Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who said: “I memorized from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ten rak‘ahs,” (1) and he mentioned them.

This is one of the two opinions on the issue.

The second opinion is that the regular sunnah prayers are twelve rak‘ahs, based on what is established in Sahih al-Bukhari from the hadith of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: “The Prophet ﷺ would never omit four rak‘ahs before Zuhr.” (2) It is likewise authentically reported from him ﷺ that “whoever performs twelve rak‘ahs apart from the obligatory prayer, Allah will build for him thereby a house in Paradise.” (3) Among them he mentioned “four before Zuhr,” (4) while the remainder are as previously stated.

Accordingly, the correct view is that the regular sunnah prayers are twelve rak‘ahs: two before Fajr; four before Zuhr, performed with two salutations; two after it; two after Maghrib; and two after Isha.

The benefit of these regular sunnah prayers is that they make up for deficiencies that occur in these obligatory prayers.

And two rak‘ahs after Fajr, and these are the most emphatically confirmed of them, ………

His statement, “and two rak‘ahs before Fajr, and these are the most emphatically confirmed of them,” means: the most emphatically confirmed of these regular sunnah prayers.