On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said:
Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.
(At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah,Ahmad)
Supererogatory prayers or nawafil are extra acts of righteousness besides the obligatory ones. They multiply the deeds. Nawafil prayers are extra good deeds that can complement our obligatory ones and compensate for any deficiency in performing them.
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) has urged us to maintain them as he said, "For every Muslim who offers twelve Rakaas of optional prayer other than the obligatory one in day and night, seeking the pleasure of Allah, He will build a house for him in Paradise."
These twelve rakaah are the sunah prayers in association with the obligatory ones. Two rakaah sunah prayer before obligatory ones (fardh) in Fajr, four before obligatory ones and two after obligatory ones during Zuhr, two after obligatory ones during Maghrib and two between obligatory ones and witar.
These comprise the twelve sunnah prayers, by the help of which, Allah makes a home for us in Paradise.
Our Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) has also defined those Rakaas as follows: "Four Rakaas before and two Rakaas after Dhuhr (noon) prayer, two after Maghrib, two after Isha and two before Fajr (dawn) prayer."
Emphasising their great status, the Prophet (S.A.W) said, "The two Rakaas (before) the dawn (Fajr) prayer are better than this world and all that which in it." In another narration, he (S.A.W) said, "The two Rakaas before the dawn (Fajr) prayer are dearer to me than the whole world."
This was accentuated by the Prophet (S.A.W) as he said that Allah the Almighty said, "The most beloved things with which My servant comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My servant keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he seeks My Protection (Refuge), I will protect him."
By performing fardh or obligatory prayer, we plant Allah's love in our hearts and when we perform supererogatory prayers (nawafil) Allah plants our love in His Heart.
Moreover, by performing the Nawafil prayers often, one's soul will be purified, heart cleansed and spirit elevated. As a result, the believer will not only rejoice a peaceful and happy life, but will also meet his Lord on the Day of Judgment with a record of perfected obligatory acts of worship and plenty of voluntary ones. Ultimately, Allah the Almighty will engulf them with His mercy and open the gateways of Paradise for them to reside in it eternally
May Allah guide us to the right path.
Ameen.
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Ahadith e Qudsi
SpiritualIn the name of Allah, The Most Beneficient, The Most Merciful. In sha Allah, in this book, we will go through 40 of the most authentic ahadith e qudsi (sacred ahadith).
