How do I catch up on missed taraweeh prayers?

It is basically qiyam al layl or tahajjud of night in ramadan which was set up as an early in the night congregational prayer for the sake of convenience and coherence two khulafah after the Prophet - who would pray it late at night and also missed it when his followers began to overdo it.
People are more observant in Ramadan when rewards are multiplied and that's all.
If you have a good habit of praying at night and fear that missing such will make you feel like a withholder - by all means make it up with additional rakah during the day if possible.

Better still, if you don't know Arabic, focus on the obligatory prayers and spend the extra time learning Arabic and on comprehending the Quran in the language you understand best, that way you won't be honouring Allah with your lips whilst your heart is sealed from the INSTRUCTIONAL words uttered in NAFL prayer which it was a Sunnah of the Prophet (who understood it btw) to pray (despite not knowing how to read from a book).

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

Muhammad Asad
Will they not, then, ponder over this Qur’an? - or are there locks upon their hearts?

M. M. Pickthall
Will they then not meditate on the Qur'an, or are there locks on the hearts?


يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىٰ تَغْتَسِلُوا وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا

M. M. Pickthall
O ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer when ye are drunken, till ye know that which ye utter, nor when ye are polluted, save when journeying upon the road, till ye have bathed. And if ye be ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have touched women, and ye find not water, then go to high clean soil and rub your faces and your hands (therewith). Lo! Allah is Benign, Forgiving.

Yusuf Ali
O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.




9Be stunned and amazed,
blind yourselves and be sightless;
be drunk, but not from wine,
stagger, but not from beer.
10The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:
He has sealed your eyes (the prophets);
he has covered your heads (the seers).
11For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll.
And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.”
12Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”

13The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
14Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
15Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”
16You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
“You know nothing”?

From Isaiah 29




عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ

Muhammad Asad

taught man what he did not know!


M. M. Pickthall

Teacheth man that which he knew not.


Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)

Taught man that which he knew not.

jazak Allah khair

So if I pray taraweeh after zuhr, do I do my intention to pray on missed taraweeh?

Can I pray witr as well or should I leave it until isha and pray several witr after isha to catch up?

format_quote Originally Posted by anonymous

jazak Allah khair

So if I pray taraweeh after zuhr, do I do my intention to pray on missed taraweeh?

Can I pray witr as well or should I leave it until isha and pray several witr after isha to catch up?

Taraawiih is not an obligatory prayer. You do not have to make it up.

Is it liked that one make it up if one misses it? Regarding this there is a difference of opinion among scholars.

In all honesty, you will benefit much more if you ponder over the Verses of the Qur'aan and apply them to your life rather then worry about making up your missed Taraawiih.

format_quote Originally Posted by anonymous

Salaam

Sometimes I feel tired to pray taraweeh after isha and sleep and miss out on it. I also don’t get the chance to pray it before fajr. I get upset and feel like I want to pray them, so can i pray the 8 rakaat after zuhr prayer? I know taraweeh is sunnah so just wanted to know if its ok to pray it after zuhr to catch up what I missed out on? I’m a female btw

Asalaamu Alaikum,

There is no Qadha(make up) for Taraweeh Salah:

http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/18925

This is because it is not Fardh (obligatory). Rather it is an emphasised Sunnah prayer during Ramadan. Allah knows your intentions so ask of help you tackle the reasons stopping you from praying it. Most of the things are in our control like for example over eating at Iftaar to the point where it is even hard to get up let alone pray many Rakats and/or lack of sleep Management.

And Allah knows best in all matters