What are the sunnah prayers before and after the obligatory prayers?

The twelve confirmed rak'ahs

Shaykh Ibn Baz رحمه الله sets them out as follows:

• Four before Dhuhr, prayed as two rak'ahs with a taslim, then two more.
• Two after Dhuhr.
• Two after Maghrib.
• Two after 'Isha.
• Two before Fajr.

That is twelve. The Prophet ﷺ kept to them when resident; when travelling he would leave them, except the two before Fajr, which he prayed both at home and on journey.

The reward attached to them is stated in a hadith narrated by Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها:

"Whoever prays twelve rak'ahs in his day and night, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise."— Sahih Muslim, from Umm Habibah

In another narration the twelve are spelled out: four before Dhuhr, two after it, two after Maghrib, two after 'Isha, and two before Fajr. Shaykh Ibn Baz notes that these are a sunnah mu'akkadah — a confirmed sunnah, not merely a permitted extra.

The non-emphasised sunnahs

Alongside the twelve, the scholars mention other regular prayers that are recommended but not of the same emphasised rank. IslamWeb lists them as:

• Four before 'Asr — the Prophet ﷺ said of them, "May Allah have mercy on a person who prays four rak'ahs before 'Asr."
• Two before Maghrib.
• Two before 'Isha.

Shaykh Ibn Baz adds that between every adhan and its iqamah there is a prayer, so if you have already prayed the rawatib and the adhan is then called, it is prescribed to pray two rak'ahs between the two calls.

The four after Dhuhr

The confirmed number after Dhuhr is two, but praying four is better. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Whoever prays four rak'ahs before Dhuhr and four after it, Allah will forbid him to the Fire."— Sunan al-Tirmidhi 428, from Umm Habibah

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen رحمه الله notes that if a person adds two to the two after Dhuhr, that is better, on the basis of this narration.

When each one is prayed

The timing of the before-prayers and after-prayers is not the same, and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen gives the weightier view:

So the four before Dhuhr begin at the adhan — from the sun's decline — and end when you stand for Dhuhr itself. The after-prayers begin once the obligatory prayer is complete and last until the time of that prayer expires.

If you miss the before-prayer

If the before-prayer is missed through your own negligence — you simply delayed it without excuse — it is not made up, and praying it afterwards does not benefit you, because a prayer tied to a fixed time does not count once that time has passed without excuse. But if it was missed for a valid reason, it is made up after the obligatory prayer.

Shaykh Ibn Baz gives the practical case: if you arrive at the mosque for Dhuhr and the prayer has already begun, you pray with the congregation, and after the prayer and its remembrances you pray the four before-prayer rak'ahs and then the two after-prayer rak'ahs. He cites a narration in al-Tirmidhi with a good chain that the Prophet ﷺ did this on some occasions.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen adds an ordering point: if you are making up both, begin with the two that come after the prayer, then pray the four that came before it, two rak'ahs at a time.

The sunnah of Jumu'ah

Jumu'ah has no fixed sunnah before it as Dhuhr does: whoever arrives early prays what he wishes until the imam comes out. After it, the Prophet ﷺ would pray two rak'ahs in his house, and he said:

"When one of you has prayed the Jumu'ah, let him pray four after it."— Sahih Muslim 881, from Abu Hurayrah

Al-Nawawi, in the Shafi'i school, held that there is also a sunnah before it.

Key takeaways

• The confirmed rawatib are twelve rak'ahs: four before Dhuhr, two after it, two after Maghrib, two after 'Isha, and two before Fajr.
• Four before 'Asr, two before Maghrib and two before 'Isha are recommended but not of the same emphasised rank.
• The before-prayer ends when the obligatory prayer begins; the after-prayer runs until the prayer time exits.
• A before-prayer missed without excuse is not made up; missed for a valid reason, it is prayed after the obligatory prayer.
• Praying four after Dhuhr instead of two carries the promise of protection from the Fire.

Further reading

• Fatawa Nur 'ala al-Darb — Ibn Baz
• Fatawa Arkan al-Islam — Ibn 'Uthaymeen

And Allah knows best.