered valid. Reciting anything from the Quran in addition to the Surah Fatihah in prayer is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

If one only prays Surah Fatehah in the rakah, and for any reason does not pray anything else of the Quran in the rakah; his prayer will still be considered valid. Also, it is not necessary that one has to pray a complete Surah after Surah Fatihah in the prayer; one may pray any number of Aayahs as one wishes after Surah Fatihah, and it is preferable to start from the beginning of that Surah.

Your Question: how then is it allowed to pray 1 sipara in tarawi namaaz? 

Allah and His Messenger (saws) only divided the Quran in 114 Surahs. The thirty “siparahs’ or ‘paras’, or the ‘rukus’ in the ‘paras’ are something the memorizers of the Quran have done after the death of the Prophet (saws) to make the Quran easy for those who wish to memorize it; and have absolutely no bearing on the Quran.

Generally in the Tarawih prayers of Ramadan, the idea in most mosques is to recite the full Quran at least once in the whole month; and thus the reciter uses the rukus or the paras to space his recitation of the Quran in the Tarawih prayers so as to complete the recitation of the whole Quran in Ramadan; and there is absolutely no harm in doing so.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan