The short answer
Sunnah prayers and nafl prayers overlap in the works: Al-Majmu' (Shafi'i) records three definitions of nafl, sunnah and tatawwu', and Maraqi al-Falah (Hanafi) says every sunnah is a nafl, though not the reverse. Because the terms overlap, a teacher's label depends on the definition in use. Tahajjud can be a nafl on the broad definitions, and Minhaj al-Talibin calls it sunnah.
What does nafl mean, and how is it related to sunnah?
Maraqi al-Falah (Hanafi) explains that nafl means addition in the language. In the sharia (Islamic law) it is an act of worship that is neither fard, wajib nor masnun (sunnah). The same work says every sunnah is a nafl, but not every nafl is a sunnah 2.
Al-Majmu' (Shafi'i) records three definitions that Shafi'i scholars gave of tatawwu', nafl and sunnah 3. In the first, apart from the fard, there are three kinds. They are sunan, the prayers the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, practised regularly; mustahabbat, the ones he did sometimes; and tatawwu'at, voluntary acts a person begins on his own. In the second, nafl and tatawwu' mean the same, whatever is other than the fard. In the third, sunnah, nafl, tatawwu' and other recommendation terms mean the same, whatever is other than the obligatory acts.
Check which sense a writer means before you compare two labels. The first definition separates regular sunnah from other voluntary acts, while the second and third use nafl in the broad sense.
Which sunnah rak'ahs does the Hanafi list give around the fard prayers?
Maraqi al-Falah lists these as emphasised sunnah prayers (sunnah mu'akkadah) 4. The table gives that one school's list. It is not a combined list from all four schools.
| Around the prayer | Rak'ahs in this list |
|---|---|
| Before Fajr | 2 |
| Before Dhuhr | 4 |
| After Dhuhr | 2 |
| After Maghrib | 2 |
| After Isha | 2 |
The same page records that al-Marghinani narrated from Abu Hanifa that the two before Fajr are wajib, and calls them the strongest of the sunnahs 4. This page does not set the other schools' lists beside this one.
Is Tahajjud sunnah or nafl?
Minhaj al-Talibin (Shafi'i) lists Witr among the voluntary (nafl) prayers, calls Tahajjud sunnah, and says voluntary prayer at night is better 5.
Al-Mughni (Hanbali) records Ahmad's saying that nothing after the obligatory prayers is better than standing in prayer at night 6. The same work states that the best Tahajjud is in the last part of the night.
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the prayer at night (Sahih Muslim 1163a).
1AuthenticSahih Muslim 1163
The hadith ranks night prayer after the obligatory prayers. It does not use the word Tahajjud or set a number of rak'ahs, so it answers a different question from the labels in the two works above.
Does every school classify Witr as an ordinary nafl?
No. Maraqi al-Falah calls Witr wajib in its preferred Hanafi view, and the other three works call it sunnah or not wajib, each in its own terms. The table gives each work's classification in its own words. It is not a ruling from us. The steps of Witr are in How to pray Witr.
| HanafiMaraqi al-Falah, p. 139 | Malikial-Kafi, 1/255 | Shafi'ial-Majmu', 4/12 | Hanbalial-Mughni, 2/117 and 2/119 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Wajib, in the more correct view, the last of Abu Hanifa's views. The work also reports it as sunnah, the view of Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani 7 | Among the most emphasised sunnahs 8 | Sunnah, with no disagreement in the school 9 | Not wajib. The work also reports a Hanbali view that it is wajib, and records in Hanbal's narration of Ahmad that witr and the two before Fajr are sunnah mu'akkadah 6 |
How can I use these terms without mixing the categories?
This is a way to organise learning, not a prescribed sequence of prayers.
- Check how the work you are reading defines nafl and sunnah. The Hanafi and Shafi'i works above define them differently. 23
- When a list of voluntary prayers comes from one school, note the school and its work. The Hanafi list above belongs to one school. 4
- Keep a school's classification separate from the virtue a hadith reports. Sahih Muslim 1163a reports the virtue of night prayer and does not classify it. 1
- Where a classification changes what you pray, ask a scholar you trust. Missed prayers, vows, and restricted times need a fuller answer than this page gives.
Sunnah and nafl prayers are easy to mix up on a timetable. Reading how the sources separate the regular sunnah from voluntary prayer made the chart make sense.
Try it: the classifications
Three checks, each with its source.
1In Maraqi al-Falah, which is the broader term, nafl or sunnah?
Answer: Nafl. The work says every sunnah is a nafl, but not every nafl is a sunnah, so nafl is the broader word. Source 2
2In the Hanafi list in Maraqi al-Falah, how many emphasised rak'ahs come before Dhuhr?
Answer: Four. The list gives four before Dhuhr and two after it. The list is one school's and does not set the other schools' lists beside it. Source 4
3How does al-Kafi, a Maliki work, describe Witr?
Answer: Among the most emphasised sunnahs. Al-Kafi places Witr among the most emphasised sunnahs, as the work states it. The Hanafi work in the table calls its preferred view wajib. Source 8
Questions people ask
Does nafl mean unimportant?
