407. Breakdown Of The Five Daily Prayers According To The Sharee’ah

By Asma bint Shameem 

The five daily prayers that are obligatory upon us are the following:

-Two rak’aat of Fajr

-Four rak’aat of Dhuhr 

-Four rak’aat of Asr

-Three rak’aat of Maghrib

-Four rak’aat of Ishaa. 

That’s it. 

Nothing more. 

Nothing less. 

Proof:

Talhah ibn ‘UbaydAllaah radhi Allaahu anhu said: 

“A man came to the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam and said: 

“O Messenger of Allaah, what prayers has Allaah enjoined on me?” 

He said: “Five prayers every day and night.” 

He said: “Do I have to do anything else?’ 

He said, “No, unless you do it voluntarily.” 

(Saheeh Muslim 11) 

That’s ALL that’s fardh on you. 

And if that’s the ONLY prayers you’ll ever do, you would have fulfilled your obligations and you would not be sinful. 

However, it’s highly recommended to ADD voluntary prayers to the five daily fardh prayers. 

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

"Allaah will build a house in Heaven for whoever is diligent in observing 12 Sunnah Rak'aat 

(They are): 4 Rak'aat before and 2 after the Dhuhr Prayer, 2 after the Maghrib, 2 after the ‘Ishaa Prayer and 2 before the Fajr prayer.” 

( at-Tirmidhi - saheeh by al-Albaani)

These are called "sunnan al-rawaatib” that are read with the five daily prayers and are a highly stressed Sunnah. 

Reading these “Sunnan ar-Rawaatib” is a beautiful act of ibaadah for which you will be rewarded and it is highly encouraged to read these Sunnan but if you leave it, you will NOT be sinful.  

Based on the above Ahaadeeth, the number of rak’aat for each Salaah are:

1. Fajr

-Two rak’aat Sunnah Mu’akkadah (highly stressed Sunnah)

- Two rak’aat Fardh

2. Dhuhr

- Four rak’aat Sunnah Mu’akkadah (highly stressed Sunnah usually done two by two. 

But reading them with one tasleem is also permissible)

- Four rak’aat Fardh

- Two rak’aat Sunnah Mu’akkadah (highly stressed Sunnah)

- Two rak’aat Nafl (optional but not as stressed as Sunnah Mu’akkadah)

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“Whoever, observes the practice of offering four rak’ahs before Duhr prayer and four rak’ahs after it, 

Allaah will shield him against the fire of hell.”

(Abu Dawood and At-Tirmithi- saheeh)

3. Asr 

- Four rak’aat Sunnah 

(NON-Mu’akkadah-  These 4 Rak'ahs are of less reward and significance as compared to the "sunnan al-rawaatib")

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

"May Allaah have mercy on one who prays 4 raka’aat before the ‘Asr Prayer." (at-Tirmidhi- hasan by al-Albaani)

- Four rak’aat Fardh 

4. Maghrib 

- Two rak’aat Sunnah 

(NON-Mu’akkadah)

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“Pray before maghrib, pray before maghrib, pray before maghrib for whoever wills”(al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

- Three rak’aat Fardh 

-Two rak’aat Sunnah Mu’akkadah 

NOTE:

Please note that I did not mention two “Nafl”, like some people read at the end of Maghrib Salaah.

Why not?

Please see below. 

5. Ishaa

- TWO (and NOT “four”) rak’aat Sunnah (NON-Mu’akkadah) 

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“Between each two calls (the adhaan and iqaamah) there should be a prayer, between each two calls there should be a prayer, between each two calls there should be a prayer” – and the third time he said, “for whoever wishes.” (al-Bukhaari and Muslim)

NOTE:

There’s NO proof of reading “four” rak’aat Sunnah before Ishaa from the authentic ahaadeeth. 

- Four rak’aat Fardh 

- Two rak’aat Sunnah Mu’akkadah 

NOTE:

Ishaa prayer is not “17” rak’aat like we hear from our elders. 

Also note that I did not mention two rak’aat of “Nafl” that some people read for Ishaa. 

Why not?

Please see below. 

That’s ALL for Ishaa Salaah. 

What about the two rak’aat Nafl that people read after Maghrib?

The two rak’aat of Nafl that people from the Subcontinent read in Maghrib is NOT part of the Maghrib prayer itself. 

Rather, one might say that the Nafl read after the Sunnah of Maghrib is part of *unspecified general nawaafil* that we may pray between Maghrib and Ishaa. 

Keep in mind that the general unspecified Nawaafil between Maghrib and Ishaa are NOT called “Awwaabeen”

as is the common misconception.

Rather, the CORRECT understanding is that Salaatul Awwaabeen is the same as Salaat ad-Duhaa or what we call “chaasht” prayer in Urdu. 

And this is prayed just before noon, when it’s really HOT. 

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

'Salaat al-Awwaabeen is when the young camels lift up their feet (because of the HEAT of the sand).'" (Muslim)

What about the Nafl after the Sunnah of Ishaa prayer

The Nafl that some people read after the Sunnah of Ishaa prayer are also NOT part of the Ishaa prayer itself. 

In fact, ANY Nafl that is read as part of Ishaa prayer is NOT part of Ishaa at all. 

Actually, it’s part of Salaatul Layl or the “night prayer” and some people might read these two rak’aat for extra rewards as part of their Qiyaam. 

But to say that these two rak’aat are part of the Ishaa prayer is NOT CORRECT. 

Witr

The witr prayer is NOT “part” of the Ishaa prayer either. 

Rather it is a “voluntary” prayer that’s part of the *“night prayer”*.

 Proof:

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

"Night prayers are two by two, and when you feel that dawn is approaching, pray *one rak'ah (witr)*." 

(al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

It is best to *delay* the Witr and read in the later part of the night before Fajr. 

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

"Make the last of your prayer at night, Witr." (Bukhaari, Muslim)

However if someone wants to read the witr “early”, they may do so after Ishaa especially if they’re not sure if they will wake up for tahajjud. 

So they can pray the witr right after the Sunnah of Ishaa. 

The two rak’aat Nafl after witr are also NOT part of Ishaa prayer itself. 

These two rak’aat are originally meant to be read after Witr at *tahajjud time* as part of the *night prayer*. 

But since one is reading Witr at its early time, then it’s permissible to read the two Nafl after witr, early right after Ishaa. 

But keep in mind that these two Nafl  still count as part of the ‘night prayer’ and are NOT part of the Ishaa prayer. 

Originally these two rak’aat Nafl are the following prayer:

When Aaishah radhi Allaahu anhaa was talking about the *Qiyaam al-Layl* of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam, she said:

“Then he would say a salaam that we could hear, then *he would pray two rak’ahs after that*, whilst sitting down (meaning after praying witr).” (Muslim)

And Allaah knows best