Nafl Prayer: What It Is and Its Virtues in Authentic Hadith
Contents
The five daily prayers are the duty. Nafl prayer is everything you pray on top of them, by choice. It sounds like an optional extra, but the authentic hadith describe it as the way a servant draws closer to Allah until Allah loves him, and as the prayer that fills the gaps in our obligatory prayers on the Day of Judgment. Here is what the hadith say, and a list of the nafl prayers we have covered.
At a glance
- Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 6502
- Narrated by: Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Grade: Sahih (Bukhari)
- Topic: What nafl prayer is, its virtues, and the main nafl prayers
- Practise it: Choose one nafl prayer from the list below and pray it today
The hadith: drawing near with nafl
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَالَ مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْحَرْبِ، وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ عَبْدِي بِشَىْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَىَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَىَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ، فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ، وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ، وَيَدَهُ الَّتِي يَبْطُشُ بِهَا وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِي يَمْشِي بِهَا، وَإِنْ سَأَلَنِي لأُعْطِيَنَّهُ، وَلَئِنِ اسْتَعَاذَنِي لأُعِيذَنَّهُ، وَمَا تَرَدَّدْتُ عَنْ شَىْءٍ أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ تَرَدُّدِي عَنْ نَفْسِ الْمُؤْمِنِ، يَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ وَأَنَا أَكْرَهُ مَسَاءَتَهُ
“Whoever shows hostility to a friend (wali) of Mine, I have declared war on him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. And My servant keeps drawing near to Me with voluntary deeds until I love him. When I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My refuge, I will surely protect him. I do not hesitate about anything I do as I hesitate about taking the soul of the believer: he hates death, and I hate to hurt him.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6502 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
This is a hadith qudsi, and it is Hadith 38 of an-Nawawi’s forty. We look at it in full in the friend of Allah hadith.
What nafl prayer means
In Arabic, nafl (plural nawafil) means something extra, beyond what is required. A nafl prayer is any prayer that is not one of the five obligatory prayers.
The Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths (HadeethEnc) explains the order in this hadith: the most beloved way to draw near to Allah is the obligatory deeds, doing what He commanded and leaving what He forbade, and voluntary deeds done on top of them lead a person to Allah’s love. Among its benefits, it lists that voluntary worship after the obligations is a path to Allah’s love and to having one’s prayers answered.
Reflection: the order matters. Nafl is not a replacement for the five prayers; it is what you build on top of them. A person who keeps the five and adds even two rak‘ahs a day is walking the path this hadith describes.
Nafl makes up what is missing
Abu Hurairah also reported that the first deed people will be asked about on the Day of Judgment is their prayer:
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ النَّاسُ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمُ الصَّلاَةُ قَالَ يَقُولُ رَبُّنَا جَلَّ وَعَزَّ لِمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ انْظُرُوا فِي صَلاَةِ عَبْدِي أَتَمَّهَا أَمْ نَقَصَهَا فَإِنْ كَانَتْ تَامَّةً كُتِبَتْ لَهُ تَامَّةً وَإِنْ كَانَ انْتَقَصَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا قَالَ انْظُرُوا هَلْ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ تَطَوُّعٌ قَالَ أَتِمُّوا لِعَبْدِي فَرِيضَتَهُ مِنْ تَطَوُّعِهِ ثُمَّ تُؤْخَذُ الأَعْمَالُ عَلَى ذَاكُمْ
“The first of their deeds that people will be called to account for on the Day of Resurrection is the prayer. Our Lord, Glorified and Exalted, will say to His angels, though He knows best: ‘Look at the prayer of My servant: did he complete it or fall short in it?’ If it is complete, it will be recorded as complete. If he fell short in any of it, He will say: ‘Look: does My servant have any voluntary prayer?’ If he has voluntary prayer, He will say: ‘Complete My servant’s obligatory prayer from his voluntary prayer.’ Then the rest of the deeds will be taken in the same way.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 864 · Sahih (al-Albani) · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Few of us pray every obligatory prayer with full focus. This hadith gives hope: the nafl we pray now can make up for what was lacking. Our article on the importance of salah covers the first question of the Day of Judgment in more detail.
Pray your nafl at home
Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that people gathered to follow the Prophet ﷺ in a night prayer in the mosque. He held back from coming out to them, then told them:
فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالصَّلاَةِ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ صَلاَةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلاَّ الصَّلاَةَ الْمَكْتُوبَةَ
“So pray in your houses, for the best prayer of a person is in his house, except the obligatory prayer.”
Sahih Muslim 781 · Narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
The obligatory prayers have their place in the masjid, but the hadith points nafl towards the home. It keeps a house alive with prayer, and the children in it see it.
The best nafl after the obligatory
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
أَفْضَلُ الصِّيَامِ بَعْدَ رَمَضَانَ شَهْرُ اللَّهِ الْمُحَرَّمُ وَأَفْضَلُ الصَّلاَةِ بَعْدَ الْفَرِيضَةِ صَلاَةُ اللَّيْلِ
“The best fasting after Ramadan is Allah’s month of Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.”
Sahih Muslim 1163 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Of all the voluntary prayers, the night prayer is named the best. Our tahajjud hadith article covers it, and witr closes it.
Nafl prayers list
These are the nafl prayers we have covered so far, each with its authentic hadith:
- Sunnah prayers: the 12 rak‘ahs before and after the five prayers
- Sunnah of Fajr: the two rak‘ahs better than the world
- Duha prayer: the mid-morning prayer, charity for every joint
- Tahajjud: the night prayer, the best nafl
- Witr: the odd-numbered prayer that ends the night
- Istikhara: two rak‘ahs and a dua before a decision
- Tahiyyatul masjid: two rak‘ahs when you enter the mosque
- Prayer after wudu: Bilal’s habit after every wudu
- Tawbah prayer: two rak‘ahs and seeking forgiveness after a sin
All of them are gathered with the rest of our salah articles on the Salah series page.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between nafl and sunnah prayers?
The words are often used loosely. On this site, “sunnah prayers” means the voluntary prayers the Prophet ﷺ kept up regularly around the five daily prayers, such as the 12 rak‘ahs, and “nafl” means any voluntary prayer, including those.
How many rak‘ahs is a nafl prayer?
Most nafl prayers in the hadith are prayed two rak‘ahs at a time, but the number depends on the prayer. Each article in the list above gives what its hadith say.
Can I pray nafl after Fajr or after Asr?
Scholars differ on which voluntary prayers may be prayed after Fajr and after Asr, especially prayers with a reason such as tahiyyatul masjid. Ask a qualified local scholar.
Is there a set intention (niyyah) to say for nafl prayer?
No authentic hadith gives set words to say for the intention of a nafl prayer. You simply intend in your heart which prayer you are praying.
Key lessons
- The obligatory prayers come first; nafl is built on top of them.
- Voluntary deeds lead a servant to Allah’s love (Bukhari 6502).
- Nafl can make up what was missing in the obligatory prayers (Abu Dawud 864).
- The best place for nafl is the home, and the best nafl is the night prayer.
- Start small: one nafl prayer, kept up, is better than many left after a week.
Part of our Salah series: see all our salah articles in one place.
Pick one prayer from the list and give it a week. Allah’s love is the reward the hadith names, and it starts with a single step.
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