● Salat al-Duha, Salat al-Ishraq, Salat al-Awwabin:
These three are names of one and the same prayer. The Prophet ﷺ himself described the Salat al-Duha as Salat al-Awwabin, meaning the prayer of those who turn back (to Allah) very often.
⋆ Time:
From sunrise until just before the sun reaches its zenith. It is better (afdal) to delay this prayer and perform it later.
⋆ Virtue:
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Every person has 360 joints, and for each joint a charity is due every morning. So saying الحمد لله is a charity. Saying لا إله إلا الله is a charity. Saying الله أكبر is a charity. Enjoining good is a charity and forbidding evil is a charity, and two rak’ahs that a person prays at the time of Duha suffice for all of these.”
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, and Allah the Exalted said:
يا ابن آدم اركع لي أربع ركعات من أول النهار ، اكفك آخره
“O son of Adam! If you pray four rak’ahs for Me at the beginning of the day, I will suffice you at the end of it.”
● Number of Rak’ahs:
In light of the above-mentioned hadith of Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda’, praying two rak’ahs is also sunnah. Sayyida ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would pray four rak’ahs of Duha prayer and (sometimes) more.
Sayyida Umm Hani’ (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed eight rak’ahs of Duha prayer in the year of the Conquest of Makkah.
● Essential Rulings and Issues Regarding the Duha Prayer:
(1) If the Duha prayer is delayed and performed later, it is called صلاة الاوابين. As the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
صلاة الاوابين حين ترمض الفصال
“The prayer of the Awwabin is when (due to the intensity of the heat) the feet of the young camels begin to burn.”
(2) The narrations that mention praying six or twenty rak’ahs after the Maghrib prayer are weak (da’if) and unreliable (ghayr mustanad).
