Fatwa ID: 08137

Answered by: Alimah Aisha Qureshi

Question:

As-salāmu ʿalaykum, I have a question. Please address this without any madhhab bias.

I want to know, in the Hanafi madhhab, what does the Zāhir al-Riwāyah state about the Sunnah Mu’akkadah prayers? What were the opinions of the Ṣāḥibayn on Sunnah Mu’akkadah prayers? I have not seen this question asked anywhere. I heard Imām Shaybānī did not even consider missing the Witr as sinful. Please confirm.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

The Zāhir al-Riwāyah in the Hanafi madhhab states that the strongest Sunnahs are the 2 Sunnah before Fajr, then the 2 after Maghrib Ṣalāh, then the 2 after Ẓuhr, then those after ʿIshāʾ, then those before Ẓuhr, and so on.

The Sunnah of Fajr is the strongest and should not be missed.

References:

سُنَّ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ وَبَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَالْعِشَاءِ رَكْعَتَانِ وَقَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ وَالْجُمُعَةِ وَبَعْدَهَا أَرْبَعٌ. كَذَا فِي الْمُتُونِ وَالْأَرْبَعُ بِتَسْلِيمَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ عِنْدَنَا، حَتَّى لَوْ صَلَّاهَا بِتَسْلِيمَتَيْنِ لَا يُعْتَدُّ بِهِ عَنْ السُّنَّةِ.

أَقْوَى السُّنَنِ رَكْعَتَا الْفَجْرِ، ثُمَّ سُنَّةُ الْمَغْرِبِ، ثُمَّ الَّتِي بَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ، ثُمَّ الَّتِي بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ، ثُمَّ الَّتِي قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ. كَذَا فِي التَّبْيِينِ. قَالَ مَشَايِخُنَا: الْعَالِمُ إِذَا صَارَ مَرْجِعًا فِي الْفَتْوَى يَجُوزُ لَهُ تَرْكُ سَائِرِ السُّنَنِ لِحَاجَةِ النَّاسِ إِلَى فَتْوَاهُ إِلَّا سُنَّةَ الْفَجْرِ. كَذَا فِي النِّهَايَةِ.

Fatāwā Hindiyyah, vol. 1, pg. 112, Maktaba Shamila

((من ثابر على ثنتي عشرة رتعة في اليوم واليلة بني الله له بيتا في الجنة))
Fatḥ al-Qadīr, vol. 1, pg. 458, Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah – Beirut

Only Allah knows best.

Written by: Alimah Aisha Qureshi
Checked and approved by: Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham