Why do we need to read Subhanaka supplication when we stand up for the third rak’ah after the first sitting when we perform the sunnah prayers of the afternoon (asr) and night (isha) prayers?
Dear Brother / Sister,
Sunnah prayers are divided into two as muakkadah and ghayr muakkadah.
Sunnahs that are muakkadah are as follows: Some of the sunnah prayers that are performed connected with five daily prayers and Friday prayer are sunnah muakkadah. These sunnahs are determined as follows: in a hadith:
"Whoever prays twelve rak'ahs during the day and night, apart from the fard prayers, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. They are the following prayers: Two rak’ahs before the morning (fajr) prayer, four rak’ahs before and two rak’ahs after the noon (zuhr) prayer, two rak’ahs after the evening (maghrib) prayer and two rak’ahs after the night (isha) prayer." (Tirmidhi; Salat, 189; Nasai, Qiyamul-Layl, 66; Ibn Majah, Iqamah, 100)
While performing four-rak’ah sunnah muakkadah prayers, we stand up after reading only at-Tahiyyat in the first sitting and start the third rak’ah with basmala and al-Fatiha without reading Subhanaka.
Sunnahs that are muakkadah: They are the sunnah prayers that Hz. Prophet (pbuh) did not perform regularly and that sometimes skipped; they are also called mandub. They are as follows: 1. The four-rak’ah sunnah prayer performed with one salutation before the afternoon prayer. The Messenger of Allah stated the following about this prayer:
"May Allah show mercy to a person who performs four rak’ahs before the afternoon prayer!" (Tirmidhi, Salat, 301)
2. The four-rak’ah sunnah prayer performed before the night prayer. The following was reported from Hz. Aisha:
"Hz. Prophet performedfour rak’ahs before the night prayer." (Zaylai, II/145 ff.; ash-Shawkani, III/18)
When the nafilah prayers like awwabin, tasbih and tarawih prayers that can be performed as two rak’ahs or four rak’ahs like these two sunnah prayers are performed as four rak’ahs, Allahumma salli and barik supplications are read after at-Tahiyyat in the first sitting; when we stand up for the third rak’ah, we start with Subhanaka and audhu basmala; then, we read the chapter of al-Fatiha.
The reason why Subhanaka is read in the third rak’ah of these prayers is that they aresunnah ghayr muakkadah. It is not necessary to perform them again as qada if we salute after the second rak’ah. However, if we salute after the second rak’ah of the Sunnah of the noon prayer, we have to perform it again.
Questions on Islam
- Is it permissible to perform the sunnah prayers of the afternoon and night prayers as two rak’ahs?
- Is it permissible to perform only the fards of the daily prayers and to abandon the sunnahs?
- What are the hadiths related to sunnah/nafilah prayers and their virtues?
- Are sunnah prayers to be performed as two rak’ahs?
- Are the last sunnahs of the noon, evening and night prayers, which are sunnah muakkadah, be performed as four rak’ahs? Is there a hadith about it?
- Is it permissible for a person who is performing a fard or sunnah prayer individually to stop performing that prayer in order to catch up with the congregation?
- Why do we read Salli and Barik supplications in the first sitting of the first sunnah prayers of the afternoon and night prayers?
- If a musafir (traveler) who follows an imam who is a resident exits prayer by saluting after the second rak’ah though he has to perform four rak’ahs, is his prayer valid?
- What should a person who forgets the number of rak’ahs he has performed or who makes a mistake about rak’ahs do?
- Why do we read salli-barik prayers in the first sitting of the first sunnah of the afternoon and night salahs? In case of forgetting to read them, do we have to make sajda as-sahw?
