Apart from the voluntary prayer, or Sunnah, that he used to offer with the five obligatory prayers, the Prophet (peace be upon him) also offered additional prayers during the day. This is known as Duha prayer, using the name of the time of day most suitable for it, i.e. mid-morning. However it has a range of time that extends from about half an hour after sunrise to about half an hour before Dhuhr becomes due at midday. This prayer consists of 2-8 rak’ahs, which the Prophet used to offer whenever he was free in the morning. A report attributed to Umm Hani’, the Prophet’s cousin, quotes her as saying that “the Prophet entered her home on the day when Makkah was conquered by the Muslims, took a bath and offered 8 rak’ahs. I have never seen a prayer that could be shorter than that. However, he did his bowing and prostration in full.”
This report is highly authentic as it is quoted in all six collections. It makes clear that the Prophet offered this prayer when he was away from home, since he was settled in Madinah at the time, and that he kept his prayer short. Other reports, however, mention different approaches. Abu Saeed Al-Khudri mentions that “the Prophet used to pray Duha regularly so that we think that he would not omit it, but at other times, he would consistently omit it so that we think that he would not offer it again.” (Related by Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi.)
This report makes clear that the Prophet varied his practice with regard to voluntary worship so as to make clear that what is voluntary remains so. It should never be mixed up with what is obligatory. This is clear from three Hadiths by Aishah, his wife. The first is a report by Muadhah who says: “I asked Aishah whether the Prophet used to pray Duha. She said: ‘Yes, in four rak’ahs, but he could increase that as he wished.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi.) Another report quotes Aishah as replying to the same question on a different occasion and by a different person.
Her answer was: “No, unless he was coming home from travel.” The third report by Aishah says: “I have never seen the Prophet offering prayer in mid-morning, or Duha, but I offer it nevertheless. The Prophet used to omit doing something he would have loved to do, fearing that when people did it to emulate him, it would become obligatory for them.” (Related by Malik, Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
These three reports by Aishah make clear that the Prophet’s practice concerning this voluntary prayer was varied. She makes clear that she never saw the Prophet doing it, but in another report she confirms that he offered it in four rak’ahs or more, while she also points out that he did on his return home after travel. This means that she was aware of his offering this prayer. Indeed this is the reason why she used to offer it despite the fact that she never saw the Prophet doing it in his normal routine. It was clear to her that it was a good and rewarding action that Muslims should do if they can.
She would not have done it, had she thought that it was not highly recommended. She explains the reason for the Prophet not doing it so often. He cared for his followers and he did not wish to burden them. Should they realize that he did something regularly, they would do likewise, and it could become obligatory. He was certain that they already have enough obligatory prayers. Therefore, he ensured that it would not be reported of him that he did it regularly.
It is important to realize that in practically everything the Prophet did in his worship was intended for the dual purpose of expressing his total submission to God and teaching us how to perform our worship. Hence, it was necessary that the Prophet should demonstrate in practice what to do in a great variety of situations. Alternatively, he provided direct guidance on what was needed in such matters. In all that he did, the Prophet acted as an ordinary human being, subject to all the conditions and influences anyone of us may experience.
We know from personal experience that we may be distracted during prayer, and such distraction could lead us to forget, while praying, how much of our prayer we have completed. Distraction does not affect prayer validity, but when we are not sure how many rak’ahs we have done, how to complete our prayer? The answer is simple: If you wonder whether you have done two or three rak’ahs, you are certain that you have done two, but you are doubtful about the third. You remove the doubt by completing your prayer on the basis of what is certain, which is two rak’ahs. Before you finish, you add two prostrations, or sujood, to compensate for the confusion.
The Prophet provides guidance on different situations of forgetfulness during prayer. Abu Hurayrah reports: “God’s Messenger led us in Asr prayer (which is four rak’ahs) but he finished after completing only two rak’ahs. Dhul-Yadayn stood up and said: ‘Messenger of God! Has prayer been reduced or you have forgotten?’ The Prophet said: ‘Neither thing happened.’ Dhul-Yadayn said: ‘Messenger of God! Either alternative did happen.’ The Prophet turned to the people and asked: ‘Is Dhul-Yadyan correct?’ They replied in the affirmative. The Prophet, therefore, completed his prayer and added two prostrations after he finished with salam, without standing up.” (Related by Malik and Muslim.)
We note here that a short discussion took place but it did not invalidate the prayer, although ordinary speech during prayer will invalidate it. The reason is that the discussion was concerned with the prayer being offered and ensuring that it was done properly. Had the spoken words been concerned with anything outside prayer, they would have invalidated it.
There are other Hadiths stating that the Prophet forgot some part of his prayer, but we will quote two only: Abdullah ibn Massoud reports: “The Prophet once offered Dhuhr prayer in five rak’ahs instead of four. After he finished some of his companions asked: ‘Has prayer been increased?’ He asked: ‘What do you mean?’ They told him that he prayed five rak’ahs. He, therefore, offered two prostrations after he had finished his prayer.” (Related in all six collections.) Abdullah ibn Buhaynah reports: “Once the Prophet completed two rak’ahs and stood up for the third without sitting for tashahhud. When he completed his prayer, he did two prostrations then finished his prayer with salam.” (Related by Malik, Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
We should note that the two prostrations mentioned in all three Hadiths are known as Sujood Al-Sahw, while finishing prayer refers to the salam when one has completed all his prayer and ends it.
