Hadith for the World
Prayer

Voluntary Prayer

40 hadiths

40 hadiths

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach us Istikhārah (guidance-seeking prayer) in all matters, as he would teach us a Surah from the Qur’an. He would say: "When one of you intends to do something, let him perform two Rak‘ahs other than the obligatory prayer and then say: Allāhumma inni astakhīruka bi‘ilmika, wa astaqdiruka biqudratika, wa as’aluka min fadlik al-‘azhīm, fa ’innaka taqdiru wa la aqdiru, wa ta‘lamu wa la a‘lamu, wa anta ‘allāmu al-ghuyūb. Allāhumma in kunta ta‘lamu anna hādha al-’amra khayrun li fi dīni wa ma‘āshi wa ‘āqibati amri, (or he said) ‘ājili amri wa ājilihi, faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li, thumma bārik li fīh. Wa in kunta ta‘lamu anna hādha al-’amra sharrun li fi dīni wa ma‘āshi wa ‘āqibati amri, (or he said) wa ‘ājili amri wa ājilihi, fasrifhu ‘anni, wasrifni ‘anhu, waqdur li al-khayra haythu kāna, thumma ardini. (O Allah, I consult You for Your knowledge, and I seek strength from You for Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. Indeed, You are capable and I am not, and You know and I do not, and You are the All-Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the outcome of my affairs, (or he said), my immediate and future affairs, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and then bless it for me. And if You know this matter is evil concerning my religion, my livelihood or the outcome of my affairs, (or he said) my immediate and future affairs, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and make me content).'' He said: ''And let him name his need.''Narrated by Al-Bukhāri
‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not observe a voluntary prayer more regularly than the two Rak‘ahs of Fajr.Agreed upon
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When one of you stands up for offering voluntary prayer at night and finds it difficult to recite the Qur'an accurately, and he is unaware of what he is reciting, he should lie down."Narrated by Muslim
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever performs Qiyām (night prayer) in the Night of Decree, out of faith and in pursuit of reward, his past sins will be forgiven."Agreed upon
Sālim ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported from his father that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What an excellent man ‘Abdullāh is if only he observes the night prayer." Sālim said: "Since then, ‘Abdullāh would not sleep at night but very little."Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) missed prayer at night because of sickness or otherwise, he would pray twelve Rak‘ahs during the daytime.Narrated by Muslim
‘Ā'ishah and Al-Mughīrah ibn Shu‘bah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand in prayer at night until the skin of his feet would crack. I (‘Ā'ishah) asked him: "O Messenger of Allah, why are you doing this while your past and future sins have been forgiven for you?" He said: "Should I not like to be a grateful slave (of Allah)?"Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: 'At every part of the night, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prayed Witr: at its beginning, middle, and end. Finally he settled on performing Witr just before dawn.Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever sleeps and fails to recite his nightly portion, or part of it, and then recites it between the Fajr prayer and the Zhuhr prayer, it will be recorded for him as if he recited it during the night."Narrated by Muslim
‘Abdullāh ibn Salām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madīnah, the people rushed to meet him, and it was said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has come! The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has come! The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has come! Three times. I came with the people to see him, and when I saw his face clearly, I knew that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing I heard him say was: "O people, spread the greeting of peace, feed others, maintain kinship ties, and pray at night when people are asleep, and you will enter Paradise in peace."Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Mājah, and Ahmad
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came in while a woman was sitting with her. He said: "Who is she?" ‘Ā'ishah replied: "She is so-and-so," and told him about her (excessive) praying. He said disapprovingly: "Do (good) deeds according to your capacity, for by Allah, Allah never grows weary (of giving rewards) unless you grow weary (of doing good deeds), and the best deed in His sight is that which is done regularly.”Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) offered voluntary prayer during the night, he would say: "O Allah, our Lord! All praise belongs to You. You are the Custodian of the heavens and the earth, all praise belongs to You. You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all what is in them, all praise belongs to You. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. You are the Truth, Your speech is the Truth, Your promise is the Truth, Your meeting is the Truth, Paradise is true, Hell-fire is true, and the Hour is true. O Allah, to You I submit, in You I believe, upon You I rely, By Your help I contend with my foes, and to You I refer for judgment. So, forgive me the sins I committed in the past and those I may commit in the future, those I did secretly and those I did openly, and all that which You know of better than I do. There is no god but You.”Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
‘Abdullāh ibn Ash-Shikhkhīr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) praying and making a sound like the rumbling of a mill because of weeping.An-Nasaa’i - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: One night, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qiyām while reciting a single verse from the Qur'an (over and over again).Narrated by At-Termedhy
Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two light Rak‘ahs after the break of dawn. Another narration reads: "before the (Fajr) prayer would start."Narrated by Bukhari
‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not ever leave four before Zhuhr and two Rak‘ahs before morning.Narrated by Al-Bukhāri
’Umm Habībah, the Prophet's wife, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever regularly observes four Rak‘ahs before Zhuhr and four after it, Allah will make him forbidden to Hellfire."Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasā’i, Ibn Mājah, and Ahmad
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on whoever offers four Rak‘ahs before the ‘Asr prayer."Narrated by At-Termedhy - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad
‘Abdullāh ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Offer two Rak‘ahs before Maghrib." Then he said: "Offer two Rak‘ahs before Maghrib, if you will," fearing people might take it as Sunnah.Narrated by Bukhari
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two light Rak‘ahs before the Fajr prayer, after the Muezzin would finish calling the Adhān and after the break of dawn. Then, he used to lie on his right side until the Muezzin would come to him for the Iqāmah.Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was on the pulpit: What do you say about the night prayer? He (ﷺ) said: "Two by two (i.e., in sets of two Rak‘ahs). When he fears that dawn is approaching, he should pray one (Rak‘ah), which will make what he has prayed Witr (odd)." And he (ﷺ) used to say: "Make the last of your prayers at night Witr,” for the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded it.Agreed upon
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Voluntary) prayer in both the day and night is performed two by two."Narrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by At-Termedhy - An-Nasaa’i - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most excellent fast after Ramadan is Allah's month, Muharram, and the most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the night."Narrated by Muslim
Abu Ayyūb al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Witr is due, so whoever wants to pray the Witr as seven (units of prayer), let him do so; whoever wants to pray the Witr as five, let him do so; whoever wants to pray the Witr as three, let him do so; and whoever wants to pray the Witr as one, let him do so."Narrated by Ibn Majah - An-Nasaa’i - Narrated by Abu Daoud