#nafl

from universe – 3 Chinnaka I Survival for the Rock Island Independents during WWII meant returning to exhibition games, setting the stage for the story of Marjorie ‘Rosie’ Aberson. The story comes from Marjorie’s best-selling book, They Call Me Rosie. After a perfect 1942 season, all eyes were on the Chicago Marauders to continue their dominance. Boston was floundering and both New York teams…

I wanted to take a minute to address the idea that a Muslim should focus on the basics of Islam before moving forward to the Sunnah or Nafl (Like omg, it’s not even required don’t judge me). The idea here is that why do the “extra” when you aren’t able to do the bare minimum? If the bare minimum is overwhelming for you or you are not able to accomplish it then doing extra doesn’t make sense. You should focus on mastering the basics before moving forward (It’s not even my fault though, my mom didn’t wake me up for fajr!).

While I agree with this philosophy and it does make a whole lot of sense, I wanted to bring attention to another point of view that I feel like people are overlooking (Okay no, there is only my side to the argument, I’m gonna get in your face because talking loud makes me more correct).

Imagine a student struggling in a class. He is doing his best and wants to perform well however, despite his best efforts he comes up short. This student will jump at the chance to do any extra credit assignment, meet for extra review sessions, or meet with the teacher in office hours etc (I just wait for the test to be curved tbh). The idea here is that the bare minimum is not enough for this student. He is struggling and needs to put in more time and effort. There is always the argument that perhaps it is not the amount time that is the issue. Perhaps he needs to figure out why the time already used is not effective (It’s because I have so many other things going on, life is complicated okayyyy, no one gets it I’m the first person in history to struggle). This is true however, in order to figure that out, he needs to do “extra” work to figure how what he needs to change.

The idea here is that a believer is weak. He does the basics but this may not be enough to sustain his Imaan since he does it in an imperfect manner (Is this like when you’re eating a sandwich and some tomatoes and meat fall out but you’re too lazy to put them back in?). He does his best but still comes up short just like the student mentioned in the above analogy. As such, he seeks to supplement this with optional acts.

Assalam Alaikom :)

Fardh prayers are obligatory. They are the second pillar of Islam, and they must be done.

Sunnah prayers are those that are optional

Nafl prayers (supererogatory) are like sunnah prayers - optional, but have benefits. 

The ones you are referencing are Al Sunnan Al Rawatib (Sunnah Prayers Associated with Fardh Salah)

“Allaah will build a house in Heaven for whoever is diligent in observing 12 SunnahRak'aat (as follows): 4 Rak'aat before and 2 after the Dhuhr (Midday) Prayer, 2 after theMaghrib (Sunset Prayer), 2 after the ‘Ishaa’ (Evening) Prayer and 2 before the Fajr(Dawn) Prayer.” [Sahih Tirmidhi]

Also

The Prophet(May peace and blessings be upon him) in saying: “MayAllaah have mercy on one who prays 4 raka’aat before the ‘Asr Prayer.” [Tirmidhi]

So..

2 before Fajr

4 before Dhur & 2 after

4 before Asr

Maghrib - 2 after

Isha - 2 after

Note: These are prayed in sets of 2 (so for the 4 before Asr it is 2 then 2) preferably. However, one could pray them all in one set (one tasleem).

The time for a sunnah prayer that comes before a fard prayer is from the beginning of the timefor that prayer, until the iqaamah.