Ruling on saying du’aa’ after each two rak’ahs of Taraweeh

There is no basis in the
Sunnah for saying du’aa’ between one salaam and the other during Taraweeh
prayer by saying “Subhaanaka Rabbana wa bi hamdika Allaahumma ighfir lana
(Glory and praise be to You our Lord; O Allaah, forgive us)”, and neither
the imam or those praying behind him are obliged to do that, because worship
is governed by the principle that nothing is permitted except that which was
prescribed by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).  Constantly doing a particular act of worship at a particular
time without any evidence for that comes under the heading of bid’ah or
innovation. 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Whoever does an action that is not part of this matter of ours
(Islam) will have it rejected.” Agreed upon. 

This great dhikr – “Subhaanaka Rabbana wa bi hamdika
Allaahumma ighfir li (Glory and praise be to You our Lord; O Allaah,
forgive me)” – is something that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to say when bowing and prostrating. Al-Bukhaari
(784) and Muslim (484) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used
to say when bowing and prostrating, “Subhaanaka Rabbana wa bi hamdika
Allaahumma ighfir li (Glory and praise be to You our Lord; O Allaah,
forgive me )” following the command given by the Qur’aan. 

What is meant by following the command given by the Qur’aan
is that he would do what was enjoined upon him in the Qur’aan, where Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“When there comes the Help of Allaah (to you, O Muhammad
against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah).

2. And you see that the people enter Allaah’s religion
(Islam) in crowds.

3. So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His
forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and Who
forgives”

[al-Nasr 110:1-3] 

See how the Sunnah has been abandoned in this posture of the
prayer, and how the people adhere to innovations! 

Another innovation which is done during Taraweeh is when the
people say: “Salaat al-qiyaam, athaabakum Allaah ((It is) time for qiyaam
prayer, may Allaah reward you)”, and when they say between each two rak’ahs,
“Allaahumma salli wa sallim ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad (O Allaah, send
blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad) in a loud voice, and they
recite Soorat al-Ikhlaas and al-Mu’awwidhatayn between each two rak’ahs, or
the imam says “Subhaan Allaah (Glory be to Allaah)”and the
congregation behind him responds by saying, “Subhaan Allaah wa bi
hamdihi, subhaan Allaah il-‘Azeem (Glory and praise be to Allaah, Glory
be to Allaah the Almighty).” None of these things were narrated from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), hence the Standing
Committee issued a fatwa to the effect that they are innovations and
bid’ahs. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
7/207-210.