The Sunnah of Ruko' (Bowing)

1- grasping his knees by his hands and separating between the fingers.

2- stretching the back on flat manner.

3- making the head in the same level of the back i.e. avoiding lowering or raising it.

4- separating his upper arms from his waist.

Essential Sunnah of Prayers

1-Raising both hands with the first takbeera.

2-Raising both hands before bowing for ruku'.

3-Raising both hands after standing from ruku',

4- and after standing for the third rak'a in the prayers that have four rak'as.

5-Sticking fingers together flat in all the mentioned sunnahs.

6-Fingers should be facing the qiblah (prayer direction; that is facing the ka'ba).

7- Raising the hands to the shoulder height or by the ears.

8- While reciting place the right hand over the left or holding the left arm with the right hand.

9- Looking towards the sujoud (prostration) place.

10-Make a space between the foot ( nearly as shoulder width).

11-Concentrating on the meaning of the words while recitation.

Verbal Sunnahs of Prayer

1-Opening du’aa (supplication): saying after the opening takbeer (saying: allahu akbar, i.e. allah is the greatest) : (o allah, glorified be you, a glorification that is associated with your praise, blessed be your name, exalted be your greatness and there is no god but you). narrated by the four scholars.

and there is another du’aa (o allah, distance me from my sins, just as you have distanced the east from the west. o allah, purify me from my sins, just as a white dress is purified from filth. o allah, wash me from my sins with ice, water and hail). narrated by al-bukhari and muslim. one should choose one of the supplications that were narrated as an opening du’aa and say it.

2- Saying (i take refuge with allah from the outcast devil) before reciting.
3- Starting with allah’s name, i.e. saying (in the name of allah, the all-merciful, the ever-merciful).

4-Amen, after al-fatihah.
5-Reciting a sura (a chapter of qur’an) after al-fatihah in the first two rak’as (units of prayer) of fajr (dawn), jumu’ah (friday), maghreb (sunset), isha’ (evening) and the whole supererogatory prayers for the single. (as for this who prays behind imam, he should recite in the secret prayer, but, not in the open one).

6-Saying (as much as what fills the heavens, as much as what fills the earth, as much as what fills whatever is between them and as much as what fills whatever you will afterwards. you are the source of praise and glory. this is the most truthful thing to be said by a bondman and we are all your bondmen. o allah, there is no deterrent for what you gave, no giver for what you prevented, and neither wealth nor power can protect their owner from you). narrated by muslim. after rising from ruku’ (kneeling) and saying: o our lord, and all praise is to you.
7-Glorifying (allah) more than once in ruku’ and sujoud (prostration).
8-Saying (o my lord, forgive me) more than once between the two sajdahs (prostrations).
9- Supplication after the last tashahud (an invocation that is recited at the middle or end of the prayer while sitting) : (o allah, i take refuge with you from the torment of hell, the torment of the grave, the sedition of life and death and the sedition of antichrist). narrated by al-bukhari and muslim.
· It is desirable that the worshipper does not limit himself to glorification in sujoud, rather, he should add to it the supplication he wishes, for this hadith: (when a bondman prostrates, he is in the nearest point to his lord, thus, increase your supplication). narrated by muslim.
· There are other supplications, if anyone wants them, he may refer to {hissn al-muslim (the muslim’s fort)} al-qahtani’s book.

All verbal sunnahs are repeated in every rak’a, except the opening du’aa and the supplication after tashahud.
Thus, the total applied verbal sunnahs in the obligatory prayer, which consist of 17 rak’as, reaches 136 sunnah, if we say that there are eight repeated sunnahs in every rak’a.

And its total in supererogatory prayer, which is 25 rak’as according to what we have shown about the supererogatory prayers performed per day and night, reaches 175 applied sunnahs in the supererogatory rak’as. these may increase through qiyam (night prayers) and ad-dhuha (noon prayer), and thus, you apply these sunnahs more and more.

· As for the verbal sunnahs, which do not repeat in prayer except once, these are:
1- opening du’aa.
2- supplication after the last tashahud.
their total in obligatory prayers is 10 sunnahs.

* as for their total in supererogatory prayers performed per day and night and in which these two sunnahs repeat, it reaches 24 sunnahs and may increase through qiyam (night prayers), ad-dhuha (noon prayer) or tahhiyat al-masjed (mosque salutation), thus, one applies these sunnahs more and more, though they do not repeat in a prayer except once, he acquires more reward and becomes more adherent to the sunnah.

