Does not praying the Tarawih prayer make you sinful?

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب

Tarawih prayer is a sunnah muakkadah [emphasised sunnah]. Hence, leaving it habitually is a sin.

It is stated in al-Durr al-mukhtar:

التَّرَاوِيحُ سُنَّةٌ) مُؤَكَّدَةٌ لِمُوَاظَبَةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ (لِلرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ) إجْمَاعًا صَحَّحَهُ فِي الْهِدَايَةِ وَغَيْرِهَا، وَهُوَ الْمَرْوِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ)

Translation: “The Tarawih prayer, by consensus, is sunnah muakkadah for both men and women, because the Rightly Guided Caliphs practised it perpetually. This has been authenticated by al-Hidaya and others, and the same has been narrated from Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah ﷻ have mercy upon him).”

[al-Durr al-mukhtar, vol. 2, pg. 43]

It is mentioned in Bahar-e Shari’at: “Leaving sunnah muakkadah is asa’at [bad] and acting on it is rewardful. Leaving it rarely is blameworthy and if habitually left, is a sin.”

[Bahar-e Shari’at, vol. 1, pg. 283]

It is mentioned elsewhere: “Tarawih, by consensus, is sunnah muakkadah for both men and women. Leaving it is not permissible.”

[Ibid, vol. 1, pg. 688]

واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری

Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadiri
Translated by the Akhuwat-e-Islami Team

Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0691] Does not praying the Tarawih prayer make you sinful?

Also see:

[Q-ID0501] Does the non-Fasting person have to pray the Tarawih prayer?

[Q-ID0483] Can we pray Tarawih prayer in rak’ats of 4 instead of 2?

[Q-ID0476] What are the proofs for 20 rakaat Tarawih prayer?

[Q-ID0345] My local Imam recites too fast & makes mistakes, can I read shorter Tarawih elsewhere?

[Q-ID0343] Can I pray the Tarawih prayer at home instead of the Masjid?