Nafl Prayers: Difference between revisions

"Nawafil" is a plural form of "nāfila" ({{ia|نافِلَة}}). The word, "nafila", literally means a supererogatory, preferred action that is not obligatory for the person. In the jargons of [[faqihs|jurists]], the word, "nafila", is mainly used to refer to mustahab prayers.

There are many [[hadith]]s from the [[Infallibles (a)]] about the significance of nafilas. [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] is quoted as saying, "You should avoid laziness and indolence! verily your Lord is Merciful and He appreciates little things. verily when a man performs two rak'as of a mustahab prayer to satisfy [[God]], God will take him to the [[Heaven]] just because of those two rak'as".

: "Rightly My servant seeks proximity (to Me) with nafilas and mustahab actions until I like him, and when I like him, I will become his ears with which he hears and his eyes with which he sees and his tongue with which he speaks".

[[Fudayl b. Yasar]] quoted [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] as saying, "[[Wajib|obligatory]] and nafila prayers are collectively 51 rak'as. The two rak'as of the [['Isha' Prayer]] which are performed while sitting count as one rak'a. Obligatory prayers are 17 rak'as, and nafila prayers are 34 rak'as.

The [[Zuhr prayer|noon]] nafila prayer: it consists of 8 rak'as. Its time is the same as that of the obligatory [[Noon Prayer]]. It is performed before the obligatory Noon Prayer.

The [['Asr prayer|afternoon]] nafila prayer: it consists of 8 rak'as. Its time is the same as that of the obligatory [[Afternoon Prayer]]. It is performed before the obligatory Afternoon Prayer.

The [[Maghrib prayer|evening]] nafila prayer: it consists of 4 rak'as. Its time is the same as that of the obligatory [[Evening Prayer]] and it is performed after the Evening Prayer.

The [['isha' prayer|'Isha']] nafila prayer: it consists of two rak'as and since they are performed while sitting, they count as one rak'a. Its time is the same as that of the obligatory 'Isha' Prayer and it is performed after the 'Isha' Prayer.

The nafila prayer of night ([[Night Prayer]]): it consists of 11 rak'as. 8 rak'as of it are performed as night prayers, 2 rak'as are performed as [[Shaf' Prayer]] and 1 rak'a of it is performed as [[Watr Prayer]]. The time of the nafila prayer of night is from the midnight to the [[adhan]] of the [[Fajr Prayer]].

The [[Fajr prayer|Fajr]] nafila prayer: it consists of two rak'as. It is performed before Fajr Prayer.

In general, [[mustahab]] or nafila prayers should be performed in two-rak'a units, with each couple of rak'as ending with one [[tashahhud]] and [[salam]], except when there is evidence to say a certain nafila in another way, such as the Watr Prayer which is one rak'a, and a prayer that is recommended to be performed at the eve of [[Eid al-Ghadir]] which consists of continuous 12 rak'as, with each two rak'as involving a tashahhud, and salam should be said at the end of the 12th rak'a.

Like other mustahab prayers, nafila prayers can be performed both while standing and while sitting. But it is recommended to count every two rak'as as one rak'a. For example, if one chooses to perform the 8 rak'as of the noon nafila prayer while sitting, he or she had better perform 16 rak'as.

Daily nawafil whose associated [[obligatory prayers]] are performed as [[Qasr Prayer|broken]] while on travel, such as Noon and Afternoon Prayers, should not be performed. Thus, nawafil of noon, afternoon, and 'isha' prayers are not recommended while one is on a travel, but night, morning, and evening nafila prayers can be performed while on travel.

*The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[:fa:نافله‌های روزانه|نافله‌های روزانه]]}} in Farsi WikiShia.

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