The scholars have said: It is preferable to shift for the voluntary prayer to a spot different from that of the obligatory prayer. Doing so multiplies the places of prostration so that both locations will bear witness for him. Abu Dāwūd transmitted (1006) a marfūʿ report from Abū Hurayrah: “Is any one of you incapable, when he prays, of stepping forward, backward, to his right, or to his left?”—meaning for the supererogatory prayer. Abu Dāwūd was silent about this narration, and whatever he is silent about he considers sound. Al-Bukhārī, in his Ṣaḥīḥ, cites Abū Hurayrah attributing to the Prophet ﷺ the words: “The imam is not to perform voluntary prayers in the very spot where he led the obligatory prayer.”

5. Shaykh al-Islām said: The sunnah is to place a separation between the obligatory and the voluntary prayers, for Jumuʿah and all others, as is authentically established from the Prophet ﷺ. One must not do what many people do—joining the salām directly to the two-rakʿah sunnah—for this contravenes his ﷺ prohibition. The wisdom lies in distinguishing the obligatory from the supererogatory, just as worship is distinguished from all other actions.

6. Performing voluntary prayers at home carries many benefits: it illumines the house with prayer and the remembrance of Allah; it fulfills the Prophet’s ﷺ instruction and follows his practice; it is further removed from ostentation; and it accustoms children and dependents to the prayer, so that the one who prays becomes a righteous example for them.