Voluntary Prayers

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Dhakwan, the client of Aisha, reported on the authority of Aisha: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray after the afternoon prayer but prohibited others from it; and he would fast continuously but forbid others to do so.

Narrated 'Abd Allah al-Muzani: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Pray two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer. He then said (again): Pray two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer, it applies to those who wish to do so. That was because he feared that the people might treat it as sunnah.

Narrated Anas b. Malik : I offered two rak'ahs of prayer before the Maghrib prayer (i.e. obligatory) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I (narrator al-Mukhtar b. Fulful) asked Anas: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) se you ? He replied: Yes, but he neither commanded us nor forbade us (to do so).

Narrated 'Abd Allah b. Mughaffal: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: Between the two adhans there is a prayer, between the two adhans there is prayer for one who desires (to offer).

Narrated Tawus: Ibn 'Umar was asked about praying two rak'ahs before the Maghrib prayer. He replied: I did not see anyone praying them during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He (Ibn Umar) permitted to pray two rak'ahs after the Asr prayer.Abu Dawud said: I heard Yahya b. Ma'in say: The correct name of the narrator Abu Shu'aib is the Shu'aib. Shu'bah made a mistake in narrating his name.

Narrated Abu Dharr: The Prophet (ﷺ) as saying: In the morning alms are due for every bone in man's body. His salutation to everyone he meets is alms, his enjoining good is alms, his forbidding what is evil is alms, the removal of harmful thing from the way is alms, to have sexual intercourse with one's wife if alms, and two rak'ahs which one prays in the Duha serve instead of that.Abu Dawud said: The tradition narrated by 'Abbad is more perfect (than the version narrated by Musaddad). Musaddad did not mention in his version "the command (of good) and the prohibition (of evil)". Instead, he added in his version saying: "Such and such." Ibn Ma'na added in his version: "They (the people) said: Messenger of Allah, how is that one of us fulfills his desire and still there are alms for him (i.e. is rewarded)? He replied: What do you think if you had unlawful sexual intercourse, would he not have been a sinner ?

Abu al-Aswad al-Dailani said: While we were present with Abu Dharr, he said: In the morning, alms are due for him, ever fast is alms, every pilgrimage is alms, every utterance of "Glory to be Allah" is alms, every utterance of "Allah is most great" is alms, every utterance of "Praise be to Allah" is alms. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recounted all such good works. He then said: Two rak'ahs which one prays in the Duha serve instead of that.

Narrated Mu'adh ibn Anas al-Juhani: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone sits in his place of prayer when he finishes the dawn prayer till he prays the two rak'ahs of the forenoon, saying nothing but what is good, his sins will be forgiven even if they are more than the foam of the sea.

Narrated AbuUmamah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer followed by a prayer with no idle talk between the two is recorded in Illiyyun.

Narrated Nu'aym ibn Hammar: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Allah, the Exalted, says: Son of Adam, do not be helpless in performing four rak'ahs for Me at the beginning of the day: I will supply what you need till the end of it.

Narrated Umm Hani ibn AbuTalib: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed on the day of the Conquest (of Mecca) eight rak'ahs saluting after every two rak'ahs.Abu Dawud said: Ahmad b. Salih said that the Messenger of Allah offered prayer in the forenoon on the day of the Conquest of Mecca, and he narrated something similar. Ibn al-Sarh reported that Umm Hani said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered upon me. This version does not mention the prayer in the forenoon.

Narrated Ibn Abi Laila: No one told us that the Prophet (ﷺ) had offered Duha prayer except Umm Hani. She said that the Prophet (ﷺ) had taken bath in her house on the day of the Conquest of Mecca and prayed eight rak'ahs. But no one saw him afterwards praying these rak'ahs.

Narrated 'Abd Allah b. Shaqiq: I asked 'Aishah: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) pray in the Duha? She replied: No, except when he returned from his journey. I then asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite the surahs combining each other? She said: He would do so in the mufassal surahs.

Narrated 'Aishah, wife of Prophet (ﷺ): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never offered prayer in the forenoon, but I offer it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would give up an action, though he liked it to do, lest the people should continue it and it is prescribed for them.

Narrated Simak: I asked Jabir b. Samurah: Did you sit in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ? He replied: Yes, very often. He would not stand from the place he prayed the dawn prayer till the sunrise. When the sun rose, he would stand (to pray Duha).

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer by night and day should consist of pairs of rak'ahs.

Narrated Muttalib: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer is to be offered in two rak'ahs; and you should recite the tashahhud at the end of two rak'ahs, and express your distress and humility and raise your hands and say praying: O Allah, O Allah. He who does not do so does not offer a perfect prayer.Abu Dawud was asked about offering prayer at night in two rak'ahs. He said: They may be two if you like and four if you like.

