In a recent article, we shared with you the reasons why Salah is so important and gave you some advice on how to be more present while praying. However, you might be one of those people who have already nailed these tips (Masha’Allah!) and now want to go to the next level by being consistent in supererogatory prayers. Well, you’re surely in the right place and today, we’ll share with you everything you need to know about additional prayers and how they can change your life.
What are the Nawafil prayers?
Nawafil comes from the Arabic word Nafl which means ‘voluntary’ and encompasses all the prayers that are performed in addition to the five Fard ones a day. This includes Sunnah prayers which are all the additional prayers our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) used to do such as Tahajjud, which is performed between ‘Isha and Fajr at the ⅔ of the night or the additional rak’at he would do before and after his normal salah, which are as follows:
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Two before Fajr
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Four before and two after Dhur
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Two after Maghrib
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Two after ‘Isha
However, italsoincludesmanyotherprayersyou do on certain occasions such as Istikhara, performedwhenyou’re in doubt and in need of an answerfrom Allah (swt), or Tarawih, whichisonlyperformedduring the month of Ramadan between ‘Isha and Witr.
What is the reward of Nawafil prayers?
All these Nawafil prayers are known for their immense reward because of the time and ‘sleep sacrifice’ you decide to make to praise The Almighty. In fact, in a hadith reported by Muslim, Umm Habibah (ra) said “The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “Whoever performs twelve cycles of prayer in each day and night, by them a house will be built for one in Paradise”. I have never abandoned them since I heard it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.” (Sahih Muslim 728)
One of the goals we should have as Muslims is never to settle for the minimum and be content with the way we practise our deen. In order to show humility, we need to make a conscious effort to dedicate less time to the matters of this dunya (unless they aim to spread good deeds around us) and more time to strengthen our bond with Allah (swt). If you read all of this and thought ‘that’s too much’, remember that our Creator accepted Prophet Muhammad (saws) requests to decrease the number of obligatory prayers from fifty down to five. The One who deserves all praise agreed to let us spend 20 minutes at most out of the 24 hours we have each day to perform Fard Salah… But doesn’t He deserve more? Do we not actually have more time to dedicate to him? Wouldn’t that be not only beneficial for our Akhirah, but also to calm our heart in this worldly life?
May this article invite you to add more Nawafil prayers to your routine and may that help you become a better Muslim. Make sure to share it to someone who needs it too!
May your heart always be rahat.
Assia