Chapter 09 - Supererogatory (voluntary) Prayer

374. Rabi’ah bin Ka’b Al-Aslami : narrated that the Messenger of Allah once said to me “Ask (me about whatever you want).” I said, ‘I ask your company in Paradise.’ He then said “Or anything else (that you want to ask for)?” I said, ‘That is it’ He said, Then help me to achieve this (wish) for you, by prostrating{1} as much as you can.” Related by Muslim.
{1} The Prophet was reffering to prostrating in prayer. The kind of prayer he is guiding Rabi’ah to perform, is the voluntary prayer, as every Muslim must perform the obligatory prayer anyway. (Imam As-San’ani in Subul As-Salam).



375. Ibn ‘Umar : narrated ‘I learnt and observed from the Messenger of Allah ten rak’at (of Sunnah or non-obligatoryprayers){2}: two before Dhuhr prayer, and two after it, two after Maghrib in his house, two after ‘Isha’ in his house and two rak’at before Fajr.” Agreed upon. In another narration by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, ‘and two rak’at after the Friday prayer in his house.”
{2} Ibn ‘Umar here is referring to the non-oblogatory prayers that are offered before and after the prescribed ones.


376. Muslim reported on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar : said to ‘The Messenger of Allah used to pray only two short rak’at (i.e. would recite short verses of the Qur’an) when it was time for Fajr prayer.’


377. ‘Aishah : narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah used to always pray four rak’at before Dhuhr and two rak’at before Fajr under all cirumstances.’ Related by Abu l-Bukhari.


378. ‘Aishah : narrated that the Messenger of Allah was never so regular and keen on observing any supererogatory prayer, as he was in observing the two rak’at before Fajr prayer.’ Agreed upon.


379. ‘Aishah : narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, “The two rak’at of Fajr are better than this world and all that it contains.” Related by Muslim.


380. Umm Habibah, Mother of the believers : narrated, “I hear the Messenger of Allah say “Whoever prays twelve rak’at during the day and night will have a house built for him in paradise.” Related by Muslim. In another narrations, “twelve voluntary rak’at.”


381. At-Tirmidhi related a similar narration with the addition, “four rak’at before Dhuhr and two after it, two rak’at after Maghib, two rak’at after ‘Isha’ and two rak’at before Fajr.”


382. Umm Habibah, Mother of the believers : narrated ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “Whoever prays four rak’at before Dhuhr and four after it, Allah will prohibit that his flesh be in the Hell-Fire (i.e. will protect him from entering the Fire).” Related by the five Imams.


383. ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar : narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, “May Allah have mercy on a person who prays four rak’at before ‘Asr.” Related by Ahmad, Abu dawud, At-Tirmidhi (who rendered it Hasan) and ibn Khuzaimah.


384. ‘Abdullah bin Mughaffal Al-Muzani : narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, “Pray before Maghrib (prayer)! “Pray before Maghrib (prayer)!” And after saying it a third time, he said: For whoever wishes to do so,” not wanting people to take it as a sunnah.’ Related by Al-Bukhari.


385. In another version related by Ibn Hibban on the authority of Ibn Mughaffal, “The Prophet prayed two rak’at before Maghrib prayer.”


386. Ibn ‘Abbas : narrated, ‘We used to pray two rak’at after sunset (before Maghrib prayer), and the Prophet would see us , but he did not order us to do so, nor did he prohibit us.’ Related by Muslim.


387. ‘Aishah : narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah used to lake the two rak’at before Fajr so short that I used to say (to myself), ‘Has he recited the Fatihah (in each rak’ah) or not?’ Agreed upon.

388. Abu Hurairah : narrated, “The Messenger of Allah recited the following (Suras) in the two rak’at before Fajr prayer: “Say: O disbelievers” (Surah no.109) and “Say, He is Allah (the) One…” (Surah no.112).” Related by Muslim.


389. ‘Aishah : narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah used to lie down on his right side after he prayed the two rak’at before the Fajr prayer.’ Related by Al-Bukhari.


390. Abu Hurairah : narrated that the Prophet said, “After any of you prays the two rak’at before Fajr prayer, he should lie down on his right side.” Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud an At-Tirmidhi who graded it as Sahih.


391. ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar : narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, “The night prayer is (performed), in sets of two rak’at. If one fears the breaking of dawn, he should perform one (more) rak’ah, thereby making all of them (into an) odd (number of rak’at)(witr).” Agreed upon.


