and their prescribed litanies.
The Prophet—Allah knows best—would perform an act of worship in its fullest form whenever he was free, eager, and spiritually engaged. In situations of excuse he would lighten it, a divine mercy that allows the servants to carry out the act in accordance with the Sunnah and through the lawful mode in both circumstances.
5 – Imām Ibn al-Qayyim said: One of the Prophet’s ﷺ practices on a journey was to confine himself to the obligatory prayer; no report has been preserved showing that he prayed the regular sunnahs attached to it, either before or after, except for Witr and the two rakʿahs of Fajr, which he never abandoned whether resident or travelling. If the prayer is an unrestricted voluntary prayer, however, Imām Aḥmad was asked about it and replied, “I hope there is no harm in optional prayers.”
6 – Regarding the four rakʿahs before Zuhr and the four after it: whoever persists in them, Allah will forbid the Fire to touch him.
7 – Whoever keeps up these rawātib in general, Allah will build for him a palace in Paradise.
8 – The ʿAṣr prayer has no prescribed rawātib, neither before nor after it, although—as will be mentioned—it is recommended to pray four rakʿahs beforehand.
9 – These rawātib are recommended and strongly urged; one should be diligent in maintaining them.
10 – Some of these rawātib come before the obligatory prayer, preparing the worshipper’s soul for devotion before entering the fard, while others follow it. Perhaps, by Allah’s wisdom, the two rakʿahs of Fajr and the four of Zuhr are placed before their obligatory prayers because of the long interval since the previous salah; praying beforehand readies and attunes the soul for the forthcoming obligatory prayer—the greatest act of worship. Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, on the other hand, follow soon after the preceding prayer, so the worshipper is still fresh from worship.
11 – The rawātib yield immense benefits and weighty returns: they multiply good deeds, erase sins, elevate ranks, mend the gaps in the obligatory prayers, and compensate for their deficiencies; therefore