For an Adult to Follow a Child in Nafl Taraaweeh

Q: Salaah-449: We have some Huffaadh who are not yet of age but who wish to recite Qur'aan in Nafl salaah. Can an adult follow them to correct their mistakes?

Answer: According to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is Makrooh to perform the Tahajjud or any other Nafl salaah in Jamaa'ah. It is not Makrooh if there are only two followers behind an Imaam, there is a difference of opinion if they are three, but it is unanimously Makrooh if there are any more. As for a child not yet of age, it is not permissible to follow him regardless of whether the salaah is Taraaweeh or Nafl.

However, if one intends to habituate such children to perform the Taraaweeh salaah and to strengthen their memory, one Haafidh may follow him. If one is not enough, two may even follow him. This should however be done only to teach him and not to earn the rewards of salaah. And Allaah knows best what is most correct.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2