392. The five Imams related on the authority of Abu Hurairah : “The prayer of the night prayer and the day is (performed) in sets of two rak’at.” Ibn Hibban graded it as Sahih, but An-Nasi’ said that this was wrong.{2}

{2} The extra wording ‘and day,’ has been reported on the authority if ‘Ali bin ‘Abdullah al-Azdi, who was reported to be a weak narrator by Ibn Ma’in. the narration about the night prayer is also mentioned in Al-Bukhari and Muslim but without the phrase ‘and day’. Imam As-San’ani says that it could be that both are permissible, i.e. to pray, (voluntary prayer) during the day sets of two or four rak’at.


393. Abu Hurairah : narrated that the Prohphet said, “The best prayer (that you perform) next to the obligatory prayer, is the night prayer.” Related by Muslim.


394. Abu Aiyub Al-Ansari : narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, “Witr is a duty upon every Muslim. If anyone wishes to observe it by performing five rak’at, he may do so, and if anyone wishes to observe it with three rak’at, he may do so, and if he wishes to observe it with one rak’ah, he may do so.” Related by the four Imams except for At-Tirmidhi. Ibn Hibban graded it as Sahih.


395. ‘Ali bin Abi Talib : narrated, ‘The Witr prayer is not as obligatory as the prescribed prayers, but it is a sunnah of the Prophet ” Related by At-Tirmidhi who said that it was Hasan. An-Nasa’I and Al-Hakim also related it, and the latter declared it Sahih.


396. Jabir bin ‘Abdullah : narrated, ‘Allah’s Messenger payed the late night prayer (Tahajjud) in Ramadan one night. The following night, people waited for him to come for the night prayer (to join him) but he did not come out. He said to them,“ I was afraid that witr might become compulsory for you.” Related by Ibn Hibban.{3}
{3} The narration of Al-Bukhari has the wording, “The following night, people waited for the Prophet to come out for the night prayer, but he didn’t. In the morning, the people asked him about it. He replied, that he was afraid that the night prayer might become compulsory on them.


397. Kharijah bin Hudhafah : narrated that ‘Allah’s Messenger said, “Allah, the Exalted has given you an extra prayer which is better for you than red camels (i.e. the best breed of camels).” We then said, ‘Which prayer is that Messenger of Allah ? ‘ He said, “The Witr prayer. You may perform it (any time) between the ‘Isha and fajr prayer.” Related by the five Imams except An-Nasa’i. Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih.


398. Ahmad related similar narration on the authority of ‘Amro bin Shu’ainb n the authority of his father who narrated it on the authority of his grandfather.

399. ‘Abdullah bin Buraidah : narrated on the authority of his father, ‘Allah’s Messenger said, “Praying witr is a duty, so he who does not observe it is not one of us.” Related by Abu Dawud with a weak chain of narrators{4} but Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih.{5}
{4} Scholars said that praying witr is only a confirmed sunnah (i.e. the sunnah which the Prophet did not leave performing whether travelling or at home) and is not obligatory as the Messenger of Allah said to Mu’adh when he sent him to Yemen, “Tell them that five prayers during the day and night have been prescribed by Allah upon them.” Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
{5} The chain if narrators has 'Abdullah bin 'Abdullah Al-'Ataki, who was reported to be a weak narrator by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

400. Imam Ahmad reported a similar narration on the authority of Abu Hurairah but with an interrupted chain of narrators.


401. ‘Aishah : narrated, “Allah’s Messenger never exceeded praying eleven rak’at (that was his voluntary night prayer) whether during Ramadan or otherwise. He would pray four rak’at, and don’t ask how perfect or how lengthy they were. Then he would pray four other rak’at and do not ask how perfect they were or how lengthy they were. Then he would pray three rak’at. I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Do you sleep before praying witr?’ He replied, “O ‘Aishah, my eyes sleep but my heart remains awake.” Agreed upon.


402. In another version by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, “He used to pray ten rak’at during the night, and then observe the witr with a single rak’ah before praying the two (voluntary) rak’at before fajr. This would make them thirteen in all.”


403. In another narration by Muslim, ‘Aishah : said, “Allah’s Messenger would perform thirteen rak’at during the night, and would make the witr with five of them. He would not sit (during those five rak’at) except in the last one.”


404. In another narration ‘Aishah : radiyallahuanh: said, “Allah’s Messenger prayed the witr prayer at all hours of the night, (extending from after the ‘Isha prayer) up to the Sahar time{6} (meaning up to the last hour of the night up to the fajr prayer).’ Agreed upon.

{6} The sahar time refers to the final third of the night. The Prophet prayed witr at all times of the night to show that it is permissible.


