Additional prayers to our five daily obligatory prayers

For Muslims, the five obligatory prayers are one of the most significant rituals for many, with the exclusion of a few. Nevertheless, those few do try their best to fulfil this obligation. The importance of the prayers is conveyed to us from a saying of the Prophet (ﷺ), “The covenant that distinguishes between us and the disbeliever is prayer” (Ibn Majah: 1079). Hence, praying five times a day becomes a necessity, as that is what distinguishes between a Muslim and a Kaafir. It is something we never question, we never abandon, and we must not forget to make up for it as soon as we remember. The Prophet (ﷺ) also said “Indeed the first deed by which a servant will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection is his Salat. If it is complete, he is successful and saved, but if it is defective, he has failed and lost” (Tirmidhi: 413). Hence, for Muslims, five daily prayers is a ritual that gives one no excuse but to perform it. The problem is that most of us stay at the same level of just fulfilling the obligatory prayers and never try to improve ourselves.

Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi, “My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him” (Forty Hadith Qudsi: 38). As Muslims, we all know the weight of the duties that are enjoined on us by Allah. So, most practicing Muslims perform the first part of the Hadith, which is fulfilling the five pillars of Islam. But the second part, where Allah says, “My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him,” is something practicing Muslims might lack in their lifetime. When we send a kid to kindergarten, we don’t just stop them after they have learned the alphabet; we join them in elementary school, middle school, and high school, and we encourage them to study undergraduate studies, then postgraduate studies, even after excelling in one subject, there is always something else to excel at and learn. Hence, love for knowledge is something that does not halt; it is an ongoing process till one’s breath lasts. Then what about love for Allah? Should we feel satisfied that we pray five times a day? Should we just stop at that elementary school level? Because fardh prayer is something that is encouraged to be performed by kids aged seven, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Command your children to pray when they become seven years old” (Abi Dawud: 495).

There are many innovative ways among Muslim communities to gain Allah’s love and mercy that have no basis in Islam. People run in a horde to perform such acts, but when it comes to authentic sunnah most of the Muslims abandon it. As mentioned above, by performing “Supererogatory acts” a slave continues to come closer to Allah. Hence, in this writing, we shall see the voluntary prayers through which a Muslim can come closer to Allah’s love.

Witr Prayer

Witr is a sunnah prayer that is performed between Isha and Fajr. It is a highly recommended prayer in Islam, so much so that some scholars consider it obligatory, such as Imam Abu Hanifa. However, the majority of the scholars are of the opinion that it is not obligatory but a Sunnah Muakkadah, a confirmed Sunnah. The Prophet (ﷺ) performed witr prayer even when he was traveling, which shows the significance of the prayer (Bukhari: 1000). It is done in an odd number of units; therefore, it can be done in one rakat, three, five, seven, or more. But the most common is praying in three units (Bukhari: 993). This prayer is an easy start for Muslims who want to add additional volunteer prayer to their obligatory prayer as it starts from just one rakat. After some time, one can improve it to three, and so on.

Sunnah before Fajr (Nafl prayer)

Who wouldn’t love to have the whole world to themselves? Everyone aspires to accumulate wealth, land, money, and everything that gives pleasure and comfort. Yet there is something better than this whole world and everything in it. That is, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The two rak’ahs of Fajr are better than this world and everything in it.” (Muslim: 725). This is the most firmly established sunnah prayer as narrated: “The Prophet (ﷺ) did not adhere more firmly to any nawafil prayer than the two rak’ahs sunnah of Fajr” (al-Bukhari: 1163). This prayer is also something that we could establish because the fajr prayer itself is just two units, which is the least unit among the other obligatory prayers. Hence, adding two more units can be practical.

Duha prayer

  One common complaint from women is joint pain, back pain, muscle pain, etc. We constantly complain about our bodies. We forget to give gratitude towards the one who gave us the gift of the body through which we see, hear, feel, and taste everything essential for human existence. We can realize the signs of Allah when we just contemplate how our body works and move. Shouldn’t we thank Allah who gifted us with essential parts such as joints and bones that enable us to move? The Prophet (ﷺ) “Charity is due on every joint bone of the body” he continues to say “Two two rak‘ahs offered in the forenoon (Duha) will suffice for that” (Muslim: 720). This prayer also starts from two units, then four units, and more. It is performed after sunrise until the sun is at its zenith. So, in the morning, before starting our work that needs our body movement, we shall praise and glorify the Almighty for the joints that are healthy and intact. Hence, one shall try Duha prayer by starting with just two rak’at and gradually increasing it, if possible.

The 2 forgotten rak’ahs after the 2 sunnah of Dhur prayer

It is reported in Al-Nasaa’i (1817) and al-Tirmidhi (428) as narrated from Umm Habeebah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever prays four (rak’ahs) before Zuhr and four after it, the Fire will not touch him.”

The version narrated by al-Tirmidhi says: “Whoever regularly performs four rak’ahs before Zuhr and four after it, Allah makes him prohibited for the Fire.”

What an easy way of striving to make ourselves those forbidden for Hell.

The 4 rak’ahs before the Asr prayer.

The Prophet (ﷺ) conveyed that those who are looking for Allah to bestow His mercy upon them may offer 4 voluntary rak’ahs before the Fardh prayer of Asr  (al-Tirmidhi: 430). 

12 units of Nawafil prayers

            This is something that needs persistence, deliberation, and time. But if we carefully schedule our daily activities around five daily prayers, it will be possible to establish this sunnah as well. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever persists in performing twelve rak’ah from the sunnah, a house will be built for him in paradise” (Sunan Ibn Majah: 1140). How many of us have a dream of building a house of our own? How many of us work hard to save money for that purpose? How many of us work hard to pay the rent? We try very hard to build a house that does not stand properly for more than half a century. We work hard for a house that will not be ours one day but our children’s. But have we ever thought of a house that is eternal in the abode of paradise? Praying these twelve rakats of sunnah, Allah will build a house for the worshipper solely in the paradise that stands eternally, unlike the houses that perish one day in this world. Another important virtue of this prayer is that it makes up for the mistakes made in the five obligatory prayers. We all experience the insinuating whispers of Shaytan in prayer, and we often lack attention while praying, though we try our best to defeat the whispers, as humans we might fail. Thus, the Prophet (ﷺ) said if the obligatory prayers are not complete, Allah will say to the angels, “Look and see whether you find any voluntary prayers for My slave and take them to make up what is lacking from his obligatory prayers” (Sunan Ibn Majah: 1426).

12 rakat Nawafil prayers are as follows (Sunan Ibn Majah: 1140)

• Fajr: 2 rak’at before (the one we noted before)
• Zuhr: 4 rak’at before and 2 rak’at after
• Maghrib: 2 rak’at after
• Isha: 2 rak’at after

There are many other prayers and virtues of these prayers, but we have noted only some that are important and possible to establish. It is not to say that it is easy to ingrain these sunnah prayers into our busy lifestyle. But, as Muslims, we shall keep improving and excelling in all manners of worship. People are satisfied and feel content just praying the five obligatory prayers, and we can be, but we should also improve our worship according to authentic Islamic knowledge.

All Hadith are quoted from https://sunnah.com/