The sunnah and voluntary (nafl) prayers

Sunnah prayers are prayers the Prophet ﷺ used to pray regularly, along with the five fard prayers. There are two kinds.

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.

Three of the nafl prayers have their own names and their own times.

Ishraq is prayed after the sun comes up. If you pray Fajr with the congregation and then stay sitting where you are, remembering Allah until after sunrise, and then pray two rak'ahs, the Prophet ﷺ said you get the reward of a Hajj and an Umrah.

Duha, also called Chasht, is prayed later in the morning, from after sunrise until just before Zuhr. You can pray as few as 2 rak'ahs and as many as 12. The Prophet ﷺ told Abu Hurayra to pray two rak'ahs of Duha, and Aisha said the Prophet ﷺ would pray four, and more when Allah willed. The Prophet ﷺ also said that whoever keeps praying two rak'ahs of Duha will have their sins forgiven, even if there are as many of them as there is foam on the sea.

Awwabin is prayed between Maghrib and Isha. You pray it in twos or fours, at least 2 rak'ahs and up to 20. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever prays six rak'ahs after Maghrib without saying anything bad in between gets the reward of twelve years of worship.

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.

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.

Three of the nafl prayers carry their own names, times and reported virtues.

Salat al-Ishraq is prayed once the sun has risen. Its reward is tied to what comes before it: the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever prays Fajr in congregation, then stays seated in the same place in the remembrance of Allah until the sun has risen, and then prays two rak'ahs, has the reward of a complete Hajj and Umrah.

Salat al-Duha, called Chasht, runs from after sunrise until the sun reaches its zenith. Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya gives its minimum as two rak'ahs and its maximum as twelve. The Prophet ﷺ advised Abu Hurayra to pray two rak'ahs of it; Aisha reported that he would pray four, and add to that as Allah willed. Ibn ʿAbidin records, following al-Haskafi, that while two is the minimum, the minimum optimal amount is four, that having been the Prophet's ﷺ general practice. It is also reported that whoever prays two rak'ahs of Duha consistently will have his sins forgiven, though they be as abundant as the foam of the sea.

Salat al-Awwabin is a sunnah prayer offered between Maghrib and Isha, in sets of two or four, with a minimum of two rak'ahs and a maximum of twenty. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever prays six rak'ahs after Maghrib and speaks nothing evil between them will have them counted as twelve years of worship. It is also established in sound narrations that he ﷺ prayed voluntarily between Maghrib and Isha, and that the Companions did so.

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.

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.

Three of the nawāfil carry their own names, awqāt and reported faḍāʾil.

Ṣalāt al-Ishrāq follows ṭulūʿ ash-shams. Its reward is conditioned on what precedes it rather than on the two rakʿāt alone: Fajr in jamāʿah, then remaining in one's place in dhikr until the sun has risen, and only then the two rakʿāt. On that condition the Prophet ﷺ named the reward of a complete Ḥajj and ʿUmrah.

Ṣalāt aḍ-Ḍuḥā extends from after sunrise to zawāl. Al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyya puts its minimum at two rakʿāt and its maximum at twelve. The classical Hanafi texts discuss it without stipulating Ishrāq and Ḍuḥā as two separate prayers. Abū Hurayrah was advised to two rakʿāt of it; ʿĀʾishah reports four, with more as Allah willed; and Ibn ʿĀbidīn, confirming al-Ḥaṣkafī, holds that although the minimum is two, the optimal minimum is four, that being the Prophet's ﷺ general practice. It is further reported that whoever keeps to two rakʿāt of Ḍuḥā has his sins forgiven, though they be as the foam of the sea.

Ṣalāt al-Awwābīn falls between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, performed in twos or fours, its minimum two rakʿāt and its maximum twenty. Many scholars hold it a sunnah on the strength of several chains which, weak individually, are taken to reinforce one another where the matter is one of faḍāʾil rather than of ruling. The narration of six rakʿāt after Maghrib without evil speech between them, counted as twelve years of worship, is reported by at-Tirmidhī; and it is established in sound narrations that the Prophet ﷺ prayed voluntarily in that interval, as did the Companions after him.