Chapter: On Voluntary Prayer
Know that your Lord—glorified and exalted—is, alongside the obligatory prayers, pleased to let you draw near to Him through supererogatory prayers. After jihad in the path of Allah and the pursuit of knowledge, voluntary prayer is one of the finest acts of devotion, for the Prophet constantly sought closeness to his Lord by means of such extra prayers. He said: “Remain upright, though you will never be able to count everything, and know that the best of your deeds is prayer.”
Prayer itself gathers many types of worship: recitation, bowing, prostration, supplication, humility, submission, intimate discourse with the Lord, takbīr (proclaiming ‘Allahu akbar’), tasbīḥ (saying ‘Subḥān Allah’), and sending blessings upon the Prophet.
Voluntary prayers fall into two categories:
- Prayers fixed to specific times; these are called the restricted nawāfil (supererogatory prayers tied to set times).