The Format Of Obligatory Prayers
Muslims are required to pray five obligatory prayers every single day, at various times. This is mentioned in the Qur’an:
“Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers – a decree of fixed times.” [The Qur’an: an-Nisā 4:103]
The prayer times are mentioned in the following narrations:
‘Abdullāh b. ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas reported:
The Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about the times of prayers. He said: The time for the morning prayer lasts as long as the first visible part of the rising sun does not appear, and the time of the noon prayer is when the sun moves past its zenith [and lasts as long as] it is not time for the afternoon prayer, and the time for the afternoon prayer is so long as the sun does not become pale and the first visible part of it does not set, and the time for the evening prayer is when the sun disappears and it lasts until the twilight is no more, and the time for the night prayer is up to midnight. [Muslim: 612]
The five obligatory prayers should be performed according to this order:
- Fajr – This prayer is performed after the true dawn (as opposed to the false dawn), and is two rak’ah (units of prayer) in length. The time for the prayer ends when the first part of the sun becomes visible on the horizon, just before sunrise.
- Dhuhr – This prayer is performed at the time of noon when the sun has moved past its highest point, and is four rak’ah in length. The time for this prayer ends at the beginning of the next prayer.
- Asr – This prayer is performed in the afternoon when an objects shadow is equal to it’s height with four Fardh Rak’ah.
- Maghrib – This prayer is performed when the sun sets with three Fardh Rak’ah.
- ‘Isha – This prayer is performed when the redness of the sunset disappears completely from the sky with Four Fardh Rak’ah.
“The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked: ‘Which deed is the best?’ So he said: ‘Prayer at the beginning of its time.'” [at-Tirmidhi: 170]
“Whoever catches up with a prostration of Fajr before the sun rises, then he has caught up with it; and whoever catches up with a prostration of ‘Asr before the sun sets, then he has caught up with it.” [an-Nasā’ī: 555]
The Regular Voluntary Prayers
What are the regular voluntary prayers?
The regular voluntary prayers (known in Arabic as rawātib, and colloquially as ‘Sunnah prayers’) are optional but highly recommended prayers that were performed by the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The format is as follows:
- Two rak’ah (units of prayer) before the Fajr prayer.
- Two sets of two rak’ah before the Dhuhr prayer (four in total).
- Two rak’ah after the Dhuhr prayer.
- Two rak’ah after the Maghrib prayer.
- Two rak’ah after the ‘Ishā’ prayer.
This is because of the following narration from the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
“Whoever prays twelve rak’ah during the night and day, a house will be built for him in Paradise: four before Dhuhr and two after, two rak’ah after Maghrib, two rak’ahs after ‘Ishā’ and two rak’ah before Fajr prayer.” [an-Nasā’ī: 1794]
It is also important to note that the two units of prayer before Fajr, along with the witr prayer hold a special importance, in that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not miss them, even when he was sick or travelling. Therefore, those two should be given a higher importance and should not be missed, except on very rare occaisions.
When is the correct time to pray the regular voluntary prayers?
There are two types of regular voluntary prayers: those that come before a compulsory prayer, and those that come after.
As for those voluntary prayers which come before, their time begins from the beginning of the prayer time (usually signified by the adhaan – the call to prayer), until the time of the iqaamah (i.e., until the compulsory prayer begins).
As for those voluntary prayers which come after, their time is from the end of the compulsory prayer, until the time for that prayer ends.
Other Prayers
There are a number of other prayers which fall outside of the regular voluntary prayers, because they are not mentioned in the narration:
“Whoever prays twelve rak’ah during the night and day, a house will be built for him in Paradise: four before Dhuhr and two after, two rak’ah after Maghrib, two rak’ahs after ‘Ishā’ and two rak’ah before Fajr prayer.” [an-Nasā’ī: 1794]
These are prayers that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray, but he would not be as regular in performing them as those mentioned above.
