Chapter on Voluntary Prayer

His statement, “Voluntary Prayer”: this is an annexation of a thing to its type, since prayer is a genus comprising various types. Thus, voluntary prayer means prayer that is performed voluntarily—that is, a supererogatory prayer.

The term voluntary action may be used for the performance of an act of obedience in an unrestricted sense, and thus includes even obligatory acts. Allah says:

“Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs Hajj of the House or performs ʿumrah—there is no blame upon him for going between them. And whoever volunteers good, then indeed Allah is All-Appreciative, All-Knowing.” [al-Baqarah]

Yet going between them is a pillar of both Hajj and ʿumrah.

It is also used in the particular sense employed by the jurists, referring to every act of obedience that is not obligatory. Part of Allah’s wisdom and mercy towards His servants is that He has legislated, alongside every obligatory act, a voluntary act of the same kind: so that the believer may increase in faith by performing this voluntary act, and so that the obligatory duties may thereby be completed on the Day of Resurrection. For obligatory duties are liable to deficiency, and they are completed by these voluntary acts of the same kind. Thus, ablution has obligatory and voluntary forms; prayer has obligatory and voluntary forms; charity has obligatory and voluntary forms; fasting has obligatory and voluntary forms; Hajj has obligatory and voluntary forms; jihad has obligatory and voluntary forms; and knowledge has obligatory and voluntary forms; and so on.

Voluntary prayers are of various types:

Some are legislated to be performed in congregation, while others are not legislated to be performed in congregation.

Some are connected to the obligatory prayers, while others are not connected to them.