Such is Allah’s gracious favor to you: every single day each limb of your body asks you for a charity. Yet that charity need not be money. Anything that draws you nearer to Allah—an utterance, an action, a monetary gift, or any other good deed—counts as charity. Every tasbīḥah (saying “Subḥānallāh”), every taḥmīdah (saying “Al-ḥamdu lillāh”), every tahlīlah (saying “Lā ilāha illā Allāh”), and every takbīrah (saying “Allāhu akbar”) is a charity; enjoining right is a charity, and forbidding wrong is a charity. In short, whatever brings a person closer to Allah is an act of charity. With deeds like these it becomes easy to fulfill the three hundred and sixty charities owed each day.

The Prophet then said: “It is sufficient in place of all that to pray two rakʿahs in the Duḥā period.” What a magnificent blessing: instead of paying a separate charity on behalf of every limb, it is enough for you to offer two units of Duḥā prayer.

This shows that one should observe those two rakʿahs of Duḥā consistently, whether resident or travelling.

Is there a prescribed number for this prayer? The minimum is two rakʿahs, and as for its maximum, it is whatever Allah wills. Were you to spend the entire Duḥā time in prayer, you would be doing well. ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “The Prophet ﷺ used to pray four rakʿahs during Duḥā and would add to that whatever Allah willed,” without specifying an upper limit.

Some have claimed that the most one may pray is eight rakʿahs, but this is open to question. The report from Umm Hāniʾ during the Conquest of Mecca, stating that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed eight rakʿahs, does not prove that eight is the ceiling; it merely records what happened on that particular occasion, and a single occurrence does not establish a restriction.

Accordingly, we say: the minimum is two rakʿahs and there is no maximum—pray as much as you wish. The Prophet ﷺ commonly prayed four, and at times he prayed eight. A person, therefore, should seize his lifetime with righteous deeds, for when death arrives he will regret the time that has slipped away