Sitting after the Prayer

Sitting after the Prayer

"the prophet -peace be upon him- used to sit in his praying corner after the dawn prayer till the sun rises". narrated by muslim

The Sunnah of Al Fajr Prayers

The Sunnah of Al Fajr Prayers

1- Short prayer: aisha (may allah be pleased with her) narrated that : "the prophet (pbuh) used to pray two light short rak'as between the athan (prayer call) and the start of the fajr prayer" (agreed upon as a correct narrative)

2- Recitation : in the first rak'a the prophet (pbuh) recited :"say (o muslims), "we have believed in allah, and whatever has been sent down to us, and whatever was sent down to ibrahîm, and shuaayb, and ishaq and yaaqûb (abraham, ishmael, isaac and jacob, respectively) and the grandsons, (i.e., the tribes) and whatever was brought down to mûsa and isa, (moses and jesus, respectively) and whatever was brought to the prophets from their lord. we make no distinction between any of them, and to him we are muslims."( al baqara :136)

and in the second rak'a he (pbuh) recited: "so, as soon as isa (jesus) perceived disbelief among them, he said, "who are my ready vindicators to allah?" (i.e., in the cause of allah) the disciples said, " we are the ready vindicators to allah; we have believed in allah, and bear (you) witness that we are muslims." (aal imran: 52)

and in another narrative he (pbuh) recited:"say, "o population of the book, (or: family of the book, i.e., the jews and christians) come to a level word between us and you, that we worship none except allah, and that we do not associate anything with him, and that some of us do not take to themselves others (literally: some "others") as lords, apart from allah." so, in case they turn away, then say, "bear witness that we are muslims." (literally: we have surrendered "to allah")."

(aal- imran: 64) (narrated by imam muslim)

3- Lying down: al bukhari narrated that the prophet (pbuh) used to lie down for a while on his right side after the sunnah of the fajr prayer.

so if you pray the sunnah of fajr at home, lie down on your right side for a few minutes to be a follower of sunnah.

The Sunnahs of Witr Prayer

The Sunnahs of Witr Prayer

(Witr prayer means ending the prayer at night with an odd number of raka's)

1-It is sunnah, for the one who wishes to end the prayer at night with three wetr raka's, to read after al-fateha :

suraht al a'laa no. 87{( sabbiĥi asma rabbika al-'a`lá) in the first raka,
surat al kafirun no.109 {( qul yā 'ayyuhā al-kāfirūna) in the second raka, and surat al ikhlaas no 112{( qul huwa allāhu 'aĥadun) in the third raka, as narrated by abu dawood, at termithi and ibn majah.

2- it is sunnah to say, after finishing the wetr prayer: (-subhaanal-malikil-quddoosi- i.e. glory is to the king, the holy), three times. at the third time, as narrated by ad-dar qotni, it is sunnah to raise and extend his voice and say: (-rabbil-malaa'ikati warroohi- i.e. lord of the angels and the spirit), authenticated by al-arna'out, and it was narrated by abu dawood and an-nasa'ei.

The Sunnahs of Praying at Night

The prophet – peace be upon him – said: (the best time for fasting after ramadan is the month of moharram, and the best prayer after performing obligatory ones is the night prayer), narrated by muslim.

1-The best number (of raka's) for praying at night is eleven raka's (bows) or thirteen ones along the night because it is narrated that: (the prophet – peace be upon him – was praying eleven raka's – bows – (at night) and that was his usual prayer), narrated by al-bukhari.

in another narration, it is mentioned: (he was praying thirteen raka's …), narrated by al-bukhari.

2- It is sunnah when praying at night to use sewak and reciting the last verses of ali-imran from: {( 'inna fī khalqi as-samāwāti wa al-'arđi wa akhtilāfi al-layli wa an-nahāri la'āyātin li'wlī al-'albābi) i.e. (indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding)} (aal-imran: 190) until finishing this sura.

3- It is sunnah also to say the supplications of the prophet – peace be upon him – such as: (o allah, praise is to you. you are the light of the heavens and the earth and all that they contain. praise is to you, you are the sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all they contain. praise is to you, you are the king of the heavens and the earth. you are the truth, your promise is true, your audience is true, your word is true, paradise is true, hell is true, the prophets are true).

4- It is sunnah also to start the prayer at night with two light raka's in order to become active and get ready to the following prayers. the prophet – peace be upon him – said: (if you start praying at night, then start prayer with two light raka's). narrated by muslim.

5- It is sunnah also to start the prayer at night by saying the following prophetic supplication: (o allah, lord of jibrail, mikail and israfil, maker of the heavens and the earth. knower of the unseen and the seen. you judge between your slaves regarding that in which they differ. guide me to the truth regarding that in which there is difference, by your leave. surely, you guide whomever you please to the straight path). narrated by muslim.

6-It is sunnah also to prolong the prayer, because the prophet – peace be upon him – was asked: what is the best prayer? he said: (the longer). narrated by muslim. the meaning of "longer" is prolonging standing in prayer.

7- It is sunnah also to ask refuge in allah the almighty when you recite a verse speaking about punishment, by saying [i seek refuge in allah from the punishment of allah], and to ask the mercy of allah when you recite a verse speaking about mercy, by saying: [o allah, i ask for your favor], and to glorify allah when you recite a verse exalting allah the almighty.