Are sunnah prayers obligatory?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
AssalamAlaikum. Respected Brother Burhan. My
question is why do we have to say the `Sunnah rakats` with every obligatory
prayers. like with namaz-e-fajr, we have to say 2 sunnah , with namaz-e- zuhr 4
sunnah , with namaz-e-maghrib 2 sunnah and with namaz-e-isha 2 sunnah. i once
had a talk with a shia friend of mine about it and she said that we sunnis have
made the sunnah rakats as equal to the actual obligatory rakats. if the sunnah
rakats are "farz " then what is the difference left between sunnah and
obligatory rakats ? and is there any sin on one who doesn`t say sunnah rakats
with every namaz.
please reply me at your earliest about my
query.
Jazak Allah.
your sister in Islam.
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Are sunnah prayers obligatory?
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Firstly, please
allow us to clarify the difference between Fard, Sunnah and Nafl prayers.
Fard prayers: These are
the five obligatory prayers at their appointed times of the day. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah
Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, it will be considered a grave sin in the
sight of Allah Subhanah, and one will have a severe accounting for missing his
obligatory prayers in the Presence of the Majestic Lord on the Day of
Judgment.
Nafl prayers: These are
the voluntary prayers. If one prays
them, he will earn a huge reward from
Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray
them, there is no sin.
Sunnah prayers:
These are the Nafl or voluntary prayers which were prayed by the
Messenger of Allah (saws), and thus they
become his (saw’s) Sunnah for us. If
one prays them, he will earn a huge
reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one
does not pray them, there is no
sin. The most that can be said of one
who does not pray the Sunnah prayers is that he lost a great opportunity to
earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.
Your Question: i once had a talk with a shia friend of
mine about it and she said that we sunnis have made the sunnah rakats as equal
to the actual obligatory rakats.
Your friend has obviously misunderstood the concept of the
obligatory Fard and the voluntary Sunnah and Nafl prayers. Under no circumstances can the rewards of the
obligatory Fard prayers be compared to the Sunnah or Nafl voluntary prayers.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.1
Their Significance, Supererogatory (Sunnah
and Nafl) Prayers
The Sunnah or Nawafil (supererogatory
prayers), have been legislated to make up for any deficiencies left in the
performance of Fard salah (obligatory prayers). In Salah, there are virtues
that are not found in any other form of worship. Abu Hurairah reports that the
Prophet (saws) said: "The first thing that the people will be called to
account for on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayers. Our Lord will say
to the Angels, although He knows better: 'Look into the (Fard) Salah of my
servant to see if he observed it perfectly or been negligent in it. So if he observed it perfectly it will be
recorded to his credit, but if he had been negligent in it in any way, Allah
would say: ‘See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers. Then if he has
any supererogatory prayers, Allah would say: ‘Make up the deficiency in My
servant's obligatory prayer with his supererogatory prayers.' Thereafter all
his actions will be examined in like manner’"
Related by Abu Dawud.
Your Question: if the sunnah rakats are "farz "
then what is the difference left between sunnah and obligatory rakats ?
There are no ‘Fard’ or obligatory prayers to be performed
everyday apart from the five appointed obligatory prayers; all the other
prayers are voluntary.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.44 Narrated by Talha bin Ubaidullah
A man from
Your Question: and is there any sin on one who doesn`t say
sunnah rakats with every namaz.
There is no sin on the person who, for any reason whatsoever, does not perform
the Sunnah or Nafl voluntary prayers; the most that can be said of such a
person is that he missed an opportunity to earn huge rewards from Allah
Subhanah for not observing his Sunnah and/or Nafl voluntary prayers.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
Wister