Taraweeh

as salamu alaikum,

i have found a solution for you my brother, while i follow the opinion of the itrah on not performing it with jamaah (and thats what i would advise you nevertheless), there is a explanation on why some of the Ahl al Bayt did actually perform it or allowed it (like Imam Yahya Ibn Hamza alayhi salam, if i remember it right he didnt say it is a sunnah, only that it is permissible to perform) so you could to taqleed of this opinion of Shaykh al Islam Majd al-Din al-Muayyadi alayhi salam (and this is much better than mimicking):

قال الإمام مجد الدين ألمؤيدي رحمه الله في حاشية كتبها رحمه الله في نهاية باب القيام في شهر رمضان الجزء الثاني من شرح الروض النضير للعلامة السياغي رحمه الله ( هذا القول لايصح على القول بأن قوله حجة وهو الحق الذي عليه علماء العترة عليهم السلام وغيرهم لقول الرسول صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم علي مع الحق والقران ومافي معناها مما هو معلوم وقد بسط الاحتجاج على ذلك في شرح الغاية , وجمعت الأدلة على ذلك في لوامع الأنوار فمن أراد الاستكمال بحث عن ذلك فلا يسع الحال الاستكمال . والأولى في الجمع أن يقال أن أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام رخّص في التراويح أولا حيث لم يعتقدوها سنة لأنه كان لايستجيز النهي عن الصلاة على الإطلاق ولهذا تلى قوله تعالى (أرأيت الذي ينهى عبدا إذا صلى ) ثم لما عرف أنهم قد اتخذوها سنة وتعصبوا عليها نهى عنها لان اعتقاد السنة فيما ليس سنة بدعة , أما مع عدم اعتقاد أنها سنة من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فلامانع من فعلها ولهذا كان يفعلها عبدا لله بن الحسن عليهما السلام وقال حفيده عبدا لله بن موسى عليهما السلام من أدركت من أهلي كانوا يفعلونها . وقال القاسم بن إبراهيم عليهما السلام أنا أفعله أي يصلي بأهله مع قوله عليه السلام (لانعرفها أي لانعرف أنها سنة ) . وقال وذكر عن علي عليه السلام أنه نهى عن ذلك أي أن تفعل على أنها سنة وإلا تناقض قوله وفعله وكذلك الحسن بن يحي عليهما السلام إنما حكى إجماع أهل البيت عليهم السلام على أنها ليست سنة من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ولا من أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام وأنه قد نهى عنها في أخر الأمر لما علم أنهم قد قالوا إنها سنة فهذا الجمع هو الصحيح وهو اعدل الأقوال وهو أنها غير سنة من رسول الله وانه لاحرج على من فعلها غير معتقد ولا قائل بأنها سنة . أما أنها غير سنة من رسول الله صلى لله عليه وآله وسلم فلأنه قد صح باتفاق الجميع انه تركها ومن اثبت انه صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم صلاها فقد اثبت انه تركها بعد ذلك وقال لهم صلوا في بيوتكم صلاة الرجل في بيته أزكى له بهذا أو معناه برواية البخاري وغيره وقولهم أنه إنما تركها خشية أن تفرض عليهم فنقول إنما ذلك الباعث على الترك ولا يلزم في العلة الباعثة على الحكم أن تستمر ولا يلزم أن يرتفع الحكم بزوالها ألا ترى أن الباعث في شرعية الرّمل في الطواف قد زال وبقي الحكم . وكذا الباعث على شرعية الغسل يوم الجمعة قد زال وبقى الحكم ولو كان المراد أنها لاتترك إلا في وقته صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم لاحتمال أن تفرض لقال لهم صلوها بعدي ليبين بقاء سنّيتها أو صلوها وحدكم أو نحو ذلك . وهذا هو الحكم في العلل الباعثة إنما تطلب ليقاس عليها لايختص الحكم بوجودها مع أنه قد صرح الذي أمرهم بإقامتها جماعة عمر بن الخطاب أنها بدعة ولم ينكر عليه احد من الصحابة فكيف يقال بعد ذلك أنها سنة . وأما أنه لاباس بفعلها مع عدم الاعتقاد أنها سنة فللرواية عن أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام وعن قدماء أهل البيت عليهم السلام بفعلها ولأن الصلاة خير موضوع فهذا عندي أعدل ألأقوال وأقربها إلى الحق ولا وجه لرد الرويات الصحيحة مع إمكان الجمع والله ولي التوفيق .تمت وصلى الله وسلم على سيدنا محمد وآله .

