The Nafl Prayers of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem
By Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem | 2026-07-06T18:53:35.511653+00:00 | Topic: Hadith
The Nafl Prayers of the Prophet ﷺ
And fear Allah, about whom you ask for mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you. O you who have believed, fear Allah and say a firm word. He will amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory.
As for the rest, the best hadith is the Book of Allah, and the best guide is Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And the worst of things are its innovations, and every innovation is a creation, and every creation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
Following the Sunnah in Worship
In the life, in the seerah, in the practice, in the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him — as a Muslim, as a follower of our beloved Nabi, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, we must try our best to follow the footsteps of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in every single matter. In every single matter, and particularly the matters that are directly related to the worship of Allah. In fact, the principle with regards to the worship of Allah is that your worship is not accepted by Allah unless and until you have evidence from the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, from the hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And when we look at the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with regards to his worship, you will be astonished, you will be amazed, at how many rak'ahs — other than the fard prayer — the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to perform every single day and night. And yet, unfortunately, many of us, because of our own ignorance and not having the knowledge of the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, try to introduce new types of prayers and nawafil.
We hear, usually — particularly during the month of Ramadan or Sha'ban and Rajab — people get together to offer Salat al-Tasbih in gatherings, in congregations, whereas the fact is that there is no evidence for that. Salat al-Tasbih itself you can perform individually, but to offer Salat al-Tasbih in a congregation, in jama'ah, there is no evidence whatsoever from the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Recently, when we had the sad news of the attacks in Gaza, people started circulating the message that we Muslims, all together, should hold collective tahajjud prayer. Where did you get this idea from? Why do you not go back to the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? People try to offer a particular prayer on the 15th of Sha'ban, on the 27th of Rajab, believing that was the night when the night journey of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, took place. All these things have no evidence from the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
If you are so keen to offer the nawafil, then go back to the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. In today's khutbah, very briefly, I would like to highlight the number of raka'at and the nawafil that our beloved Nabi, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to offer every single night and day.
The Best Fasting and the Best Night Prayer
First and foremost, Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: the best type of fasting — obviously after the fasting of the month of Ramadan — is the fasting of Dawood, peace be upon him. Our master Dawood, peace be upon him, used to fast every other day. He would fast one day and he would miss the next day. And this is the best type of fasting. If a person decides to fast every single day, Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said his fasting has no value in the sight of Allah. So other than the month of Ramadan, we are not allowed to fast continuously.
There are other ahadith of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him — for example, the three white days. Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself used to fast for these three consecutive days, and yes we should do it. And if these three days come closer to Monday and Thursday, or between Monday and Thursday, and you end up fasting for Monday, Thursday and then the white days — in this case it is permissible. But other than that, it is not permissible to fast every single day.
And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then said:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 2755)
The best of the prayers after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer. Out of all the nawafil — other than the fard prayer, other than the five daily fard prayers — the best prayer is the night prayer, Salatul Layl.
The Night Prayer of the Prophet ﷺ
When it comes to the practice of our Nabi, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, we come to know that he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to offer — most of the time — eleven raka'at every single night. Sometimes he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, performed thirteen raka'at as well. And according to some scholars, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sometimes offered fifteen raka'at, including witr. But most of the time, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, offered eleven raka'at: eight raka'at as night prayer and then three witr. Or ten raka'at and one witr.
And when it comes to the witr, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to offer it in different ways. Sometimes he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer only two raka'at of night prayer and then, after that, nine raka'at altogether as witr — so altogether it becomes eleven. Sometimes he would perform four raka'at (two and two) and then offer seven raka'at of witr. Sometimes he would offer six raka'at and then five raka'at of witr. And sometimes — or most of the time — he would perform eight raka'at (two and two), and then at the end he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer three raka'at of witr. So altogether he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to perform eleven raka'at at night.
The Daytime Prayers of the Prophet ﷺ
The Two Sunnah of Fajr
And then, look at the sunnah and practice of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, during the day. As soon as the time of fajr starts, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer two raka'at of Salatul Fajr — two sunnah of Salatul Fajr. And we should also bear in mind that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: once the time for fajr prayer has started, there is no salah, no nafl prayer, other than two raka'at before Salatul Fajr. And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, never missed these two raka'at, these two sunnah of fajr — even during his journeys, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would never miss them.
In fact, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1682)
Two raka'at — two sunnah before fajr — they are better than this whole world and all the treasures of this world. And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, also said in another hadith: these two raka'at of two sunnah of fajr are more beloved to me than this whole world.
But the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was to offer these two sunnah very lightly. He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would not prolong the recitation in these two raka'at. As our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says: the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sometimes he would spend the whole night in the night prayer, and then, as soon as the time for fajr would start, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer two sunnah of fajr and he would perform them so quickly that I would sometimes wonder if the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had even read Surah al-Fatihah.
So the sunnah in these two raka'at — two sunnah of fajr — is that you should not prolong the recitation. And the wisdom behind it is, as again looking at the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would perform the long night prayer and then he would offer the long fajr prayer. The practice of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with regards to the fajr prayer was that he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would recite 60 to 100 verses in Salatul Fajr. And by the way, we never practice this because we always fear that people may object — they say, "Imam Sahib, this surah is too long," and if we recite 20 or 30 ayaat, people start complaining. Whereas the practice of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was to recite 60 to 100 ayaat in Salatul Fajr. So — long night prayer, then long Salatul Fajr, and in between he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer two light sunnah.
