Sunnah (Voluntary Prayer)
Voluntary prayers based on the Prophet's practice.
Sunnah (Arabic: سنة) means "way" or "practice" and in the context of prayer refers to the voluntary prayers that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regularly performed in addition to the five obligatory prayers. These are also called "rawatib" (regular sunnah prayers).
The most emphasized sunnah prayers (mu'akkadah) are: 2 rak'ah before Fajr, 4 rak'ah before Dhuhr, 2 rak'ah after Dhuhr, 2 rak'ah after Maghrib, and 2 rak'ah after Isha. The Prophet said about the Fajr sunnah prayer: "The two rak'ah before Fajr are better than this world and all that is in it."
In addition to the regular sunnah prayers, there are other voluntary prayers such as Duha (mid-morning prayer), Tahajjud (night prayer), Istikhara (guidance prayer), and Tarawih (Ramadan night prayer). These prayers provide extra reward and strengthen the believer's relationship with Allah.
Related terms
Taslim (Concluding Greeting)
The concluding peace greeting that marks the end of the prayer.
Najaf (Imam Ali's City)
The sacred city in Iraq housing Imam Ali's tomb and the Shia scholarly center.
Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence)
Islamic legal theory that defines the methods for deriving legal rules from the sacred sources.
Du'a Tawassul (Supplication of Intercession)
A supplication where one asks Allah through the intercession of the Prophet and Ahl al-Bayt.
Rak'ah (Prayer Cycle)
A single cycle of movements and recitations in the Islamic prayer.
Qasr (Shortened Prayer)
The permission to shorten the four-rak'ah prayers to two rak'ah during travel.