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:

Assalamu alaikum

I have a few questions regarding prayer. Currently when I do pray (which is very rare unfortunately) I pray the entire namaaz (farz, sunnat, nafl) sometimes I just can`t get around to doing the entire namaaz, are we allowed to pray just the farz of every prayer, as in:

Fajr: 2

Zuhr: 4

Asr: 4

Maghrib: 3

Isha: 4

Would we get any sin for not praying sunnat and nafl rakats?

Is it compulsory to pray tarawih namaaz?

Also, after finishing prayer completely, I have heard that it is good to do three sajdah`s saying `Allahu Akbar` if in case you have made any mistakes whilst praying, is this right?

Is it compulsory to read tasbih after namaaz?

I would be extremely grateful if you could answer these questions, just so I know I am praying correctly.

Thank you for doing a wonderful job.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

sunnah and nafl prayer

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:

Indeed the Salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed by the believers at (their) appointed times.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 45-46:

45 Nay seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and ‘salaah’: it is indeed hard except to those who bring a lowly spirit.

46 Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord and that they are to return to Him.

The Prophet (saws) said, "The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer, and the top of its hump is Jihad in the Way of Allah."

Jabir reports that the Prophet (saws) said, "Between a person and disbelief is discarding prayer."

Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas reported that the Prophet (saws) one day mentioned the prayer and said, "Whoever guards and observes his prayer, they (his prayers) will be a light and a proof and a savior for him on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever does not guard and obvserve them, they will not be a light or a proof or a savior for him. On the Day of Resurrection, he will be with Qarun, Fir'aun, Haman and Ubayy ibn Khalf."

Related by Ahmad, at-Tabarani and Ibn Hibban.

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 ‘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 (nafl) 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.

Intentionally missing an obligatory prayer is not even given as an option in the deen of Islam! Dear and Beloved Sister, the salaahs that one misses are a debt which one owes unto their Lord Most Majestic, Most Exalted; and just like any debt, one must strive their utmost to pay it, or get it forgiven.

Your Question: Would we get any sin for not praying sunnat and nafl rakats?

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, there will be a severe accounting and punishment.

Nafl prayers: These are the voluntary or extra 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:….sometimes I just can`t get around to doing the entire namaaz, are we allowed to pray just the farz of every prayer

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, Allah Subhanah will only hold man accountable for what He has declared obligatory (fard) upon us. The other prayers of Sunnah or Nafl are voluntary if one wishes to earn extra reward from the Lord, and not like the obligatory prayers.

The difference between the ‘fard’ (obligatory) and the ‘Sunnah’ or ‘Nafl’ forms of worship is that when one offers the ‘fard’ or obligatory prayers and acts of worship as commanded by Allah Subhanah, one will have fulfilled their covenant in Islam and Allah Subhanah will give them a huge reward; and if one does not perform them without an absolutely valid reason, one will be held severely accountable for this sin of disobedience in the Just and Supreme Court of Allah Subhanah on the Day of Judgment.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.480 Narrated by Abu Huraira

A Bedouin (desert Arab) came to the Prophet (saws) and said, "Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it." The Prophet (saws) said, "Worship Allah, and worship none along with Him, offer the (five) prescribed compulsory prayers perfectly, pay the compulsory Zakat, and fast the month of Ramadan." The Bedouin said, "By Him, in Whose Hands my life is, I will not do more than this!" When he (the Bedouin) left, the Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever likes to see a man of Paradise, then he may look at this man."

Sunnah and Nafl prayers or acts of worship are voluntary and additional; if one performs them, Allah Subhanah will give him a huge reward, and if one does not perform them there is no sin. The most that can be said of one who does not perform the Sunnah or Nafl prayers or acts of worship is that he missed a great opportunity to earn extra rewards for themselves from their Merciful and Bounteous Lord.

Your Question: Is it compulsory to pray tarawih namaaz?

The Taraweeh prayers are Sunnah and thus supererogatory; and if one prays them, there is a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not offer them, there is no sin.

Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) would encourage people to perform the special night prayers during Ramadan (tarawih) without commanding them as obligatory and he (saws) said: "Whoever prays during the nights of Ramadan [tarawih] with a firm belief and hoping for reward, all of his previous sins would be forgiven."

Your Question: Also, after finishing prayer completely, I have heard that it is good to do three sajdah`s saying `Allahu Akbar` if in case you have made any mistakes whilst praying, is this right?

Thauban reported: "When the Prophet (saws) would finish his prayer, he would seek Allah's forgiveness by saying ‘Astagfir-Allah’ three times and then say, 'O Allah, You are the Peace, and from You is Peace. You are filled with good, O Sublime and Honorable One."

Related by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah, and An-Nisai.

To make up any error or shortcoming one might have committed during one’s prayer, the Messenger of Allah (saws) himself practiced, and guided the believers to seek the forgiveness of Allah by saying ‘Astagfir-Allah’ three times immediately after one has finished one’s prayer.

To the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no evidence in the authentic and established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) that one should make three prostrations after each prayer!

Your Question: Is it compulsory to read tasbih after namaaz?

Abu Hurairah related that the Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever Glorifies Allah (by saying ‘Subhan-Allah’) after every prayer thirty-three times, and Praises Allah (by saying ‘Alhamdolilaah’) thirty-three times, and Extols Allah's Greatness (by saying ‘Allah-o-Akbar’) thirty-three times, and then says, 'There is no god except Allah, the One. There is no partner with Him. His is the Dominion and His is the Praise, and He has Power over all things,' is forgiven, even if his sins are as abundant as the foam of the sea."

Related by Ahmad, al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawud.

It is not obligatory or compulsory for one to do the ‘tasbeeh’ after each obligatory prayer; but it is indeed an extremely preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to do so. If one strives to do it, one will earn its due rewards; and if for any reason one is unable to do it, there is no sin.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan