Virtue of Offering Sunnah and Nafl Prayers at Home in the Light of Authentic Ahadith
This excerpt is taken from the book “Namaz Panjgana Ki Raka’atain Ma’a Namaz Witr wa Tahajjud” by Abu Adnan Muhammad Munir Qamar Nawabuddin.
The noble habit of the Prophet ﷺ was that he would usually perform Sunnah and Nafl prayers at home, and then go to the mosque for leading the congregation in the obligatory prayers. This is considered superior. As mentioned in Bukhari, Muslim, and Sunan Ibn Majah, the Prophet ﷺ said:
أفضل صلوة المرء فى بيته إلا المكتوبة
(Al-Tuhfa 2/530)
“The most excellent prayer of a person is the one performed at home, except for the obligatory prayers.”
Hence, it is superior to perform all Sunnah and Nafl prayers at home, apart from the obligatory ones.
In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said:
عليكم بالصلوة فى بيوتكم فإن خير صلوة المرء فى بيته إلا المكتوبة
(Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim, p.103)
“Pray in your homes, for indeed the best prayer of a person is the one offered at home, except for the obligatory prayers.”
In another narration in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا قضى أحدكم الصلوة فى مسجده فليجعل لبيته نصيبا من صلاته فإن الله عزوجل جاعل فى بيته من صلاته خيرا
(Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim, p.103)
“When one of you has performed the obligatory prayer in the mosque, let him also allocate a portion of prayer for his house, for Allah ﷻ will surely bring goodness and blessings into his home due to his prayer.”
In yet another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said:
صلوة المرء فى بيته أفضل من صلاته فى مسجدي هذا إلا المكتوبة
(Abu Dawood, Nayl al-Awtar 7/3/2, Nasb al-Rayah 2/156, Sahih al-‘Iraqi fi Takhrij al-Ihya 1/237)
“Performing voluntary prayers at home is more virtuous than performing them in my mosque, except for the obligatory prayers.”
The exemption of obligatory prayers applies only to men, whereas for women, every prayer performed at home is superior.
(Nayl al-Awtar 3/2/30, Zad al-Ma’ad 2/293, al-Ahadith al-Sahihah of al-Albani 3/386, Hijab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah p.75 footnote by al-Albani)
Along with the great virtue of offering Sunnah and Nafl prayers at home, the Prophet ﷺ also warned against abandoning them at home. In Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, and Tirmidhi, he said:
صلوا فى بيوتكم ولا تتخذوها قبورا
(Tirmidhi, Al-Tuhfa 2/531)
“Offer prayers in your homes, and do not turn them into graves.”
Commenting on this Hadith, Allama Mubarakpuri writes that one meaning is that a person who does not pray Sunnah or Nafl at home has in fact made himself like a dead person and turned his house into a grave. (ibid. p.53)
By acting upon these Prophetic instructions, the situation of offering Sunnah prayers in the mosque after Iqamah would not arise. If someone comes to the mosque without praying Sunnah at home and finds the congregation starting (Iqamah called), then he should not engage in Sunnah prayers, for the Prophet ﷺ forbade this. Not a single authentic Hadith exists permitting Sunnah prayers during congregational prayer. In fact, as stated by Allama Ibn Hazm, there is no evidence for this allowance in the Qur’an, nor in any authentic Hadith, nor even in a weak narration, nor in analogy, nor in consensus.
(Al-Muhalla 3/105)
