Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
what is the difference between offering sunnate muaqqada & gair sunnate muaqqada prayer
In the Name of Allah, with blessings and peace on the Messenger of Allah
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.
There are only two differences in the performance of emphasized (mu’akkada) and non-emphasized (ghayr mu’akkada) sunna prayers:
* in non-emphasized sunnas, one sends blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) after two rakats, in the first sitting–but one doesn’t do so in the emphasized sunna prayers
* one recites the opening invocation (thana’) and one seeks refuge from the Shaytan (ta`awwudh) when beginning the third rakat of non-emphasized sunna prayer–but one doesn’t recite these in the third rakat of emphasized sunna prayers.
For a detailed exposition of the fiqh of sunna prayers related to the obligatory prayer, see the following answer by Ustadh Sohail Hanif:
The Sunna Prayers Related to the Obligatory Prayers
And Allah alone gives success.
Faraz Rabbani