بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
The first way to draw near to Allah is through the obligatory, fardh, duties that we have. For those who have managed it to some extent by praying the five daily prayers, the way to truly earn the love of Allah and be among His most faithful slaves is the supererogatory deeds, the naafil, mustahabb and Sunnah deeds to truly earn His love.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said in a very famous narration, Allah says, “Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My slave draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful slave: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” [Bukhari]
While praying Tahajjud in the middle of the night might be very tough for many, it is very much easier to start the journey to Tahajjud and Qiyam al-Layl, by starting with the much easier Duha prayer.
Duha prayer is a prayer that can be performed from the time of sunrise to before midday. There are two separate prayers for Duha. The first prayer is known as the Ishraq prayer, the time of which begins after the sun rises up until it is above the horizon by the length of a spear and it ends at mid-morning. This prayer is also known as the minor Duha prayer. The second prayer is known as the Duha prayer, and its time also begins when the sun has risen to a spear’s length above the horizon, and it ends at zenith, although the preferred time to offer this prayer is at mid-morning (i.e. midway between sunrise and zenith). This prayer is also known as the major Duha prayer.
By performing this prayer early on when the sun has risen to a spear’s length, one will gain extra rewards, and by offering it later on, one will still be considered to have offered the Duha prayer. For this very reason, we see many saintly people making an effort to offer the Duha (or Ishraq) prayer immediately after the sun has risen to a spear’s length.
It is a superogatory prayer, and can be a minimum of two rak'ats to a maximum of eight or twelve rak'ats (scholars differ as to the maximum amount). Some narrations which mention the practice of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) are as follows,
A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) would offer four rakats at the time of Duha, and increase on it whatever Allah wished. [Muslim]
Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I went to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) on the day of the conquest of Makkah. He was taking a bath at that time. When he finished the bath, he performed eight rakat prayers. This was during the Duha (forenoon). [Bukhari and Muslim]
It is mentioned by Imam al-Haskafi (and confirmed by Imam Ibn Abidin) that while its minimum is two rak'ats, the minimum optimal amount is four rak'ats, as this was the general practice of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace). (See: Radd al-Muhtar, 2/22-23)
The greatest of hadith narrators, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) was given some specific advice by the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace): He said, “My Khalil (very close friend, meaning the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wassallam) directed me to fast three days of each month, and to observe two rak'ats Duha at forenoon, and to perform the Witr prayer before going to bed.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
It is very easy to pray 2 rak'ats or 4 rak'ats of prayer in the morning. Just before going to work or school, just take a few minutes to pray and cultivate this habit which will be very beneficial for us in this world and the hereafter inshaa Allah.
There are many Hadiths which encourage us to offer the Duha prayer.
1- Duha prayer allows us to complete all our charitable duties for that day that are incumbent upon us.
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "In the morning, charity is due on every joint bone of the body of everyone of you. Every utterance of Allah's Glorification (i.e., saying Subhan Allah) is an act of charity, and every utterance of His Praise (i.e., saying Al-hamdu lillah) is an act of charity and every utterance of declaration of His Greatness (i.e., saying La ilaha illAllah) is an act of charity; and enjoining M'aruf (good) is an act of charity, and forbidding Munkar (evil) is an act of charity, and two rak'ah Duha prayers which one performs in the forenoon is equal to all this (in reward)."[Muslim]
2- Allah promises to suffice us on every day that we pray four rak'ats to begin our day.
Nu`aym ibn Hammar (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) say, “Allah Most High says: O child of Adam, don’t fail to perform four rak'ats in the beginning of your day, and I shall be your sufficiency at its end.” [Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi]
3- Sins are Forgiven
Another narration from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever consistently performs two rak'ats of Duha, their sins are forgiven, even if like the foam of the sea.” [Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi]
May Allah make us of those who are consistent in praying Duha. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best.
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