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
Salat al-Wahsha (The Prayer of Loneliness)
A prayer performed on the first night after burial for the soul of the deceased.
Sunan al-Nasa'i (Nasa'i's Hadith Collection)
One of the six canonical hadith collections, known for its strict authenticity criteria.
Maghrib (Sunset Prayer)
The fourth daily prayer, performed just after sunset.
Qasr (Shortened Prayer)
The permission to shorten the four-rak'ah prayers to two rak'ah during travel.
Ijtihad (Independent Legal Reasoning)
The independent interpretive effort to derive legal rules from the Islamic sources.
Tajwid (Proper Quran Recitation)
The science of proper pronunciation and recitation of the Quran during prayer.