Virtue of Twelve Rak‘ahs of Voluntary Prayers Apart from the Obligatory Rak‘ahs
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
عن أم حبيبة زوج النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أنها سمعت رسول الله يقول: ما من عبد مسلم يصلي لله كل يوم ثنتي عشرة ركعة تطوعا غير فريضة بنى الله له بيتا فى الجنة
The noble wife of the Prophet ﷺ, Umm Ḥabībah رضي الله عنها, narrates:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘Whoever among the Muslim servants performs twelve Rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer each day, apart from the obligatory prayers, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.’”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 251/1, Ḥadīth 728]
① From this ḥadīth and other similar narrations, the great virtue of performing twelve Rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer apart from the obligatory ones is proven. These are: four before Ẓuhr and two after, two after Maghrib, two after ‘Ishā’, and two before the Fajr obligatory prayer.
② In some narrations, four Rak‘ahs after Ẓuhr and four before ‘Aṣr have also been mentioned. These should be performed with two separate Salāms.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, Al-Iḥsān: 77/4, Ḥadīth 2444]
③ In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (128/1, Ḥadīth 937) and other sources, two Rak‘ahs before Ẓuhr are also established.
④ In Qiyām al-Layl by al-Marwazī (p. 74), it is reported without a chain from Abū Ma‘mar رضي الله عنه that some (unknown) individuals considered four Rak‘ahs after Maghrib to be recommended. This report is rejected due to being chainless.
⑤ In Mukhtaṣar Qiyām al-Layl (p. 58), without a chain, it is reported from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr رضي الله عنه that some (unknown) people considered four Rak‘ahs before ‘Ishā’ to be recommended. This too is rejected for lack of a chain.
⑥ All these Rak‘ahs should be performed two at a time, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The (voluntary) prayer of the night and day is two by two.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 214/2, Ḥadīth 1210; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: Mawārid al-Ẓam’ān, Ḥadīth 636]
Performing four Rak‘ahs of voluntary or Sunnah prayer together with one Salām is not established from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Based on certain āthār, it is permissible to perform four Rak‘ahs with one Salām, but it is preferable to perform them two by two.
⑦ Performing two Rak‘ahs after the Adhān of Maghrib and before the obligatory prayer is established — both by the statement of the Prophet ﷺ [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 157/1, Ḥadīth 1183] and by his action.
[Mukhtaṣar Qiyām al-Layl by al-Marwazī, p. 64, who said: This chain is authentic upon the condition of Muslim]
⑧ The narration regarding performing six Rak‘ahs after Maghrib (known as Awwābeen) is severely weak due to ‘Umar ibn Abī Sh‘aym.
[See: al-Tirmidhī, vol. 1, p. 98, Ḥadīth 435]
⑨ Four Rak‘ahs before the Jumu‘ah khuṭbah are not established from the Prophet ﷺ, nor is any fixed number. One should pray as much as possible, and during the khuṭbah, pray two Rak‘ahs and then sit. After Jumu‘ah, both four [Muslim: 288/1, Ḥadīth 881] and two [Bukhārī: 128/1, Ḥadīth 937] Rak‘ahs are authentic, but four are better.
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
Voluntary Prayers
عن أم حبيبة زوج النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أنها سمعت رسول الله يقول: ما من عبد مسلم يصلي لله كل يوم ثنتي عشرة ركعة تطوعا غير فريضة بنى الله له بيتا فى الجنة
The noble wife of the Prophet ﷺ, Umm Ḥabībah رضي الله عنها, narrates:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘Whoever among the Muslim servants performs twelve Rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer each day, apart from the obligatory prayers, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.’”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 251/1, Ḥadīth 728]
Benefits
① From this ḥadīth and other similar narrations, the great virtue of performing twelve Rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer apart from the obligatory ones is proven. These are: four before Ẓuhr and two after, two after Maghrib, two after ‘Ishā’, and two before the Fajr obligatory prayer.
② In some narrations, four Rak‘ahs after Ẓuhr and four before ‘Aṣr have also been mentioned. These should be performed with two separate Salāms.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, Al-Iḥsān: 77/4, Ḥadīth 2444]
③ In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (128/1, Ḥadīth 937) and other sources, two Rak‘ahs before Ẓuhr are also established.
④ In Qiyām al-Layl by al-Marwazī (p. 74), it is reported without a chain from Abū Ma‘mar رضي الله عنه that some (unknown) individuals considered four Rak‘ahs after Maghrib to be recommended. This report is rejected due to being chainless.
⑤ In Mukhtaṣar Qiyām al-Layl (p. 58), without a chain, it is reported from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr رضي الله عنه that some (unknown) people considered four Rak‘ahs before ‘Ishā’ to be recommended. This too is rejected for lack of a chain.
⑥ All these Rak‘ahs should be performed two at a time, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The (voluntary) prayer of the night and day is two by two.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 214/2, Ḥadīth 1210; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: Mawārid al-Ẓam’ān, Ḥadīth 636]
Performing four Rak‘ahs of voluntary or Sunnah prayer together with one Salām is not established from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Based on certain āthār, it is permissible to perform four Rak‘ahs with one Salām, but it is preferable to perform them two by two.
⑦ Performing two Rak‘ahs after the Adhān of Maghrib and before the obligatory prayer is established — both by the statement of the Prophet ﷺ [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 157/1, Ḥadīth 1183] and by his action.
[Mukhtaṣar Qiyām al-Layl by al-Marwazī, p. 64, who said: This chain is authentic upon the condition of Muslim]
⑧ The narration regarding performing six Rak‘ahs after Maghrib (known as Awwābeen) is severely weak due to ‘Umar ibn Abī Sh‘aym.
[See: al-Tirmidhī, vol. 1, p. 98, Ḥadīth 435]
⑨ Four Rak‘ahs before the Jumu‘ah khuṭbah are not established from the Prophet ﷺ, nor is any fixed number. One should pray as much as possible, and during the khuṭbah, pray two Rak‘ahs and then sit. After Jumu‘ah, both four [Muslim: 288/1, Ḥadīth 881] and two [Bukhārī: 128/1, Ḥadīth 937] Rak‘ahs are authentic, but four are better.
