Prayer on a Ship and the Complete Tarawih Rules

1. Fard Prayer in a Moving Ship

For a moving ship, the source records two Hanafi positions:

• Abu Hanifah: a Fard prayer performed sitting with full Ruku and Sujud is valid even without a separate excuse.
• Abu Yusuf and Muhammad: if the worshipper is able to stand, sitting is not valid without an excuse.
• The source marks the second position as the more apparent view.

Examples of an excuse include severe dizziness or inability to get out of the ship.

Even where sitting is permitted, actual Ruku and Sujud are required when possible; merely replacing them with gestures is not valid.

2. Anchored Ships and Stability

An anchored ship is not always treated the same way:

• If it is anchored in deep water but is being moved violently by wind, it takes the rule of a moving ship.
• If it is stable, it takes the rule of a stationary ship.
• If tied at the shore, sitting for Fard without an excuse is not valid.
• When standing is possible and the vessel is stably connected or supported, the prayer is treated more like prayer on stable ground.

The practical issue is real stability, not merely whether an anchor exists.

3. Facing the Qiblah throughout the Ship Prayer

For Fard prayer in a ship:

• face the Qiblah when beginning;
• if the ship turns during prayer, turn again toward the Qiblah;
• continue correcting the direction as necessary until the prayer is completed.

This differs from the mounted voluntary concession, where the direction of the animal is accepted.

4. Tarawih: Status, Congregation and Time

The source teaches:

• Tarawih is Sunnah for men and women.
• Performing it in congregation is Sunnah al-Kifayah.
• Its time begins after Isha.
• Witr may be performed before Tarawih or after it.
• Delaying Tarawih until around one-third or one-half of the night is recommended; delaying beyond half the night is not disliked according to the correct view stated here.

A communal Sunnah should not be upgraded into an invented Fard obligation.

5. 20 Rak'ahs, 10 Salaams, and the Tarwihah Rest

The source's Tarawih structure is:

• 20 rak'ahs.
• 10 Salaams — normally one Salaam after every 2 rak'ahs.
• A rest after every 4 rak'ahs is recommended.
• The rest may be approximately as long as the preceding 4 rak'ahs.
• A similar rest is also recommended between the fifth set of 4 and Witr.

During the rest, worshippers may remain quiet or engage individually in remembrance, recitation or prayer.

6. Quran Completion without Driving the Congregation Away

The source recommends one completion of the Quran in Tarawih during the month.

But it gives an important qualification:

• if the congregation becomes weary, the chosen view is to recite an amount that does not drive people away.

So the goal of Khatm does not justify making the prayer so burdensome that the congregation is alienated. This corrects the earlier wording that suggested Khatm should normally be maintained despite people's fatigue.

7. What Must Not Be Sacrificed for Speed

Even when the congregation is tired, the source says:

• do not omit Salawat in each Tashahhud;
• do not omit the opening Thana;
• do not omit the Ruku and Sujud Tasbihs.

If people are weary, the optional dua may be omitted.

Shorten where the source allows shortening, but preserve the Sunnah elements it specifically tells the prayer leader not to remove.

8. Missed Tarawih Is Not Made Up

The source states that Tarawih is not made up after its time has passed — neither individually nor in congregation.

This distinguishes Tarawih from prayers for which a separate Qada rule exists. A person who missed it should not invent a later formal Tarawih Qada.