Leading taraweeh

[abdulbasit]

Assalam-u-alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh Shaykh

The place where I live has no mosque nearby. I always try my best to go to a mosque to pray, if I can, but I think that mostly I will have to pray at home. There are more brothers with me to pray at home.

Regarding this, I want to know that whom should we select among ourselves to lead the prayer for taraweehs? Are there any rules to it? Is there any hadeeth that encourages any person with good voice to lead the prayer?

[Aslam AbuIsmaeel]

Wa alaikumusalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

It is best under normal conditions to pray taraweeh with a big jama'ah in a masjid.  However, it is permissible of course in other circumstances to form jama'ah elsewhere like in a home, especially if there is a good reason for it.

The Prophet (s) as you would know instructed us in an authentic hadith that the order for choosing the Imam for salaat is as follows:
1. The one who reads the Quran the most, i.e. the more someone has memorised the Quran the higher the choice of him leading a Jama'ah.  This includes that the person should be able to recite the Quran properly with Tajweed rules.  In the time of the Prophet (s) and thereafter initially, this also included the one who had the most knowledge of the Quran as memorising and knowledge of the Quran went hand in hand back then.
2. If they are same in that respect, then the one who has the most knowledge of Sunnah, i.e. scholar or most knowledge of the whole of Islam. 
3. If they are the same in that respect, then the one who is the oldest in migrating for Islam, or highest in obedience to Allah, piety etc, should lead the prayer or the eldest in age if all other aspects are the same.
4. In a particular masjid or a person's house, the person of the house or the Imam of the Masjid has the first right to lead the prayer even if another person has more knowledge etc about Islam.  But if the local person allows the person of most knowledge to lead prayer in his house then that is fine.

So, in your situation, try the above order.  If brothers are very similar in amount of Quran memorised then see who is best in tajweed and recitation out of them as well as who is openly the most pious and committed to Islam.  The minimum is to try to have the Imam who can recite at least Surah Fatihah with proper tajweed.

Lastly, I would like to encourage you all to try to go to the Masjid to pray Taraweeh as much as possible if the distance is manageable within the city; i.e. if you are not living outside the city you should try to go to the Masjid.  When there is a need that prevents from going to the Masjid, there is no harm in praying at home.  Without a need it is better in the Masjid as Imam Ahmed indicated, "The Sunnah of the Muslims is more beloved to me!" - encouraging people to pray in Masjid.

Wassalamu alaikum