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to al-Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib: Abbas, my uncle, shall I not give you, shall I not present to you, shall I not donate to you, shall I not produce for you ten things? If you act upon them, Allah will forgive you your sins, first and last, old and new, involuntary and voluntary, small and great, secret and open. These are the ten things: you should pray four rak'ahs, reciting in each one Fatihat al-Kitab and a surah. When you finish the recitation of the first rak'ah you should say fifteen times while standing: "Glory be to Allah", "Praise be to Allah", "There is no god but Allah", "Allah is most great". Then you should bow and say it ten times while bowing. Then you should raise your head after bowing and say it ten times. Then you should kneel down in prostration and say it ten times while prostrating yourself. Then you should raise your head after prostration and say it ten times. Then you should prostrate yourself and say it ten times. Then you should raise your head after prostrating and say it ten times in every rak'ah. You should do that in four rak'ahs. If you can observe it once daily, do so; if not, then once weekly; if not, then once a month; if not, then once a year; if not, then once in your lifetime.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr: AbulJawza' said: A man who attended the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) narrated to me (it is thought that he was Abdullah ibn Amr): The Prophet (ﷺ) said to me: Come to me tomorrow; I shall give you something, I shall give you something, I shall reward you something, I shall donate something to you. I thought that he would give me some present. He said (to me when I came to him): When the day declines, stand up and pray four rak'ahs. He then narrated something similar. This version adds: Do not stand until you glorify Allah ten times, and praise Him ten times, and exalt Him ten times, and say, "There is no god but Allah" ten times. Then you should do that in four rak'ahs. If you are the greatest sinner on earth, you will be forgiven (by Allah) on account of this (prayer). I asked: If I cannot pray this the appointed hour, (what should I do)? He replied: Pray that by night or by day (at any time).Abu Dawud said: Habban b. Hilal is the maternal uncle of Hilal al-Ra'i.Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by al-Mustamir b. al-Riyyan from Ibn al-Jawza' from 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr without referring to the Prophet (ﷺ), - narrated as a statement of 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr himself (mauquf). This has also been narrated by Rawh b. al-Musayyab, and Ja'far b. Sulaiman from 'Amr b. Malik al-Nakri from Abu al-Jauza' from Ibn 'Abbas as his own statement (and not the statement of the Prophet). But the version of Rawh has the words: "The tradition of the Prophet (ﷺ)."

Narrated 'Urwah b. Ruwaim: That an al-Ansari narrated to him: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Ja'far. He then narrated the tradition in like manner. This version has the words: "In the second prostration of the first rak'ah" in addition to the words transmitted by Mahdi b. Maimun (in the previous tradition).

Narrated Ka'b ibn Ujrah: The Prophet (ﷺ) came to the mosque of Banu AbdulAshhal. He prayed the sunset prayer there. When they finished the prayer, he saw them praying the supererogatory prayer after it. He said: This is the prayer to be offered in the houses.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to prolong the recitation of the Qur'an in the two rak'ahs after the sunset prayer until the people praying in the mosque dispersed.Abu Dawud said: This has been reported by Nasr al-Mujaddir from Ya'qub al-Qummi with the same chain of narrators.Abu Dawud said: Muhammad b. 'Isa b. al-tabba' transmitted from Nasr al-Mujaddir from Ya'qub in like manner.

Narrated Sa'id b. Jubair: This tradition from the Prophet (ﷺ) without mentioning the name of the Companion in the chain (in the mursal form).Abu dawud said: I heard Muhammad b. Humaid say: I heard Ya'qub say: Anything I narrated to you from Ja'far on the authority of Sa'id b. Jubair from the Prophet (ﷺ) is directly coming from Ibn Abbas from the Prophet (ﷺ).

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Shurayh ibn Hani said: I asked Aisha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never offered the night prayer and thereafter came to me but he offered four or six rak'ahs of prayer. One night the rain fell, so we spread a piece of leather (for his prayer), and now I see as if there is a hole in it from which the water is flowing. I never saw him protecting his clothes from the earth (as he did on that occasion).

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: In Surat al-Muzzammil (73), the verse: "Keep vigil at night but a little, a half thereof" (2-3) has been abrogated by the following verse: "He knoweth that ye count it not, and turneth unto you in mercy. Recite then of the Qur'an that which is easy for you" (v.20). The phrase "the vigil of the night" (nashi'at al-layl) means the early hours of the night. They (the companions) would pray (the tahajjud prayer) in the early hours of the night. He (Ibn Abbas) says: It is advisable to offer the prayer at night (tahajjud), prescribed by Allah for you (in the early hours of the night). This is because when a person sleeps, he does not know when he will awake. The words "speech more certain" (aqwamu qilan) means that this time is more suitable for the understanding of the Qur'an. He says: The verse: "Lo, thou hast by day a chain of business" (v.7) means engagement for long periods (in the day's work).

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: When the opening verses of Surah Al-muzammil was revealed, the Companions would pray as long as they would pray during Ramadan until its last verses were revealed. The period between the revelation of its opening and the last verses was one year.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: When one you sleeps, the devil ties three knots at the back of his neck, sealing every knot with, "You have a long night, so sleep." So if one awakes and mentions Allah, a knot will be loosened; if he performs ablution another knot will be loosened; and if he prays, the third knot will be loosened; and in the morning he will be active and in good spirits; otherwise he will be in bad spirits and sluggish.

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Do not give up prayer at night, for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would not leave it. Whenever he fell ill or lethargic, he would offer it sitting.

Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, and awakens his wife; if she refuses, he should sprinkle water on her face. May Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and awakens her husband; if he refuses, she would sprinkle water on his face.

Narrated AbuSa'id and AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If a man awakens his wife at night, and then both pray or both offer two rak'ahs together, the (name of the )man will be recorded among those who mention the name of Allah, and the (name of the) woman will be recorded among those who mention the name of Allah. Ibn Kathir did not narrate this tradition as a statement of the Prophet (ﷺ), but he reported it as a statement of Abu Sa'id.Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by Ibn Mahdi from Sufyan and I think he mentioned the name of Sufyan. He also said: The tradition transmitted by Sufyan is a statement of the Companion (and not that of the Prophet).