Duha prayer and Ishraq prayer: time, rak'ahs and method

How do you pray Duha step by step?

The steps pray two rak'ahs, the least that the works quoted here give. For the whole prayer, see how to pray Salah, and for preparation see how to perform wudu.

1. Wait until the sun has risen. Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar starts its time after sunrise, and al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' when the sun has risen high. 78 To see today's estimate, use the prayer times tool. It shows a Duha start of sunrise plus 15 minutes by default, and you can change that number in the tool. The tool lists it under More times as 'Duha begins (an estimate)', default 15 minutes, adjustable from 5 to 60.
2. Make wudu, face the Qibla, and intend two rak'ahs of Duha. Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' describes the intention as two rak'ahs of Duha. 7
3. Say the opening takbir (Allahu akbar) and pray the first two rak'ahs with the standing, bowing, prostration and sitting set out in how to pray Salah. The surahs read in the standing are in the next section.
4. Make salam after the two rak'ahs. Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' says salam is made after every two rak'ahs. 7 Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar says joining more than four rak'ahs with one salam in daytime voluntary prayer is disliked. 9
5. To pray more, add further rak'ahs in sets of two, each with its own salam. Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' gives four as the least for perfection and six as better. 7

Which surahs are read in Duha prayer?

Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar, quoting al-Shir'a, says the surahs Al-Shams and Ad-Duha are read in it. 8

The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali passages quoted here, from al-Majmu', al-Sharh al-Kabir and al-Mughni, name no surah. The word duha (forenoon) is also the first word of Surah Ad-Duha, which has its own lesson.

Are Duha prayer and Ishraq prayer one prayer or two?

The four works quoted here do not say whether Ishraq is the same prayer as Duha or a separate one: the passages from al-Nawawi's al-Majmu', Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar, al-Dardir's al-Sharh al-Kabir and Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni discuss Duha, and none of them names Ishraq. Salatul duha (also salat al duha) is the prayer covered here, and Ishraq (salatul ishraq, ishraq namaz) is a name readers also search. The narration of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, in the virtue section below describes two rak'ahs after sunrise.

What do the four schools' works say about Duha?

How many rak'ahs are in Duha prayer?

Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu', Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar, al-Dardir's al-Sharh al-Kabir and Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni all give two as the least 781011, and the reports below give the counts they name.

These are the counts the sources name. None of them is a universal upper limit for every day.

When does the Duha window start and end?

The window opens when the sun has risen, as the steps above set out. Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu' and Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar both end it at zawal 78, and al-Dardir's al-Sharh al-Kabir runs it from when voluntary prayer becomes permitted until zawal. 10 Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni gives its time as when the sun has risen high and its heat has grown strong, citing the report on the prayer of the awwabin (the oft-returning), and gives no end time in that passage. 11 Al-Mawardi, the author of al-Hawi, quoted by Nawawi in al-Majmu', gives the preferred time as after a quarter of the day has passed 7, and Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-Muhtar gives the same preferred time 8.

Al-Mawardi cites Zaid ibn Arqam's report for that time, as Nawawi quotes him (al-Majmu' 4/36). The report itself says that prayer at a later hour is more excellent: when Zaid saw people praying Duha, he said they knew that. He then reported the Prophet's words that the prayer of the oft-returning, or salat al-awwabin, is when the weaned camels feel the heat of the sun (Sahih Muslim 748) 5.

5AuthenticSahih Muslim 748a

The prayer times tool's Duha start is an estimate. The works quoted here set no minute count, so the number of minutes after sunrise is a practical choice and not a time fixed by a report.

What do the hadith say about the virtue of Duha prayer?

Abu Dharr reports the Prophet's words that every morning charity is due from every joint of a person. Each saying of Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu akbar is charity, and so are commanding good and forbidding wrong. Two rak'ahs prayed in the forenoon suffice for all of that 1. The report does not describe Duha as obligatory.

1AuthenticSahih Muslim 720

Abu Hurayrah reports that his friend, the Prophet, advised him to fast three days each month, to pray two rak'ahs of Duha, and to pray Witr before sleeping 2. For Witr, see how to pray Witr.

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 1981

Anas ibn Malik narrates the Prophet's words. Whoever prays Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until the sun has risen and then prays two rak'ahs, has a reward like that of a Hajj and 'Umrah 6. In Jami' at-Tirmidhi 586 the Prophet then says "complete" three times. This narration is graded differently. The grades and who gave them are in the sources list, and the reward is not stated as established here. For the Fajr part of this, see how to pray Fajr.

6Graded differently ›Jami' at-Tirmidhi 586

This narration describes two rak'ahs after sunrise that follow Fajr and remembrance. The works quoted above discuss Duha, and whether the two rak'ahs in this narration are the same prayer as Ishraq or a separate one is not ruled on here.