What does the sunnah of the time of two rak’ahs performed after Friday prayer mean? We pray four rak’ahs of the last sunnah after the fard of Friday prayer anyway.
Dear Brother / Sister,
Friday prayer, which is fard for only men, is a prayer that is performed in the time period for the noon prayer on Friday and in congregation. For, delivering a sermon, which is one of the conditions of Friday prayer, can take place only with the formation of a congregation.
The first sunnah of four rak’ahs is performed before Friday prayer; it is like the Sunnah of the noon prayer. Only the intention is uttered differently: "I intend to perform the first sunnah of the Friday prayer for Allah's sake and turn to the qiblah." When the first sunnah ends, the imam delivers a khutbah (sermon). It is necessary to listen to the sermon silently without moving much. When the sermon ends, everybody stands up to perform the fard of the Friday prayer behind the imam. The intention for it is uttered as follows: "I intend to perform the fard of the Friday prayer for Allah's sake, turn to the qiblah and follow the imam." After the two-rak'ah fard of Friday prayer is performed, the last sunnah of Friday prayer is performed. It is performed as four rak'ahs just like the first sunnah. Thus, “the ten-rak'ah Friday prayer” ends. He who wishes and has some work to do can leave after saying dua (supplication).
In ilm al-hal (catechism) books, two more prayers are described: a four-rak'ah prayer called "zuhr al-akhir" (the last noon prayer that is missed) and a two-rak'ah prayer called "the last sunnah of the time". The reason why these two prayers that were not performed during the era of the Prophet (pbuh) were added later is the fact that the Friday prayer used to be performed in the greatest mosque of every city or town in the first years of Islam but it became impossible to do so when the Islamic state expanded and the cities got bigger. Therefore, Islamic scholars added the fard and last sunnah of the noon prayer to guarantee the performance of the noon prayer in case the Friday prayer was not accepted.
What is preferred is to utter the intention for the first prayer as follows: "I intend to perform the fard of the last noon prayer that I have not performed on time" and for the second prayer as follows: "I intend to perform the fard of the last morning prayer that I have not performed on time." Thus, it becomes possible to obey the consensus of the scholars and to perform one missed noon and one missed morning prayer.
Questions on Islam
- If a person cannot perform the first sunnah of the noon prayer before the fard prayer, which one should he perform after the fard first; the first sunnah or the last sunnah? What should be the order like?
- 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?
- 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?
- Is it permissible to perform only the fards of the daily prayers and to abandon the sunnahs?
- Can the places of the fard and sunnah prayers be changed? Is it permissible to perform the sunnah first and fard after that?
- Can the sunnah of the morning prayer be performed after the fard of the morning prayer?
- How many rak’ahs does Friday prayer consist of? Is it necessary to perform the Prayer of Zuhr al-Akhir after the last Sunnah of the Friday prayer?
- A short explanation about Friday prayer and sermon
- Is it permissible to perform the last sunnahs of the noon and night prayers as four rak’ahs?
- What are the hadiths related to sunnah/nafilah prayers and their virtues?
