2b] Numbers of rak’ahs in Taraaweeh prayer

2b]
most of the night. Indeed, one night in which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) led his companions in
prayingTaraaweeh, he did not end his prayer until just before dawn,
and the Sahaabah feared that theywould miss suhoor. The Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) loved to pray behind the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and they did not feel that it was
too long. The scholars thought that if the imam made the prayer so
long, this would be too difficult for the members of the congregation
and that might put them off. So they thought that the imam should make
the recitation shorter and increase the number of rak'ahs.
The point is that the one who prays eleven rak'ahs in the manner
narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
is doing well and is following the Sunnah. Whoever makes the
recitation shorter and increases the number of rak'ahs is also doing
well. A person who does either of these two things is not to be
denounced. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
If a person prays Taraaweeh according to the madhhabs of Abu
Haneefah, al-Shaafa'i and Ahmad, with twenty rak'ahs, or according to
the madhhab of Maalik, with thirty-six rak'ahs, or with thirteen or
eleven rak'ahs, he has done well, as Imam Ahmad said, because there is
nothing to specify the number. So the greater or lesser number of
rak'ahs depends on how long or short the qiyaam (standing in the
prayer) is.
Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 64
Al-Suyooti said:
What is narrated in the saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth is the command to
observe night prayers during Ramadaan, which is encouraged without
specifying a particular number. It is not proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed twenty rak'ahs of
Taraaweeh, rather that he prayed at night, with an unspecifiednumber
of rak'ahs. Then he delayed it on the fourth night lest it become
obligatory for them and they might not be able to do it. Ibn Hajar
al-Haythami said: There is no saheeh report that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed twenty rak'ahs of
Taraaweeh. Thenarration which suggests that he "used to pray twenty
rak'ahs" is extremely weak (da'eef).
Al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 27/142-145
So you should not be surprised that people prayTaraaweeh as twenty
rak'ahs. There have been generation after generation of those imams
(who used to pray twenty rak'ahs), and all ofthem are good.
And Allaah knows best./