Sunnahs, Dhikr and Praying at Home

Wa Alaykum Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu,

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate

1)

From Faraz Rabbani’s forthcoming work The Absolute Essentials of Hanafi Fiqh (White Thread Press, www.whitethreadpress.com, due out Fall 2004):

“The Confirmed Sunna (sunna mu’akkada) is that which our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) or the Companions did most of the time (and was not of worldly habits). One who leaves it without excuse deserves reproach, not punishment. Leaving it habitually is sinful, though, because it entails ‘turning away’ from the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), whom we have been commanded to follow. ”

From a past post by Faraz Rabbani:

In the Hanafi school,

a) We do not leave current sunna prayers because of having makeup prayers, because past mistakes should not be cause for present shortcomings;

b) Only past obligatory and necessary prayers are to be made up;

c) One does not makeup past sunna prayers;

d) However, within the prayers one is making up, one should not leave the sunnas themselves

Please also see:

On Witr and Sunna Prayers

2)

In the Hanafi school it is best to pray one’s sunnah right after one’s fard prayers, and to do one’s dhikrs after the sunna prayer. Unnecessary worldly talk or activities between the fard and sunna reduce the reward of one’s sunna prayer. [Shurunbulali, Ibn Abidin] For several wisdoms, however, some scholars preferred the position of doing one’s post-salat dhikrs before the sunnahs. – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

3)

It is actually best to pray one’s sunna prayers at home, if one is able to do so without an undue interval between the obligatory prayer and the sunna, and as long as one is sure about not missing it. In general, there is more reward in praying sunnas at home, and the obligatory prayer in the masjid. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] — Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Wassalam,

Sunni Path QA Team