The Ḍuḥaa Prayer
The most important of all of the remaining voluntary prayers is the Ḍuḥaa prayer. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)reported that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“In the morning, charity is due on every joint bone of the body of everyone of you. Every utterance of subḥānallāh is an act of charity, and every utterance of al-ḥamdulillāh is an act of charity and every utterance of laa ilaaha il-Allāh is an act of charity; and enjoining of good is an act of charity, and forbidding is an act of charity, and two rak’ah of the Ḍuḥaa prayers which one performs in the forenoon is equal to all this (in reward).” [Muslim: 720]
As for the time of ḍuḥaa, it is from the moment that the sun has completely risen over the horizon, until the sun reaches its zenith. However, it is recommended to pray it after half of the morning has passed, because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“It is preferable to offer ḍuḥaa prayer when the sun’s heat has become so intense that even the young of the camels feel it.” [Muslim: 748]
As for the number of rak’ah, it is prayed in prayers of two, and it is preferred not to exceed eight rak’ah in total.
There is also a particular form of praying the ḍuḥaa prayer which excels in reward, and that is to remain in the mosque after Fajr remembering Allah, and then, when the sun has completely risen over the horizon, to pray two rak’ah. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever prays the Fajr prayer in congregation then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, then prays two units of prayer has the reward like that of Hajj and ‘Umrah [the greater and lesser pilgrimages]: entirely, entirely, entirely.” [at-Tirmidhī: 586]
Optional Prayers Around the Obligatory Prayers
Just as we mentioned the regular voluntary prayers that are timed around the obligatory prayers, there are other optional prayers which are similar, except that they do not have a specific reward for them:
- Two sets of two rak’ah before the ‘Aṣr prayer. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “May Allah have mercy on someone who prays before Aṣr four [rak’ah].” [Abū Dāwood: 1271]
- Two rak’ah before Maghrib. Abūl-Khayr narrated that “Abū Tameem al-Jayshāni stood up to pray two rak’ahs before Maghrib, and I said to ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir: ‘Look at this man, what prayer is he praying?’ He turned and looked at him, and said: ‘This is a prayer that we used to pray at the time of the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)’.” [an-Nasā’ī: 582]
- Two rak’ah before ‘Ishā’, because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah) said, “Between every two calls to prayer (i.e., the adhaan and the iqaamah) there is a prayer [he repeated it three times], for those who wish.” [al-Bukhārī: 624]
Prayers Which Have a Cause
There are a number of other prayers which are triggered by certain actions, including:
- Two rak’ah after wuḍoo’, because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever makes wuḍoo’, like this wuḍoo’ of mine, then prays two rak’ah, without any thoughts crossing their mind, except that Allah forgives them that which has preceded of their sin.” [al-Bukhārī: 159]
- The prayer of greeting the masjid, which is that before a person sits upon entering the masjid, they pray two rak’ah (or they join a congregational prayer), because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When anyone among you enters the mosque, he should not sit till he has observed two rak’ah” [Muslim: 714]. The stronger opinion is that this prayer is obligatory, because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not even make an exception during the Friday sermon for the one who came late.
Other Prayers
Other prayers include:
- The night prayer, which is a set of two rak’ah prayers, and can be prayed from the end of the ‘Ishaa’ congregational prayer until the beginning of the time for Fajr. The best time to pray this is the last third of the night (as calculated as the time between Maghrib and Fajr, divided by three), because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Our Lord, the Blessed and the Exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven when one-third of the latter part of the night is left, and says: Who supplicates Me so that I may answer him? Who asks Me so that I may give to him? Who asks Me forgiveness so that I may forgive him?” [Muslim: 758]
- He also said: “Prayer at night is two by two, and witr is one rak’ah.” [an-Nasā’ī: 1693], and he would not pray more than eight rak’ah, excluding the witr prayer, because of the narration of Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): “Allah’s Messenger (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never exceeded eleven rak’ah in Ramaḍān or in other months…” [al-Bukhārī: 1147]
- The witr prayer.
- The prayer for seeking guidance (istikhaarah).
