{"id":921,"date":"2019-09-27T20:16:05","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T17:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/27\/the-supererogatory-prayers\/"},"modified":"2019-09-27T20:16:05","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T17:16:05","slug":"the-supererogatory-prayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/the-supererogatory-prayers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Supererogatory Prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"<pre>By Editorial Staff\r\n<\/pre>\n<p>The more one performs supererogatory acts of worship, the more beloved by Allah he or she is. Of these supererogatory acts of worship are the supererogatory prayers whose performance makes up for any performance deficiencies in obligatory prayers.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, there are supererogatory prayers which may be performed before and\/ or after the obligatory prayers. Secondly, there are others which have their own specified time of performance such as the Night Prayers. Thirdly, there are the absolute voluntary prayers that may be performed at any time except those times at which this kind of prayer is reprehensible to perform.<\/p>\n<p>This article discusses the first kind of these supererogatory prayers. We wrote an article called, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newmuslim.net\/abcs-of-islam\/pillars-of-islam\/the-two-supererogatory-rakahs-of-the-dawn-prayer\/\"><em>The Two Supererogatory Rak\u2019ahs of the Dawn Prayer<\/em><\/a>\u201d. We continue in this article to write about the other supererogatory prayers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22567\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newmuslim.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/supererogatory.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22567\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newmuslim.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/supererogatory-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-22567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The more one performs supererogatory acts of worship, the more beloved by Allah he or she is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333399\"><strong>Al-Dhuhr (The Noon Prayer)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Between every <em>Adhan<\/em> (the call to prayer) and <em>Iqamah<\/em> (the second call to prayer), it is recommended to perform two <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> (units of prayer) or more. Muslims perform them individually before the congregational prayer.<\/p>\n<p>Before and after the obligatory congregational Noon prayer, there are supererogatory prayers which are regarded as <strong><em>sunnah mu\u2019akkadah<\/em><\/strong>, whose performance is stressed or highly recommended.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>Before Al-Dhuhr<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There are reports or <em>hadiths<\/em> that denote that one is recommended to perform two <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> and others denoting that they are four. Ibn &#8216;Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:<\/p>\n<p>I performed with the Messenger of Allah (\ufdfa) two <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> before and two after <em>Dhuhr<\/em> prayer. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)<\/p>\n<p>In another hadith related by \u2018A\u2019ishah (Allah be pleased with her) in which she said, &#8216;The Prophet (\ufdfa) never omitted four <em>rak&#8217;ah<\/em> prayer before the <em>Dhuhr<\/em> prayer and two <em>rak&#8217;ah<\/em> prayer before dawn (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newmuslim.net\/abcs-of-islam\/pillars-of-islam\/the-two-supererogatory-rakahs-of-the-dawn-prayer\/\"><em>Fajr<\/em><\/a>) prayer. (Al-Bukhari)<\/p>\n<p>Scholars hold different opinions concerning how to reconcile both <em>hadiths<\/em>. To act according to both <em>hadiths<\/em>, some scholars give preference to the hadith related by \u2018A\u2019ishah (Allah be pleased with her). However, others prefer to perform sometimes four rak\u2019ahs and sometimes two. This latter opinion is <strong>more preferred<\/strong> as both <em>hadiths<\/em> mentioned above are authentic.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #800080\"><strong>The legal ruling concerning the person who misses the two or four supererogatory rak\u2019ahs before al-Dhuhr<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The person can make them up after <em>al-Dhuhr<\/em> Prayer as this time is not one when prayer is reprehensible.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #800080\"><strong>May the four rak\u2019ahs be performed in pairs or four rak\u2019ahs without separation?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The following <em>hadith<\/em> supports performing the four <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> consecutively without <em>taslim<\/em> (uttering salutation) in the middle. Narrated Abu Ayyub:<\/p>\n<p>The Prophet (\ufdfa) said: The gates of heaven are opened for four <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> containing no <em>taslim<\/em> (salutation) before the noon prayer. (Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah)<\/p>\n<p>However, the early scholars of hadith are in agreement that this hadith is weak. There is also another hadith which supports the other opinion. Ibn \u2018Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (\ufdfa) said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrayers at night and during the day are to be offered two by two.