The fard part of the five daily prayers is 17 rakats: Fajr 2, Dhuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3 and Isha 4. The 3-rakat Witr prayer and the sunnah prayers offered around the fard come on top of that. The table below follows the Hanafi arrangement used in Turkey. Where the Shafi'i school differs, the page says so.
The daily rakat table
| Prayer | Sunnah before | Fard | Sunnah after | Witr | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | 2 | none | none | 4 |
| Dhuhr | 4 | 4 | 2 | none | 10 |
| Asr | 4 | 4 | none | none | 8 |
| Maghrib | none | 3 | 2 | none | 5 |
| Isha | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Total | 14 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 40 |
A rakat (also written rak'ah) is one full cycle of standing and reciting, bowing, and two prostrations. Sunnah prayers are offered before and after the fard; at Maghrib the sunnah comes only after the fard.
— Source (Turkish): Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, Namaz İlmihali, the sections on the five daily prayers and the rawatib sunnahs; TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Rek'at"Fard, wajib and sunnah: what each rakat counts as
The 40 rakats fall into four groups:
- Fard, 17 rakats: Fajr 2, Dhuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3, Isha 4. A fard prayer that was missed at its time is made up later (qada).
- Wajib, 3 rakats: In the Hanafi school Witr is wajib, meaning required, though with less certainty than fard.
- Emphasized sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah), 12 rakats: 2 before Fajr, 4 before Dhuhr, 2 after Dhuhr, 2 after Maghrib, 2 after Isha. These are the sunnahs the Prophet kept up constantly, leaving them only occasionally to show they are not binding.
- Non-emphasized sunnah (ghayr mu'akkadah), 8 rakats: 4 before Asr and 4 before Isha. The Prophet prayed these sometimes and left them at other times.
The Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs says that leaving an emphasized sunnah without an excuse is not right, but it does not incur punishment. The non-emphasized sunnahs may be left from time to time even without an excuse.
— Source (Turkish): High Council of Religious Affairs, on leaving the sunnahs of the daily prayers; Namaz İlmihali, "Rawatib sunnahs" and "Wajibs of the prayer"How many rakats is Witr?
Witr is 3 rakats, prayed after Isha. As in Maghrib, one sits after the second rakat and stands for the third, and the prayer closes with a single salam. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the preferred Hanafi view is that Witr is wajib; the majority of jurists consider it an emphasized sunnah. For the Qunut supplication and the full method, see our how to pray Witr guide.
— Source (Turkish): TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Vitir Namazı"Where do the schools differ?
The number of fard rakats is the same. The differences are in the sunnahs and Witr:
- Before Dhuhr: The Hanafis pray 4 rakats of emphasized sunnah. In the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools the sunnah before Dhuhr is 2 rakats.
- Before Isha: The Hanafis pray 4 rakats of non-emphasized sunnah. According to the Shafi'is and Hanbalis there is no non-emphasized sunnah before Isha.
- Before Maghrib: In the Hanafi school it is makruh to pray a voluntary prayer once the Maghrib time has entered and before the fard. The Shafi'is consider 2 rakats before the fard recommended.
- Witr: Wajib for the Hanafis; an emphasized sunnah for the majority.
- Friday prayer: The number of sunnah rakats is disputed. See how many rakats is the Friday prayer.
Travel and Friday
A person who counts as a traveler in the religious sense prays the four-rakat fard prayers as two rakats. In the Hanafi school praying two is required; in the Shafi'i school it is a concession. A traveler may skip the sunnah prayers and is not obliged to pray the Friday and Eid prayers.
On Friday the Friday prayer replaces Dhuhr: 4 rakats of sunnah, 2 rakats of fard and 4 rakats of sunnah, 10 rakats in all.
— Source (Turkish): Namaz İlmihali, "Prayer while traveling" and "Friday prayer"Guides for each prayer
- Fajr: why its sunnah is stressed, joining the congregation, what happens if the sun rises.
- Dhuhr: how the first sunnah differs, delaying it in the heat.
- Asr: the middle prayer, the time and the yellowing sun.
- Maghrib: the three-rakat fard and the Awwabin prayer.
- Isha: the order of sunnah, fard and Witr.
- Friday prayer: 10 rakats and the place of the khutbah.
- Surahs recited in prayer: what to recite after al-Fatihah.
To learn the whole prayer step by step, read how to perform Salah; for missed prayers, how to make up missed prayers. Daily times are on the prayer times page.
Sources
- Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, Namaz İlmihali (Karagöz, Altuntaş), Ankara 2011 (Turkish): PDF
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Rek'at" (Turkish): islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/rekat
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Vitir Namazı" (Turkish): islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/vitir-namazi
- High Council of Religious Affairs, on the sunnahs of the daily prayers (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
