It is likewise recommended to make up the rawātib1 Sunnah prayers and the Witr, except when they were missed together with their obligatory counterpart and have become numerous; in that case, leaving them is preferable. Performing all of them at home is superior.2
It is also recommended to separate the obligatory prayer from its Sunnah with either standing or a brief word.
The Tarāwīḥ consists of twenty rakʿahs in Ramadan, and its time extends from after the ʿIshāʾ prayer until the Witr.
Section
Night prayer is better than day prayer, and the latter half of the night is better than the first; tahajjud is the prayer performed after sleeping.3
It is recommended to observe the night vigil, to open it with two light rakʿahs, and to form the intention for it when going to sleep.
A voluntary prayer is valid even if performed as a single rakʿah.
The reward of one who sits without excuse is half that of one who stands.
A larger number of bowings and prostrations is preferable to prolonged standing.4
(1) Al-Lubadi remarks (Hashiyah, p. 68): Sharh al-Muntaha rules that abandoning it is disliked (makruh) and that the reliability (‘adala) of one who habitually leaves it is nullified. Imam Ahmad, when asked about a person who constantly neglects it, replied, “A wicked man,” implying that such neglect is forbidden. Qadi Abu Ya‘la further states that whoever persistently abandons the sunan al-rawatib commits a sin.
(2) In manuscript N the reading is: “and he performed it.”
(3) In manuscript A the word appears as “sleep,” in the indefinite form.
(4) Al-Lubadi comments (Hashiyah, p. 71): “Some held the reverse view, but Shaykh Taqi al-Din (Ibn Taymiyya) affirms that the remembrance during standing—namely Qur’an recitation—is superior to the remembrance during bowing and prostration—namely tasbih and supplication. By contrast, the very acts of bowing and prostrating are superior to merely standing upright. Hence the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer was balanced: when he prolonged the standing, he lengthened the bowing and prostration proportionally, so that their duration was nearly the same. See also: Al-Ikhtiyarat, p. 65."