and prostration somewhat, so that we may be able to supplicate and increase in remembrance of Allah? Or should we remain as we are?” At that point, they will either agree, disagree, or differ among themselves. The situation will therefore be one of these three possibilities.

If he sees that the majority are unwilling to agree, then he should remain as he is, for the matter is flexible; and so long as it serves to bring hearts together, that is better. Yet he should not despair. He should raise the matter again a second time; and if they refuse and insist on twenty-three rak'ahs, he should employ whatever wisdom he considers suitable to persuade them.

Even so, if they will accept nothing but twenty-three, then let him place his trust in Allah and lead them in twenty-three rak'ahs. But he must beware of the extreme haste in bowing and prostration practiced by some imams, to the point that even a young person is unable to keep up with the imam. So what then of an elderly person, a sick person, or someone similar?! A trustworthy person told me that he entered a mosque on one of the nights of Ramadan and joined the imam in the Tarawih prayer, but, despite being an active young man, he was unable to keep up with him. He said, “When I slept that night, I saw in a dream as though I had entered that mosque and its people were dancing.”

The point is that some imams—may Allah guide us and them—make a mockery of Tarawih: they insist upon the number of twenty-three, whereas the sunnah is eleven rak'ahs, and through their extreme haste they fall short in what is obligatory. The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, say: “It is disliked for an imam to hasten in a manner that prevents those praying behind him from performing what is recommended.” Accordingly, it is forbidden for him to hasten in a manner that prevents those praying behind him from performing what is obligatory, because he has been entrusted, and one who is entrusted must take into consideration the condition of those under his care.