Question:
Please tell me the exact number of sunnah and fard rakā’at for each ṣalāh. I am also confused regarding whether or not to say salām (Assalāmu alaykum warahmatullah) when performing 4 sunnah of dhuhr prayers and others. I have asked many friends also and some of them says we have to continue 4 sunnahs without a salām in between while others say that salām in between 4 sunnahs are required. Kindly guide me in this regard.
Answer:
Jazākallāh Khayr/ Thank you for your question.
There are 12 rakaʿāt you should perform throughout the day in addition to your farḍ prayers. These prayers have been classified as sunan al-muʾakkadah:
• Two rakaʿāt before the farḍ ṣalāh of Fajr.
• Four rakaʿāt before the farḍ ṣalāh of Dhuhr and Jumūʿah.
• Two rakaʿāt after the farḍ ṣalāh of Dhuhr and Jumūʿah.
• Two rakaʿāt after the farḍ ṣalāh of Maghrib.
• Two rakaʿāt after the farḍ ṣalāh of ʿIshāʾ.
Beyond these prayers there are four rakaʿāt you should perform which have been classified as sunan ghayr al-mu‘akkadah:
• Four rakaʿāt before the farḍ ṣalāh of ʿAṣr.
ʿĀʾishah (may Allāh be pleased with her) reported,
“Allāh’s Messenger (peace and blessings upon him) would pray 13 rakaʿāt during the night. After that, he would pray two short rakaʿāt when he heard the call to Ṣalāt al-Fajr.” (Bukhārī )
ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Sāʾib (may Allāh be pleased with hIm) reported,
“Allāh’s Messenger (peace and blessings upon him) would perform four rakaʿāt after the sun had moved [from its zenith] before performing Dhuhr. He explained, ‘This is an hour when the doors of the sky are opened. I would like a good deed of mine to ascend through them.’” (Tirmidhī)
Ibn ʿOmar (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported,
“I performed two rakaʿāt with the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) before Dhuhr and two rakaʿāt after Dhuhr.” (Tirmidhī)
Ibn ʿOmar (may Allāh be pleased with hIm) reported,
“I performed two rakaʿāt with the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) after Maghrib at his house.” (Tirmidhī)
ʿAbdullāh ibn Shaqīq (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported,
“I asked ʿĀʾishah (may Allāh be pleased with her) about the [voluntary] prayer of Allāh’s Messenger (peace and blessings upon him), so she explained, ‘He used to perform two rakaʿāt before Dhuhr and two rakaʿāt after it, two rakaʿāt after Maghrib, two rakaʿāt after ʿIshāʾ, and two rakaʿāt before Fajr.’” (Tirmidhī)
Ibn ʿOmar (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported,
“The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) said, ‘May Allāh have mercy on the person who performs four [rakaʿāt] before ʿAsr.’” (Tirmidhī)
As far as the four units of sunnah prayer before Dhuhr are concerned, they may be offered all together with one salām, or broken into two sets by making a concluding salām with each two units. There are prophetic reports and valid scholarly views of this nature.
And Allāh Knows Best