Imam Majd al-Dīn al-Mu’ayyadi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in a footnote at the end of the chapter on standing in prayer during the month of Ramadan, in the second volume of Sharh al-Rawd al-Nadhir by the esteemed scholar al-Siyāghī (may Allah have mercy on him):

This statement is invalid based on the principle that his (i.e., the Imam's) words are authoritative, which is the truth upheld by the scholars of the Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt), peace be upon them, and others. This is due to the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): ‘Ali is with the truth and the Qur'an,’ along with other well-known narrations of similar meaning. The argument for this has been extensively detailed in Sharh al-Ghāyah, and I have compiled the evidences in Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār. Whoever seeks further research on this matter should refer to those sources, as the present context does not allow for a full discussion.

The most appropriate way to reconcile the reports is to state that the Commander of the Faithful (Ali, peace be upon him) initially permitted Tarāwīh (the special Ramadan night prayers) when people did not regard it as an established Sunnah, as he did not deem it permissible to prohibit prayer in an absolute sense. This is why he recited the verse: (Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he prays?) (Qur'an 96:9-10). However, when he realized that people had started treating it as an obligatory Sunnah and had become attached to it with sectarian bias, he forbade it—because believing that something is a Sunnah when it is not, is an innovation (bidʿah).

If, however, one does not believe it to be a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then there is no objection to performing it. This is why ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan (peace be upon him) used to perform it, and his grandson ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mūsā (peace be upon him) said, "Those of my family whom I met used to perform it." Similarly, al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) stated, "I perform it," meaning he would lead his household in prayer, despite also saying, "We do not recognize it (as a Sunnah)."

It was also reported that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) prohibited it—but only in the sense of forbidding it as an established Sunnah. Otherwise, his words and actions would be contradictory. Likewise, al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā (peace be upon him) narrated that the consensus of Ahl al-Bayt is that it is not a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), nor from the Commander of the Faithful (Ali, peace be upon him). He further stated that Ali forbade it at a later stage when he saw that people had started treating it as an established Sunnah.

This reconciliation is the correct and most just view: Tarāwīh is not a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), yet there is no harm in performing it as long as one does not believe or claim that it is a Sunnah.

That it is not a Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is evident because it is unanimously agreed that he abandoned it. Even those who claim that he performed it also acknowledge that he later stopped and said: ‘Pray in your homes, for a man’s prayer in his house is better for him,’ as narrated by al-Bukhārī and others.

As for the argument that the Prophet abandoned it only out of fear that it would become obligatory upon his followers, we respond: while that may have been the reason for his initial abandonment, it does not mean that the ruling itself should be reversed when that reason ceases to exist. Consider, for example, the legal basis for the practice of raml (walking briskly in Ṭawāf) or the obligation of ghusl (ritual bathing) on Fridays—though their original causes have ceased, the rulings remain in effect.

If the Prophet had meant that Tarāwīh should only be abandoned during his lifetime due to the fear of obligation, he would have explicitly instructed his followers to continue it after him to affirm its status as a Sunnah. He would have said something like: "Pray it after me" or "Pray it individually." But he did not do so. The general principle regarding legal causes (ʿilal bāʿithah) is that they serve as a basis for analogy (qiyās); the ruling itself does not necessarily disappear with the cause.

Moreover, the one who later ordered Tarāwīh to be performed in congregation, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, openly declared it to be a bidʿah (innovation), and none of the Companions objected to his statement. So how can it still be claimed to be a Sunnah?

As for the permissibility of performing it without believing it to be a Sunnah, this is supported by narrations from the Commander of the Faithful (Ali, peace be upon him) and from the early members of Ahl al-Bayt who performed it. Additionally, since prayer is inherently a good act, there is no harm in it, provided one does not regard it as an established Sunnah.

In my view, this is the most just and balanced position, the closest to the truth. There is no justification for rejecting sound narrations when reconciliation is possible. And Allah is the One who grants success.

May peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his family.

Jazak Allah Khair for putting your time and effort out to sort my issue.