Prayer guide
Sunan ar-Rawatib — The Regular Sunnah Prayers
The Sunnah prayers attached to the five obligatory prayers. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever maintains twelve rak'ahs of Sunnah every day, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.' (Muslim 728).
The Twelve Daily Sunan
The twelve are: 2 rak'ahs before Fajr, 4 rak'ahs before Dhuhr + 2 after, 2 rak'ahs after Maghrib, 2 rak'ahs after Isha (Muslim 728, with slight variations in other narrations). Some narrations specify 4 before Asr (Tirmidhi 430), counted as Sunnah but not part of the twelve. These are called sunan mu'akkadah — the strongly emphasized Sunan — and the Prophet ﷺ rarely missed them.
The Two Rak'ahs Before Fajr
Of all the Sunnah prayers, these two are the most beloved to the Prophet ﷺ. Aisha said: 'The Prophet ﷺ was not more careful in observing any Sunnah prayer than he was with the two rak'ahs before Fajr.' (Bukhari 1169, Muslim 724). He said: 'The two rak'ahs of Fajr are better than the world and what is in it.' (Muslim 725). Make them brief; recite al-Fatihah and a short surah.
Witr
Witr is an odd-numbered voluntary prayer prayed between Isha and Fajr — minimum one rak'ah, maximum eleven. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever fears that he will not wake up in the last part of the night, let him pray Witr in the early part. And whoever expects to wake in the last part of the night, let him pray Witr then — for the prayer in the last part of the night is witnessed (by the angels).' (Muslim 755). The Prophet ﷺ recited Surah al-A'la in the first, al-Kafirun in the second, and al-Ikhlas (often with al-Falaq and an-Nas) in the third (Abu Dawud 1423).
The Du'a of Qunut in Witr
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَعَافِنِي فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ، وَتَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ، وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ، إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ، وَإِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ، تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
Allahumma-hdini fiman hadayt, wa 'afini fiman 'afayt, wa tawallani fiman tawallayt, wa barik li fima a'tayt, wa qini sharra ma qadayt, innaka taqdi wa la yuqda 'alayk, wa innahu la yadhillu man walayt, tabarakta rabbana wa ta'alayt
O Allah, guide me among those You have guided. Grant me well-being among those You have granted well-being. Befriend me among those You have befriended. Bless me in what You have given me. Protect me from the evil of what You have decreed — for indeed You decree and none decrees against You. The one You befriend is never humiliated. Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted.
Taught by the Prophet ﷺ to al-Hasan ibn Ali (Tirmidhi 464, Abu Dawud 1425, classed sahih). Recited in the final rak'ah of Witr while standing, with hands raised. Some scholars place it before ruku', others after — both are reported.
Tahajjud — The Night Prayer
Allah commands His Prophet ﷺ: 'And from the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station.' (Qur'an 17:79). Tahajjud is the voluntary night prayer made after the obligatory Isha and a period of sleep. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The best prayer after the obligatory ones is the night prayer.' (Muslim 1163). 'Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, saying: Who is calling Me that I may respond? Who is asking Me that I may give? Who is seeking My forgiveness that I may forgive?' (Bukhari 1145, Muslim 758).
Salat ad-Duha
The mid-morning prayer — two to eight rak'ahs prayed between sunrise (about 15-20 minutes after) and zawal (just before Dhuhr). The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Every morning, there is a sadaqah due upon every joint in your body. Every tasbih, every tahmid, every tahlil, every takbir, every enjoining of good, every forbidding of evil is a sadaqah — and two rak'ahs of Duha suffice for all that.' (Muslim 720). He also said: 'Whoever prays Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, then prays two rak'ahs, has the reward of a complete Hajj and Umrah.' (Tirmidhi 586).