The Twelve Sunnah Mu'akkadah
These two sunnah are actually part of the 12 raka'at about which the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: whoever performs 12 raka'at — 12 sunnah — every single day on a regular basis, Allah will build for him a palace in paradise. And these 12 sunnah are known as Sunan Mu'akkadah — highly recommended sunnah:
- Two before Salat al-Fajr
- Four before Salat al-Dhuhr
- Two after Salat al-Dhuhr
- Two after Maghrib
- Two after Isha
So altogether 12 raka'at. We should try our best to perform these sunnahs. And also the practice of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was to offer these sunnahs at home. If you can, you should try your best to perform these sunnahs before and after salah at home. But if you have the fear that you may end up missing the sunnahs, then rather than missing them completely, you should offer them in the masjid.
Salat al-Ishraq
After performing these two sunnah before Salat al-Fajr, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would usually stay in his musalla — in his place — until sunrise. And then he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer two raka'at. These two raka'at are known as Salat al-Ishraq — the prayer of sunrise — about which the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: whoever offers Salat al-Fajr — and there is no condition whether you offer it at home or in the masjid, so our sisters and mothers can also benefit from the virtue of this hadith — whoever offers Salat al-Fajr, and then stays in his or her place where they have offered Salat al-Fajr, and keeps themselves busy with the dhikr of Allah, reading the Quran, making dua, doing the dhikr of Allah, until sunrise, and then offers two raka'at — he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said that such a person will be rewarded with the reward of performing one complete Hajj and one complete Umrah.
Salat al-Duha
And then after that, there is another prayer that is known as Salat al-Duha — the forenoon prayer — any time after sunrise and before zawal. He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer these raka'at. The ahadith indicate that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, usually would offer eight raka'at of Salat al-Duha. And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has also encouraged us to try our best to perform these eight raka'at. If not all eight, then at least two raka'at.
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 5, Hadith 1181)
Whenever one of you wakes up in the morning, every single part of the body, every single limb of the body has a due sadaqah. Every single time you say سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه, it is sadaqah. When you say الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰه, this is also a form of sadaqah. When you say لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰه, this is another form of sadaqah. When you say اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر, this is another form of sadaqah. And at the end, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: if you were to offer two raka'at of duha prayer, that would suffice from all of this.
Four Raka'at Before Zawal
There is another hadith of our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to offer four raka'at sometimes before even the time for Salat al-Dhuhr would begin. Before zawal, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer another four raka'at. And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to say: this is the time when the doors of the heavens are open, and I would like that Allah accepts my deeds in this particular time, and my deeds are raised to Allah in this particular time. So this was another prayer that Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer — four raka'at before zawal.
Sunnah of Dhuhr and the Reward
And then four raka'at before Salat al-Dhuhr. And then two raka'at after Salat al-Dhuhr — and sometimes he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would offer four raka'at after Salat al-Dhuhr. In fact, in a hadith reported by Imam Abu Dawood, may Allah have mercy on him, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: whoever performs four raka'at before Dhuhr and four raka'at after Dhuhr, Allah will make the fire of hell haram for him — Allah will protect him from the fire of hell.
Four Raka'at Before Asr
And then after that, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sometimes would offer four raka'at before the Asr prayer. And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has encouraged us to perform these four raka'at as well by saying — making dua: may Allah shower His mercy upon the person who offers four raka'at before Asr prayer.
Two Raka'at Before Maghrib
And then, when the time for Maghrib would come, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to encourage his companions: pray two raka'at before Maghrib. He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would say: pray two raka'at before the Maghrib prayer. And that is why usually we leave that much gap after the Adhan of Maghrib — between the Adhan and the Salah of Maghrib — for two raka'at. And then another two sunnah after the Maghrib prayer. And then two raka'at after Isha.
The Total: 43 Nawafil
If you were to combine all of these nawafil of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, they come to the number of 43 nawafil. Who amongst us has the ability to act upon the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and to follow the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in this way? If you are really, truly keen to increase your salah and your nawafil, follow the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, rather than introducing new types of prayers.
May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to follow the footsteps of our beloved Nabi, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Priorities Among the Nawafil
Amongst all these nawafil and the sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as mentioned earlier, the most important one is the night prayer. And then after the night prayer — which includes Salatul Witr as well — the next most important nawafil is the 12 raka'at known as the Sunan Mu'akkadah: two before Salatul Fajr, four before Dhuhr, two after Dhuhr, two after Maghrib, and two after Isha. We should try our best to follow the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and not to miss these nawafil.
And if we were to perform these nawafil on a regular basis, they can help us to increase our khushu in our salat. The scholars have said that this is one of the wisdoms behind these sunnahs — that whenever you come for the fard prayer, before you stand before Allah in the fard prayer, you freshen your mind and you get physically, mentally, and spiritually ready for the fard prayer. Because nothing is more important than the fard prayer — the fard prayer is the most important part of the salat. So before the fard prayer, we need to be ready mentally and spiritually, so that we can focus in our fard prayer. That is why in most of the prayers, it is a recommended sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that we should offer some nawafil before Fajr, before Dhuhr, even before Asr, and before Maghrib and Isha.
So if we were to follow these sunnahs of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, they will help us to increase our khushu in our salat. We ask Allah that He gives us tawfiq and ability to follow the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And may Allah allow us to act upon these sunnahs and the practices of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, so that He is pleased with us and rewards us for offering these nawafil as well as following the sunnah of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.