Nafl is a classification word, not a ranking of how much a prayer matters. Maraqi al-Falah, a Hanafi work, defines it in the technical sense as an act that is neither fard, wajib nor sunnah. Sahih Muslim 1163a reports the Prophet saying that the night prayer is the best prayer after the obligatory prayers.
Is Tahajjud nafl or sunnah if my teacher uses only one label?
The label depends on the definition in use. Minhaj al-Talibin, a Shafi'i work, lists Witr among the voluntary prayers and calls Tahajjud sunnah. Al-Mughni, a Hanbali work, records a saying that nothing after the obligatory prayers is better than standing in prayer at night. A teacher who uses one word may still mean the same practice, so ask which definition they use.
Is this page a complete list of sunnah prayers?
No. It covers the words nafl and sunnah, gives one Hanafi list of emphasised sunnah rak'ahs around the daily prayers, and sets out how four schools' works classify Witr. It does not list every voluntary prayer in Islamic sources, and it does not cover missed or interrupted voluntary prayers.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said: the best fasting after Ramadan is Allah's month al-Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the prayer at night.
Sahih Muslim 1163 Book 13, Hadith 261
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 2
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah, explains why the chapter is titled nawafil and not sunan: nafl is the broader term, since every sunnah is a nafl but not every nafl is a sunnah. Linguistically nafl means addition or extra; in the sharia it is an act that is neither fard, wajib nor masnun (sunnah).
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, p. 145 Read on shamela.ws.
- 3
Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in al-Majmu', at the opening of the chapter on voluntary prayer, reports that Shafi'i scholars gave three definitions of tatawwu', nafl and sunnah: (1) tatawwu' is what no particular report singles out but a person does on his own initiative, and apart from the fard there are three kinds, sunan (regular Prophetic practice), mustahabbat (done sometimes, not regularly) and tatawwu'at; (2) nafl and tatawwu' are synonyms, both meaning whatever is other than the fard; (3) sunnah, nafl, tatawwu', mandub, murghab fihi and mustahabb are synonyms, meaning whatever is other than the obligatory acts.
al-Nawawi, al-Majmu' 4/2 Read on shamela.ws.
- 4
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah, lists the emphasised sunnah prayers (sunnah mu'akkadah) around the daily prayers as: two before Fajr; two after Dhuhr; two after Maghrib; two after Isha; and four before Dhuhr. The commentary on the same page records that al-Marghinani narrated from Abu Hanifa that the two before Fajr are wajib.
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, p. 145 Read on shamela.ws.
- 5
Al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin (Shafi'i): witr is among the voluntary (nafl) prayers, at least one rak'ah and at most eleven; its time is between 'Isha and dawn; it is sunnah to make it the last prayer of the night, and one who prayed witr and then prayed Tahajjud does not repeat it; night voluntary prayer is better than day, with a salam after every two; Tahajjud is sunnah; unrestricted voluntary prayer has no limit.
al-Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin, pp. 36 and 37 Read on shamela.ws.
- 6
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni (Hanbali): night voluntary prayer is only two by two (Abu Hanifa allowed up to eight; he reports Malik and al-Shafi'i as holding two by two); unrestricted voluntary prayer is prescribed through the whole night; Ahmad said nothing after the obligatory prayers is better than standing at night; witr is not wajib, a sunnah mu'akkadah in Ahmad's words; its time is between 'Isha and dawn and it is best at the end of the night; one who prayed witr and then wakes for Tahajjud prays two by two and does not undo his witr; one who missed his Tahajjud may make it up between Fajr and Zuhr.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni 2/100, 2/117 and 2/119 Read on shamela.ws.
- 7
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah: witr is wajib (in the more correct view, the last of Abu Hanifa's views), three rak'ahs with one salam, al-Fatihah and a surah in each, a sitting with the tashahhud only after two; in the third, after the surah, the hands are raised to the ears, a takbir is said and qunoot is made standing before ruku', all year.
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, p. 139 Read on shamela.ws.
- 8
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (Maliki), in al-Kafi: witr is among the most emphasised sunnahs; its time is from after 'Isha until the Subh prayer; there should be a prayer before witr, at least two rak'ahs; a group of scholars disliked a single rak'ah with nothing before it and others allowed it, and Ibn 'Abd al-Barr prefers what Malik chose, since no one preserved from the Prophet a witr of one rak'ah; behind an imam who prays three without a salam between them, do not go against him.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/255 Read on shamela.ws.
- 9
Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in al-Majmu': witr is sunnah in the school without disagreement, at least one rak'ah, three the lowest complete form; three are best prayed separated with two salams on the sahih view, and joining them is allowed; its time begins after the obligatory 'Isha and ends at dawn; delaying it is recommended for one with a night prayer habit or confident of waking.
al-Nawawi, al-Majmu' 4/12 Read on shamela.ws.
Next
- How to pray Witr: steps, dua and the four schoolsGuide
- How to pray TahajjudGuide
- How to pray Salah: the whole prayerGuide
- IstikharaGuide
- How to pray Fajr: steps and recitationsGuide
- How many rak'ahs in each prayerGuide
- The funeral prayer (Janazah)Guide
- Prayer and PurificationThe hub
- What is Sunnah? Meaning in hadith, fiqh and usulMeaning explained
- Duha and Ishraq prayerGuide
- Salatul Hajat and dua e hajatGuide
For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
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