Muslims are generally aware of the importance of night worship, which is voluntary but highly encouraged because of its clear influence on the character, temperament, and general behaviour.
A person who wakes up at night, when everyone around is asleep, to force himself to stand up in prayer learns how to place duty ahead of comfort and pleasure. Such a person also learns that seeking a higher standard refines his character and brings a finer feeling of satisfaction. In our effort to formulate a balanced and correct view of life, the world and human relations, what can be more productive than an hour one spends in a direct and sincere contact with God, when no one is looking on and no thought of show-off can be entertained?
But voluntary worship is not meant only for the middle of the night. This requires a very strong will and suitable organization of one’s working hours. For most people, the latter is not easy to arrange. Therefore, voluntary worship is also offered during the day. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gives us the best example, which earns good reward without being too hard. We have several Hadiths speaking about the Prophet’s voluntary worship during the day, which provide a good example for us to follow. One report mentions that some people asked Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, about the Prophet’s voluntary prayer during the day. He said to them: “You will not be able to maintain that.” They pressed him to answer, saying that some may be able to do so. He pointed to the position of the sun to indicate the times of Dhuhr and Asr prayers, adding that “the Prophet prayed two rak’ahs close to Asr time, and also four rak’ahs before the obligatory Dhuhr prayer and two after it, as well as four rak’ahs before Asr. He added that he offered these two at a time, separating them by requesting God to bestow His blessings on the angels, prophets, God’s messengers and all those believers who follow them.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah.)
It does not seem to be particularly difficult to follow this practice. In all, these are twelve rak’ahs of voluntary worship, added to the obligatory ones, which are eight rak’ahs. They thus total twenty short rak’ahs at two different times separated by a gap of about three hours, and requiring half an hour, or even less, to complete. Nevertheless, Ali told his questioners that they would not be able to maintain the Prophet’s practice.
This is due to the fact that people are often very busy at these times. In fact Islam requires that during the day, people take a little time off work to offer prayers. This is the reason for spreading prayers throughout the day. Prayer brings a clear element of spirituality into their busy working day, thus providing balance between what they do for their living and what they need for perfect well-being. All that Islam requires is the obligatory prayer, which is four rak’ahs on each occasion, completed in less than ten minutes. But one can add four, six or even eight rak’ahs each time. Hence, voluntary prayers are offered two rak’ahs at a time, so as to allow people to offer whatever suits their circumstances each time.
Other Hadiths suggest that the Prophet prayed in total ten or twelve rak’ahs in voluntary prayer throughout the day. Ibn Umar says: “I have learned from God’s messenger to pray two rak’ahs before Dhuhr and two after it, two after Maghrib and two after Isha. Hafsah told me also that the Prophet prayed two rak’ahs before Fajr, which I did not see.” (Related by Malik, Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawood.) This Hadith mentions ten rak’ahs in total, spread over four of the five obligatory prayers. It is clear that this was the practice the Prophet did most of the time, although he often prayed four rak’ahs before Dhuhr, to make the total 12 a day.
This is supported by other Hadiths, such as the one reported by Abu Ayyoub Al-Ansari: “The Prophet used to always pray four rak’ahs after the sun begins its decline at midday. I asked him about his practice and he said: ‘The gates of heaven are open when the sun begins to move down and they remain open until Dhuhr has been prayed. Therefore, I like to offer a good deed at this time.’ I asked whether the Prophet read something of the Qur’an in each of the four rak’ahs, and the answer was ‘Yes.’ I further asked whether they were split in two lots of two, and he said ‘No.’” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah.)
Abdullah ibn Al-Saib reports: “The Prophet used to pray four rak’ahs when the sun began to move down, before the obligatory Dhuhr prayer. He said: ‘The gates of heaven are open at this time and I love to offer a good deed.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah.)
How do we reconcile the information we have in these Hadiths, and how do we know the Prophet’s practice? This is not difficult. The Prophet preferred to offer his voluntary prayers at home, because he did not wish to leave his home deprived of the light that shines through prayers. At the same time, he needed to teach his companions and followers what to pray in addition to the five obligatory prayers. Therefore, he prayed the two rak’ahs before Fajr at home. This is why Ibn Umar says he did not see the Prophet offering them, but his sister, Hafsah, the Prophet’s wife, told him about them. What Ibn Umar saw was what the Prophet did regularly in front of his companions. These consisted of two rak’ahs before Dhuhr and two after it, two after Maghrib and two after Isha. No regular voluntary prayer is associated with Asr, although the Prophet is mentioned by Ali to have offered four rak’ahs before it. This is probably because Asr occurs at a time when people are tired or having an afternoon nap. The other Hadiths add what the Prophet offered less regularly, which is to add two more rak’ahs before Dhuhr. He could join these to the other two and pray all four together, without separating them into two units. What Ali’s report adds may refer to what the Prophet did at home, or when he did not have many of his companions around. This is perhaps why it is not reported by others. The Prophet’s practice also shows that we have different options that we can use as suits our circumstances.
Moreover, the door is wide open for us to add as many voluntary prayers as we wish, but we should observe that we do not offer these at the times when prayer is discouraged. These are: 1) after we have offered the Fajr, or dawn, obligatory prayer until the sun has risen well into the sky; 2) after Asr obligatory prayer until sunset; and 3) at midday, when the sun is at its highest point.