405. ‘Abullah bin ‘Amro bin al-‘Aas : narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah said to me, “O ‘Abdullah, don’t be like so and so who used to observe the night prayer and then he stopped it.” Agreed upon.


406. ‘Ali : narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, “O you people [followers] of the Qur’an, perform the witr prayer for Allah is Witr (i.e. One) and He loves all that is witr (i.e. odd in number).” Related by the five Imams and Ibn Khuzaimah graded it as sahih.


407. Ibn ‘Umar : narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, “Perform the Witr prayer, as the last of your night prayers.” Agreed upon.


408. Talq bin ‘Ali, narrated, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah ‘There are no two witr prayers to be performed in one night.” Related by Ahmad and the three Imams and it was graded as Sahih by Ibn Hibban.

409. Ubay bin Ka’b : narrated that the Messenger of Allah used to recite, “Glorify the Name of Your Lord.” (sura al-A’la no.87), “Say: O disbelievers” (surah al-Kafirun no.109) and “Say, He is Allah (the) One…” (surah al-Ikhlas no.112){7}”, in the witr prayer.’ Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and An-Nasa’i. An-Nasa’I added in his narration, ‘He would say the taslim at the end of the three rak’at (i.e. he would recite one Tashahhud in the final rak’ah)’

{7} He would recite al-'Ala in the first rak'ah, al-Kafirun in the second rak'ah and al-Ikhlas in the last rak'ah.
410. Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi related a similar narration on the authority of 'Aishah : who said, 'He would recite each surah in a rak'ah. In the last one he would recite, "Say, He is Allah (the) One...", al-Falaq and an-Naas (i.e. the last three Suras in the Qur'an).'
411. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri : narrated that Allah's Messenger said, "Observe the witr prayer before the breaking of dawn." Related by Muslim.
412. Ibn Hibban related on authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri : "If any of you misses praying witr until the break of dawn, then he should not pray it."
413. Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri : narrated that Allah's Messenger said, "If any of you sleeps and misses the witr, or if he forgets to pray it, then he should pray it when he wakes up or when he remembers."{8} Related by the five Imams except for An-Nasa'i.

{8} The majority of scholars are of the opinion that if one misses the witr prayer for any reason, it is recommended that he makes up for it.
414. Jabir : narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever of you fears that he will not be able to wake up during the latter part of the night, he should pray the witr during the early part of the night. And whoever of you believes that he will be able to wake during the latter part of the night, he should then delay the witr to the latter part of the night, as the prayer at the time is attended by the angels (i.e. attended by the angels of th night and the angels of the day), and that is better." Related by Muslim.
415. Ibn 'Umar : narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "When the dawn breaks, all the time (permissible) for the night prayer and the witr prayer has gone by then. So pray witr before the breaking of dawn." Related by At-Tirmidhi.
416. 'Aishah : narrated, "Allah's Messenger would pray four rak'at for ad-Duha{9} and he added to it (i.e. more rak'at) whatever Allah willed." Related by Muslim.

{9} The mid-morning voluntary prayer. Its time starts after the sun is well up in the sky until just before.

417. 'Aishah : was asked whether the Messenger of Allah used to pray ad-Duha, she replied, 'No, unless he was returning from a journey.' Related by Muslim.
418. 'Aishah : narrated, "I have never seen the Messenger of Allah offer the (voluntary) Duha prayer, but I prayed it."{10}

{10} It was proven in Al-Bukhari and Muslim, through sahih (sound) ahadith that the Messenger of Allah prayed ad-Duha prayer, but did not perform it in front of the companions, and he also may not have performed it everyday for fear that his companions would follow his example. As for what 'Aishah : said, it was very rare that the Prophet would be present at her house at the time of ad-Duha, so it is true that she has not seen him pray it, or maybe she meant that he did not pray it regularly. (Ibn Hajar in 'fath-ul-Bari'.)
419. Zaid bin Arqam : narrated, 'Allah's Messenger prayed the prayer of penitnece when the young weaned camels feel the heat of the sun (i.e. feel that the desert sand is too hot).' Related by At-Tirmidhi.
420. Anas Ibn Malik : narrated that Allah's Messenger said, "Whoever prays twelve rak'at for Duha prayer, Allah, the Almighty will build for him a palace in Paradise." Related by At-Tirmidhi but with a weak chain of narrators.
421. 'Aishah : narrated, "The Messenger of Allah came into my house and prayed eight rak'at for ad-Duha.' Related by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih.