Special prayers are said each evening of the holy
month
When the month of Ramadan begins, Muslims enter
into a period of discipline and worship: fasting
during the day, and praying throughout the day
and night. During Ramadan, special evening prayers
are conducted during which long portions of the
Qur'an are recited. These special prayers are known
as taraweeh.
Definition: Special evening prayers performed
during Ramadan. During each night's prayer, one
juz (1/30)
of the Qur'an will be recited, so that by the
end of the month the entire Qur'an will have
been read.
The word taraweeh comes
from an Arabic word which means to rest and
relax. The prayer can
be very long (well over an hour), during which
one stands upright to read from the Qur'an and
performs many cycles of movement (standing, bowing,
prostrating, sitting). After each four cycles,
one sits for a brief period of rest before continuing
-- this is where the name taraweeh ("rest
prayer") comes from.
During the standing portions of the prayer,
long sections of the Qur'an are read. The Qur'an
is divided into equal parts (called juz) for
the purpose of reading sections of equal length
during each of the Ramadan nights. Thus, 1/30
of the Qur'an is read on successive evenings,
so that by the end of the month the entire Qur'an
has been completed.
It is recommended that Muslims attend the taraweeh
prayers in the mosque (after 'Isha, the last
evening prayer), to pray in congregation. This
is true for both men and women. However, one
may also perform the prayers individually at
home. These prayers are voluntary, but are strongly
recommended and widely practiced. |
