Sunna
Prayers

Now we know that there are five essential Sala prayers each day,

but the Messenger used to make a lot more prayers than that,

and those around him used to follow his example.

He regularly used to make extra Sala prayers before and after the essential Sala,

with a rhythm that others would follow, as they do today.

And just as the Fard Sala are similar but still have their differences,

giving each its own flavour,

the Sunna prayers also show variety in the way that they surround the essential prayers,

with different schools of law carrying different traditions from the past to the present.

So, sometimes people will pray four rakahs before a Fard Sala,

and sometimes two,

and there are also times before or after prayers

when many people will avoid making Sunna Sala prayers,

such as between Fajr and sunrise,

or Asr and sunset,

and only occasionally will you find someone

who will want to make extra rakas between sunset and the start of Maghrib.

And some will make four rakas before and after Dzuhr,

and others four before and two after.

And making just two sunna rakas is usual after Maghrib,

and four rakas made both before and after Isha.

And then there's the rakas of the Witr prayer

and Tahajjud to think of.

The Witr prayer is an odd prayer,

literally,

being a prayer of an indeterminate number of rakas

made after the 'Isha prayer at night,

with an odd number between one and eleven.

And in the Hanafi school this prayer is considered to be a duty,

whereas other schools of law don't assign it such importance.

And finally, when the day's prayers are done,

in the night-time before the Fajr azan,

and preferably in the last third of the night,

it is time for the night vigil that is known as Tahajjud,

another prayer of an indeterminate number of rakas.

The Messenger used to make many extra prayers during the day,

but was well known for the way that he prayed for long hours during the night.

When leading the prayers in front of a congregation,

he would often recite only brief passages from the Qur'an,

to shorten the prayers to make it easy for those behind him.

At night time, however, it is said

that on occasion he would recite the whole of Surah Baqarah,

then stand in Ruku for the same amount of time.

And his Companions also tried to copy the Messenger's devotion to the night prayers,

but they found the effort of staying awake that long

so exhausting that they found it difficult to function during the day.

So the Messenger made it clear that although the Tahajjud was essential for him,

as night vigils had been for previous messengers,

Tahajjud,

though recommended for all,

is voluntary not compulsory.