Series Regarding the Number of Rakah for Taraweeh
No. 10 Is it authentic that anyone of the Khulafa prayed twenty Rakah?
Part C: Shaykh Albaani continued commenting:
‘I established in my book that the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- adhered to praying eleven Rakah all his blessed life and this is a clear cut evidence that the prayer in the night is not an absolute open optional prayer as many of the people claim.
There is no difference between the night prayer and the regularly observed Sunnah prayer and the eclipse prayer etc. whereby it is established that it is a prayer which is restricted due to the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- adhering to it and not by him not increasing upon the number of Rakah.
Also that adhering to Ahadeeth which are absolute [Mutlaq] or general about the encouragement of praying more Rakah is not allowed to increase upon the amount which the Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – acted upon.
I mentioned in my book: ‘the example of the one who increases the amount of prayer is like that of the one who prays a pray and opposes the prayer of the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam. . . . In the amount and in description, using as evidence those absolute proofs, as one who prays for example, five Rakah for the Sunnah prayer for Zuhr and four Rakah for the Sunnah of the Fajr prayer or like the one who prays performing two Rukoo together and lots of Sajdah together, the wickedness of doing so is not hidden from the one who has intellect.’
[Tamaam al-Mina. …p.252-253]