\u201d (Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa\u2019I and Ibn Majah)<\/p>\n<p>After relating this <em>hadith<\/em>, Al-Tirmidhi pointed out that the words \u201cduring the day\u201d in this <em>hadith<\/em> are <em>shadhah<\/em> (anomalous). He added that the majority of scholars of <em>Hadith<\/em> had related it without these words.<\/p>\n<p>In sum, a Muslim can choose either to perform four <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> or to perform two ending them with <em>taslim<\/em> then performing another two separately.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>After Al-Dhuhr<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The famous <em>hadiths<\/em> found in Al-Bukhari and Muslim indicate that the supererogatory prayer after the congregational prayer of <em>Al-Dhuhr<\/em> are only two <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em>. The following hadith which state that they are four is <strong>not authentic<\/strong>. Umm Habibah narrated that:<\/p>\n<p>Allah&#8217;s Messenger (S) said: &#8220;Whoever prays four before al-Dhuhr and four after, Allah makes him prohibited for the Fire.&#8221; (Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Nasa\u2019i)<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333399\"><strong>Al-\u2018Asr (The Afternoon Prayer)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>Before Al-\u2018Asr Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Some scholars hold the opinion that the supererogatory prayer before <em>al-\u2018Asr<\/em> is four <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em>. To support their opinion they quote the following <em>hadith<\/em>: Ibn &#8216;Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:<\/p>\n<p>The Prophet (\ufdfa) said, &#8220;May Allah have mercy on a man who performs four <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> before the <em>&#8216;Asr<\/em> Prayer.&#8221; (Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi)<\/p>\n<p>However, scholars of hadith are of the opinion that the <em>hadiths<\/em> stating that the supererogatory prayer before <em>al-\u2018Asr<\/em> is four are <strong>not authentic.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This does not mean the person may not perform supererogatory prayer before the obligatory congregational prayer of <em>al-\u2018Asr<\/em>. The following <em>hadith<\/em> is a proof to the contrary:<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Abdullah bin Mughaffal (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:<\/p>\n<p>The Messenger of Allah (\ufdfa) said, &#8220;There is a <em>Salat<\/em> (prayer) between every <em>Adhan<\/em> and <em>Iqamah<\/em>; there is a <em>Salat<\/em> between every <em>Adhan<\/em> and <em>Iqamah<\/em>.&#8221; (While saying the same for the) third time (he (\ufdfa) added), &#8220;It is for him who desires (to perform it).&#8221; (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)<\/p>\n<p>According to this <em>hadith<\/em>, the person may perform voluntary prayer. This prayer is regarded as <strong><em>sunnah ghair mu\u2019akkadah<\/em><\/strong>, whose performance is less recommended or not stressed.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>After Al-\u2018Asr Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Scholars are in agreement that a person cannot perform supererogatory prayers after the <em>al-\u2018Asr<\/em> Prayer except in the case of making up a missed prayer. Um Salamah (Allah be pleased with her) said, \u201cI sent a slave-girl to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) asking her to stand by his side and say to him that Umm Salama says:<\/p>\n<p>Messenger of Allah, I heard you prohibiting these two <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em>, whereas I saw you observing them; and if he (the Holy Prophet) points with his hand (to wait), then do wait.<\/p>\n<p>The slave-girl did like that. He (the Holy Prophet) pointed out with his hand and she got aside and waited, and when he had finished (the prayer) he said:<\/p>\n<p>O Daughter of Abu Umayya! You have asked about the two <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> after the <em>\u2018Asr<\/em> prayer. Some people of \u2018Abd al-Qais came to me for embracing Islam and hindered me from observing the two <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> which come after the noon prayer. So those are the two I have been praying. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333399\"><strong>Al-Maghrib (The Sunset Prayer)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>Before Al-Maghrib<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The supererogatory prayer before the congregational <em>al-Maghrib<\/em> Prayer is regarded as <em>sunnah ghair mu\u2019akkadah<\/em>. Narrated `Abdullah Al-Muzni:<\/p>\n<p>The Prophet (\ufdfa) said, &#8220;Pray before the <em>Maghrib<\/em> (compulsory) prayer.&#8221; He (said it thrice) and in the third time, he said, &#8220;Whoever wants to offer it can do so.