It is said that it is sunnah to abandon the sunnah of the afternoon prayer deliberately; is it true?
Submitted by on Tue, 03/06/2025 - 15:16
Dear Brother / Sister,
The Prophet (pbuh) sometimes abandoned the sunnah of the afternoon prayer.
The life of the Prophet (pbuh) is a model for us. The Companions followed him and tried to do whatever he did. However, the Prophet (pbuh) sometimes abandoned something that he did so that it would not be thought as fard.
As a matter of fact, he addressed the people who waited in the mosque until the morning in order to perform tarawih prayer with him as follows:
“I did not lead tarawih prayer so that it would not be thought as fard.” (Bukhari, Salatut-Tarawih 2; Muslim, Salatul-Musafirin 178)
He sometimes abandoned the deeds of worship that were not fard since all of his deeds were regarded as a model. Thus, the Companions understood that it was not fard, that they would get a lot of rewards if they did it and that it would not be haram if they did not do it.
Since we do not have the quality of serving as a model, why should we abandon that prayer? However, those who do not perform it are deprived of its thawab only.
If we want to imitate his deeds, we should imitate him by crying in prostration and wetting the prayer mat with tears and by performing prayers so much as to swell our feet.
If we imitate all of his deeds and serve as a model for all of his sunnahs, we can sometimes abandon the sunnah of the afternoon prayer. Otherwise, we think it is necessary to perform all sunnah prayers in this age, when hundreds of sunnahs are abandoned, with the understanding and intention that they will serve as atonement for the sunnahs that are abandoned.
Questions on Islam
- Is it sunnah to abandon the first sunnah prayers of the afternoon and night (isha) prayers?
- Is it permissible not to perform the sunnah prayers? We are sometimes very tired. They say the Prophet (pbuh) sometimes abandoned the sunnahs of the afternoon and night prayers. Is it true? How often did he abandon them?
- What is Sunnah?
- Tarawih Prayer
- What is the importance of sunnah prayers? Is it enough to perform only fard prayers?
- It is said that the Prophet (pbuh) prayed only eight rak’ahs of tarawih. Why do we pray twenty rak’ahs?
- 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?
- What are the hadiths related to sunnah/nafilah prayers and their virtues?
- How many rak’ahs did the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) perform the sunnah of the afternoon prayer as?
- Is a prayer that is performed before adhan is called (a little while before its time starts) accepted?