① First Account on the Day of Judgment Will Be of Prayer
Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"The first thing for which a person will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayer. If it is sound, he will have succeeded and prospered; but if it is defective, he will have failed and lost. If anything is lacking from his obligatory prayers, the Lord will say: 'See if My slave has any voluntary prayers,’ and the deficiency in his obligatory prayers will be made up from them. Then the rest of his deeds will be treated in the same manner."
(Abū Dāwūd, 864; al-Tirmidhī, 413)
② Method of Offering Voluntary Prayers
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"The prayer during the night and day (voluntary) is two rakʿahs by two rakʿahs."
(Abū Dāwūd, 1295 – authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Ḥibbān)
Note: This shows that even four rakʿāt Sunnah should be prayed as two rakʿāt + two rakʿāt.
③ Virtue of Praying Sunnah at Home
Zayd ibn Thābit (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Perform your prayers in your houses, for the best prayer of a man is that which he prays in his house, except the obligatory prayer."
(al-Bukhārī, 731; Muslim, 781)
④ Sunnah Is Better at Home Than in the Mosque
ʿAbdullāh ibn Saʿd (رضي الله عنه) reported:
I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Is it better to offer voluntary prayers at home or in the mosque?" He replied: "Do you not see how close my house is to the mosque? Yet I prefer to pray, apart from the obligatory prayers, in my house rather than in the mosque."
(Ibn Mājah, 1378 – authenticated by al-Būṣayrī and Ibn Khuzaymah)
⑤ Bringing Blessings to the Home by Praying Sunnah There
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"When any of you prays in the mosque, let him make a portion of his prayer in his house, for Allah will bless his house because of his prayer."
(Muslim, 781)
⑥ Do Not Turn Your Homes into Graveyards
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Make part of your prayers in your houses, and do not turn them into graves."
(al-Bukhārī, 432; Muslim, 777)
⑦ The Reward for Maintaining Twelve Rakʿāt of Sunnah Daily
Umm Ḥabībah (رضي الله عنها) reported:
"Whoever prays twelve rakʿāt during the day and night, a house will be built for him in Paradise."
(Muslim, 728)
⑧ The Prophet’s Habit in Performing Sunnah Prayers
ʿAbdullāh ibn Shaqīq (رحمه الله) reported from ʿĀ’ishah (رضي الله عنها):
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray four rakʿāt before Ẓuhr in my house, then go out and lead the people in the obligatory prayer, then return and pray two rakʿāt. He would pray Maghrib with the people, then return home and pray two rakʿāt, then pray ʿIshā’ with the people, return and pray two rakʿāt. At night, he would pray nine rakʿāt (Tahajjud) including Witr. At dawn, he would pray two rakʿāt (Sunnah of Fajr)."
(Muslim, 730)
⑨ The Ten Sunnah Rakʿāt Remembered by Ibn ʿUmar
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) said:
"I memorized from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ten rakʿāt: two before Ẓuhr, two after Ẓuhr, two after Maghrib, two after ʿIshā’, and two before Fajr."
(al-Bukhārī, 1180; Muslim, 729)
⑩ Maintaining Sunnah Strengthens Obligatory Prayers
From the above hadith in ①, we learn that voluntary prayers — including Sunnah Mu’akkadah — compensate for shortcomings in obligatory prayers, proving their importance and value for every believer.
