The arrangement of suras in tarawih with “Alam tara kayfa”

Question

In some mosques, the tarawih that is performed with “Alam tara kayfa” is not recited continuously from “Alam tara kayfa” to Surat al-Nas; rather they recite up to Surat al-Ikhlas, then in the ninth rak‘a again “Alam tara kayfa” and in the tenth “Li-ilafi”, then in the eleventh and twelfth al-Mu‘awwidhatayn, and then from the thirteenth rak‘a they recite continuously from “Ara’ayta alladhi” to Surat al-Nas.

Answer

There is a benefit (maslaha) in doing so: the suras of each tarwiha come out in order. If one were to recite al-Mu‘awwidhatayn in the ninth and tenth [rak‘as], and “Alam tara kayfa” and “Li-ilafi” in the eleventh and twelfth, the suras of the first pair [of rak‘as] would be put back and those of the second pair brought forward, and as a result the order within the tarwiha…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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