Question

How sunnate– mukaida are to be offered before the fard salah in zuhr, asr, and isha? And, how are we supposed to offer it in the masjid before the fard salah?

Answer

We believe that the Prayer that has been held obligatory upon us is confined to the fard prayer. The rest of the raka’at which the Muslims usually offer is nafl, optional. The Prophet (sws) offered these nafl prayers and the Muslims try to emulate him. But we do not have the absolute and prefect knowledge about which of the nafl prayers the Prophet (sws) actually offered before or after the fard prayers. We have different reports about his practice in this regard and the jurists have formed their views on the basis of the reports they deemed sound. There could be difference of opinion on that. According to the Hanafi scholars the sunnah Mu’akkada include two raka’at before the fajr prayer, four before zuhr and two after it, two raka’at after Maghrib and two after isha.

Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

Date: 2015-02-27