&#8221; He said so because he did not like the people to take it as a tradition. (Al-Bukhari)<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993300\"><strong>After Al-Maghrib<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Generally the supererogatory prayers may be performed at home or at the mosque; however, the two supererogatory <em>rak\u2019ahs<\/em> after <em>al-Maghrib<\/em> Prayer is especially recommended to be performed at home.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #800080\"><strong>What verses to recite during the two supererogatory rak\u2019ahs of Al-Maghrib?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>It is an act of the <em>sunnah<\/em> to recite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qurantranslations.net\/translation-of-the-quran-in-english-recitation-by-sheikh-ali-abdul-rahman-al-hudhaifi\/?file=33#player\"><em>surat al-Kafirun<\/em><\/a> (Chapter of The Disbelievers) after reciting <em>surat al-Fatihah<\/em> (Chapter of the Opening) at the first <em>rak\u2019ah<\/em> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qurantranslations.net\/translation-of-the-quran-in-english-recitation-by-sheikh-ali-abdul-rahman-al-hudhaifi\/?file=36#player\"><em>surat al-Ikhlas<\/em><\/a> (Chapter of the Pure Sincerity) at the second one.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333399\"><strong>Al-\u2018Isha\u2019 (The Evening Prayer)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Also the prayars performed here between <em>Adhan<\/em> and <em>Iqamah<\/em> are <em>sunnah ghair mu\u2019akkadah<\/em>. On the other hand, it is <em>sunnah<\/em> <em>mu\u2019akkadah<\/em> to perform two rak\u2019ahs after al-\u2018Isha\u2019 Prayer.<\/p>\n<p>In short, the following two <em>hadiths<\/em> summarizes the supererogatory prayers a Muslim is recommended to perform before and\/ or after the five obligatory prayers.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #800080\">Hadith 1:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Ibn &#8216;Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:<\/p>\n<p>I performed along with the Messenger of Allah (\ufdfa) two <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> of optional prayers before <em>Dhuhr<\/em> and two after the <em>Dhuhr<\/em> (Noon prayer), and two after the Friday prayer, and two after the <em>Maghrib<\/em> (Sunset) prayer, and two after the &#8216;<em>Isha<\/em>&#8216; (Evening) prayer.&#8221; (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #800080\">Hadith 2:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>&#8216;Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:<\/p>\n<p>Whenever the Prophet (\ufdfa) stayed in my house, he would perform four <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> (supererogatory prayer) before <em>al-Dhuhr<\/em> prayer. Then he would go out and lead the <em>Salah<\/em> (the obligatory congregational prayer). He (\ufdfa) would then come back and perform two <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> (supererogatory prayer). He would lead the <em>Maghrib<\/em> prayer and come back and perform two <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> (supererogatory prayer). When he (\ufdfa) had led the &#8216;<em>Isha<\/em>&#8216; prayer, he would enter the house and perform two <em>rak&#8217;ahs<\/em> (supererogatory prayer). (Muslim)<\/p>\n<p>[ica_orginalurl]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The supererogatory prayers may be performed before and\/ or after obligatory congregational prayers. They make the person more beloved by Allah&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[3909,3910,3911,3912,3913,3914,3915,3916,3917,3918,3919,3920,3921,3922,3923,3924,3925,3926,3927,3928,167,3929,3930,3931,3932,3933,3934,3935,3936,3937,3938,3939,3940,3941,3942,3943,3944,3945,2302,3946,3947,3948,3949,3950,3951,3952,3953,3954,3955,3956,3957,3958],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abcs-of-islam","category-new-muslims","tag-12-sunnah-prayer","tag-4-rakat-sunnah-prayer","tag-5-daily-sunnah-prayers","tag-5-prayers-sunnah","tag-5-times-prayer-sunnah","tag-al-asr-prayer","tag-al-asr-prayer-dubai","tag-al-asr-prayer-time","tag-al-dhuhr-prayer","tag-al-dhuhr-prayer-abu-dhabi","tag-al-dhuhr-prayer-dubai","tag-al-dhuhr-prayer-time","tag-al-isha-prayer","tag-al-maghrib-prayer","tag-al-maghrib-prayer-time","tag-al-sunnah-prayer","tag-al-sunnah-prayer-times","tag-all-the-sunnah-prayers","tag-are-the-sunnah-prayers-obligatory","tag-dhuhr-prayer-time-al-ain","tag-featured","tag-how-to-pray-4-sunnah-prayer","tag-pray-supererogatory-prayers","tag-sunnah-prayer-4-rakat","tag-sunnah-prayer-after-jummah","tag-sunnah-prayer-before-asr","tag-sunnah-prayer-before-fajr","tag-sunnah-prayer-before-isha","tag-sunnah-prayer-before-maghrib","tag-sunnah-prayer-for-asr","tag-sunnah-prayer-for-isha","tag-sunnah-prayer-for-jummah","tag-sunnah-prayer-for-maghrib","tag-sunnah-prayers","tag-sunnah-prayers-12","tag-sunnah-prayers-chart","tag-sunnah-prayers-in-islam","tag-supererogatory-morning-prayer","tag-supererogatory-prayers","tag-supererogatory-prayers-in-islam","tag-supererogatory-prayers-islam-qa","tag-supererogatory-prayers-meaning","tag-supererogatory-prayers-sunnah","tag-the-12-sunnah-prayers","tag-the-sunnah-prayer","tag-the-sunnah-prayer-before-fajr","tag-the-sunnah-prayer-of-fajr","tag-the-sunnah-prayers","tag-the-sunnah-prayers-in-islam","tag-the-sunnah-prayers-islamqa","tag-the-twelve-sunnah-prayers","tag-why-no-sunnah-prayers-after-asr"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/supererogatory.jpg?fit=1600%2C1067&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ZvKT-eR","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}