Sunnah muakkadah and nafl prayers
The twelve emphasized sunnahs of the day, the Friday and Ramadan additions, and the nafl prayers that carry no sin for leaving them.
Sunnah prayers are prayers the Prophet ﷺ used to pray regularly, along with the five fard prayers. There are two kinds.
The two kinds of sunnah
- Sunnah muakkadah: an important sunnah. Leaving it out without a good reason is wrong.
- Sunnah ghair muakkadah: also called nafl or mustahabb. There is no sin in leaving these out.
| Prayer | Rak'ahs | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | Before the fard of Fajr |
| Zuhr | 4 | Before the fard of Zuhr |
| Zuhr | 2 | After the fard of Zuhr |
| Maghrib | 2 | After the fard of Maghrib |
| Isha | 2 | After the fard of Isha |
The manual gives the daily total as twelve rak'ahs, and the four items it then lists come to ten. The two rak'ahs after Zuhr are what make up its own total, and the table includes them on that basis. The gap is in the manual's own arithmetic; it is recorded in content/editorial-additions.md.
There are also nafl prayers, which are extra and recommended but not emphasized like the sunnah muakkadah above: 4 rak'ahs before Asr, 4 rak'ahs before Isha, and some nafl after Maghrib called Salat al-Awwabeen.
A few rules about nafl prayers
- During the day you may pray up to 4 rak'ahs of nafl with one salam, and at night up to 8 rak'ahs with one salam. Praying more than that at once is not good.
- You may pray nafl sitting down even if you have no illness or excuse.
- Once you start a nafl prayer properly, you must finish it. If something breaks it, you must make it up later.
Beyond the five fard prayers, the Prophet ﷺ regularly prayed a set of sunnahs. These divide into two kinds: sunnah muʾakkadah (emphasized sunnah) and sunnah ghair muʾakkadah, also called nafl or mustaḥabb.
Sunnah muʾakkadah is important: the one who abandons it without a valid excuse is considered sinful, though the prayer itself stays valid.
Sunnah ghair muʾakkadah (nafl / mustaḥabb) carries no sin for abandoning it.
| Prayer | Rak'ahs | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | Before the fard of Fajr |
| Zuhr | 4 | Before the fard of Zuhr |
| Zuhr | 2 | After the fard of Zuhr |
| Maghrib | 2 | After the fard of Maghrib |
| Isha | 2 | After the fard of Isha |
The manual gives the daily total as twelve rak'ahs, and the four items it then lists come to ten. The two rak'ahs after Zuhr are what make up its own total, and the table includes them on that basis. The gap is in the manual's own arithmetic; it is recorded in content/editorial-additions.md.
The 4-rak'ah sunnah prayers must be prayed with a single tasleem (one salam). If prayed with two tasleems, they are not counted as the sunnah.
Alongside these, some nafl prayers are recommended without being emphasized sunnahs: 4 rak'ahs before Asr, 4 rak'ahs before Isha, and the nafl prayed after Maghrib known as Salat al-Awwabeen.
A person may pray up to 4 rak'ahs of nafl by day and 8 rak'ahs by night with a single tasleem; praying more than this at one time is disliked (makrūh).
Beyond the farāʾiḍ, the Prophet's ﷺ regular practice comprised sunnahs of two ranks: sunnah muʾakkadah, and sunnah ghair muʾakkadah, the latter also termed nafl or mustaḥabb.
Sunnah muʾakkadah carries real weight: its abandonment without a valid excuse (ʿudhr) is sinful, though the validity of the prayer itself is unaffected.
Sunnah ghair muʾakkadah (nafl, mustaḥabb) carries no sin in abandonment.
| Prayer | Rak'ahs | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | Before the farḍ of Fajr |
| Zuhr | 4 | Before the farḍ of Zuhr |
| Ẓuhr | 2 | After the farḍ of Ẓuhr |
| Maghrib | 2 | After the farḍ of Maghrib |
| ʿIshāʾ | 2 | After the farḍ of ʿIshāʾ |
The manual gives the daily total as twelve rak'ahs, and the four items it then lists come to ten. The two rak'ahs after Zuhr are what make up its own total, and the table includes them on that basis. The gap is in the manual's own arithmetic; it is recorded in content/editorial-additions.md.
The 4-rakʿah sunnahs are valid as the sunnah only when prayed with a single tasleem. Praying them with two tasleems (that is, as two separate pairs) means they are not counted as the sunnah muʾakkadah.
Distinct from these are the nafl prayers proper: 4 rakʿahs before ʿAṣr and 4 before ʿIshāʾ, and the nafl prayed after Maghrib known as Ṣalāt al-Awwābīn.
By day, up to 4 rakʿahs of nafl may be prayed with one tasleem, and by night up to 8; exceeding this in a single tasleem is makrūh.
Terms on this page
Related
- Salat al-Tarawih The confirmed sunnah of Ramadan night prayer: its twenty rak'ahs, its timing, completing the Qur'an, and the rules of praying it in congregation.
- The number of rakats in the daily prayers The full rak'ah count of each daily prayer in the Hanafi school: the sunnah before, the fard, the sunnah after, Witr and the nafl, with the emphasised sunnah marked apart from the rest.
- Joining a congregation that has already begun When to break off a prayer you started alone to join the jama'ah, when a sunnah must be finished first, and how catching the ruku' counts as catching the rak'ah.
- The rules of adhan and iqamah, and when an adhan counts Who must call the adhan, when it is and isn't required, and the four conditions that make an adhan valid.