The five daily prayers are the heart of Muslim worship, and the only ones every adult must pray every day. When a man asked the Prophet ﷺ whether anything was owed beyond them, he answered: "No, but if you want to offer the Nawafil prayers (you can)."1 This page maps that "more" — every other prayer in a Muslim's life, how binding each one is, and where to learn it.
How binding is each prayer?
Islamic law sorts prayers into a few grades:141516
| Grade | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Fard 'ayn | Obligatory on each individual | The five daily prayers; Jumu'ah, for those it binds |
| Fard kifayah | A communal obligation — fulfilled for everyone once some of the community do it | The funeral prayer (Janazah) |
| Wajib | In the Hanafi school, a grade between obligatory and sunnah | Witr; the Eid prayers (Hanafi view) |
| Sunnah mu'akkadah | An emphasised sunnah — the Prophet ﷺ kept it regularly | The sunnah prayers around the fard; Tarawih; the eclipse prayer |
| Nafl | Other voluntary prayer — rewarded, never required | Duha, the night prayer, greeting the mosque |
The schools sometimes grade the same prayer differently — the Eid prayer is the clearest case — and the individual guides show where.
Every prayer at a glance
Each prayer's name links to the page that teaches it.
| Prayer | How binding | When |
|---|---|---|
| The five daily prayers | Fard | Five set times a day |
| Jumu'ah | Fard, for adult resident men | Friday, in place of Dhuhr |
| Janazah | Fard kifayah | When a Muslim dies |
| Witr | Wajib (Hanafi) · emphasised sunnah | After Isha, before Fajr |
| Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha | Varies by school | Eid mornings |
| Sunnah prayers (rawatib) | Emphasised sunnah | Before/after the fard |
| Tahajjud | Sunnah | After Isha; best in the last third of the night |
| Tarawih | Emphasised sunnah | Ramadan nights, after Isha |
| Duha | Sunnah | Mid-morning |
| Greeting the mosque | Sunnah | On entering a mosque |
| Two rak'ahs after wudu | Sunnah | After making wudu |
| Istikhara | Sunnah | Before a decision |
| Eclipse | Emphasised sunnah | During a solar or lunar eclipse |
| Rain (istisqa) | Sunnah | In drought |
| Repentance | Sunnah | After a sin |
| The extra prostrations | Varies | A mistake, a prostration verse, good news |
And when circumstances change, the prayer adapts: on a journey the four-rak'ah prayers are shortened to two (Prayer While Travelling).
The day's prayers, with the sunnah around them
The Prophet ﷺ prayed twelve emphasised sunnah rak'ahs around the five obligatory prayers each day, and promised a house in Paradise to whoever keeps them:23
The twelve emphasised sunnah rak'ahs placed around the five obligatory prayers: two before Fajr; four before Dhuhr and two after it; none attached to Asr; two after Maghrib; and two after Isha — with the obligatory rak'ahs of each prayer (2, 4, 4, 3 and 4) between them.
- Fajr2 sunnah before · 2 fard
- Dhuhr4 sunnah before · 4 fard · 2 sunnah after
- Asr4 fard
- Maghrib3 fard · 2 sunnah after
- Isha4 fard · 2 sunnah after
Add Duha in the morning, the night prayer and Witr after Isha, and you have the full daily rhythm of the Prophet's ﷺ own prayer.
Times when voluntary prayer is set aside
Voluntary prayer can be offered almost any time, with a few exceptions:
"There is no prayer after the morning prayer till the sun rises, and there is no prayer after the 'Asr prayer till the sun sets."
— Sahih al-Bukhari 5864
A companion listed three moments when they were told not to pray: "When the sun begins to rise till it is fully up, when the sun is at its height at midday till it passes over the meridian, and when the sun draws near to setting till it sets."5 Those three are short moments; the two after Fajr and Asr are longer windows.
A few rules that hold for all voluntary prayer
- In pairs. Voluntary prayers are usually prayed two rak'ahs at a time — "two Rak'at followed by two Rak'at and so on."7 The Hanafi school also allows, and by day prefers, units of four.141516
- At home is best. "The best prayer of a person is that which he prays in his house except the compulsory prayers."8
- Sitting is allowed. A voluntary prayer may be prayed sitting, at half the reward of standing, if you choose to: "The prayer observed by a person sitting is half of the prayer."9 (For the obligatory prayers, sitting is for those who cannot stand: "Pray while standing and if you can't, pray while sitting."10)
- The best of them. "The most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the night,"12 and the two rak'ahs before Fajr "are better than this world and what it contains."13
If you missed an obligatory prayer
Voluntary prayers can be left; the obligatory ones are owed. If one was missed — overslept, forgotten — pray it as soon as you remember:
"If anyone forgets a prayer he should pray that prayer when he remembers it. There is no expiation except to pray the same."
— Sahih al-Bukhari 5976
Where to start
If all of this is new, don't try to take it on at once. A good order: first the five; then the two rak'ahs before Fajr, the voluntary prayer the Prophet ﷺ kept most faithfully;11 then Witr before you sleep; then the rest of the sunnah prayers, one at a time. Learn the Friday prayer, the Eid prayer and the funeral prayer before you need them — they come to every community sooner or later.