How to Pray Sunnah Prayers: Step-by-Step Guide

Sunnah prayers are the voluntary rakahs that sit either side of the five obligatory prayers. They are not required, and skipping one is not a sin — but the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed them so consistently that his wives and companions could list them from memory.

The core set is called Sunan ar-Rawatib, the "regular" Sunnah prayers. Twelve rakahs spread across the day, and in exchange, a house in Paradise.

What you'll learn:

• Exactly which Sunnah rakahs go with which prayer, and how many
• The step-by-step method, which is simpler than most people expect
• How the four madhabs differ on the counts
• The times you must not pray them, and the mistakes people make most

What Are Sunnah Prayers, and Why Pray Them?

A Sunnah prayer is any prayer the Prophet ﷺ prayed regularly outside the five obligatory ones. The strongest category is sunnah muakkadah (emphasized sunnah) — the ones he almost never left, even when traveling or unwell.

Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported the reward directly:

مَنْ ثَابَرَ عَلَى ثِنْتَيْ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً مِنَ السُّنَّةِ بَنَى اللَّهُ لَهُ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ

Man thabara ala thintay ashrata rak'atan mina-s-sunnati bana-llahu lahu baytan fi-l-jannah

"Whoever is regular with twelve rakahs of Sunnah prayer, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise." — Narrated by Muslim (Sahih Muslim 728)

There is a second, very practical reason. Voluntary prayers act as a safety net for the obligatory ones. Abu Hurairah reported that the first thing a person is called to account for on the Day of Resurrection is the prayer — and if the obligatory prayers fall short, Allah says to look at whether His servant has voluntary prayers, and the shortfall is made up from them (Narrated by Abu Dawud, 864, and at-Tirmidhi, 413).

Almost nobody prays every fard prayer with perfect focus. The Sunnah rakahs are the buffer.

Which Sunnah Prayers Go With Which Prayer?

Here is the full daily set, as the Prophet ﷺ described it in the narration of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), reported in Jami at-Tirmidhi 414:

The emphasized rakahs add up to twelve. The four before Asr are recommended but sit in the lighter ghayr muakkadah category, which is why they are not counted in the twelve.

One detail worth knowing: Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported ten rakahs rather than twelve, with two before Dhuhr instead of four (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 1180). Scholars reconcile the two reports by noting that the Prophet ﷺ prayed four at home and sometimes only two in the mosque, and that Ibn Umar witnessed the shorter version. Either count is sound practice — twelve is simply the fuller one.

Which two rakahs matter most?

If you can only manage one Sunnah prayer a day, make it the two before Fajr. Aishah reported the Prophet ﷺ saying:

رَكْعَتَا الْفَجْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا

Rak'ata-l-fajri khayrun mina-d-dunya wa ma fiha

"The two rakahs before Fajr are better than the world and everything in it." — Narrated by Muslim (Sahih Muslim 725)

He never left them, at home or on a journey. Pray them short and light, after the adhan for Fajr and before the obligatory prayer.

Before You Begin

Three things to settle first:

• You need wudu. Sunnah prayers carry the same purity conditions as the obligatory prayer. If you are unsure of your ablution, see our guide on how to perform wudu.
• You need to know the prayer time. A "before" Sunnah is prayed once the time for that prayer has entered, not before it. Check the current window with our free prayer times tool.
• No adhan, no iqamah. Sunnah prayers are personal. You do not call the adhan for them, and they are not prayed in congregation.

If the mechanics of a rakah are still new to you, read how to pray salah for beginners first — everything below assumes you know the basic cycle.

How to Pray Sunnah Prayers, Step by Step

The good news: a Sunnah prayer is identical in form to an obligatory prayer. The only thing that changes is your intention. Here is the full method for a standard two-rakah Sunnah.

Step 1 — Make the intention

The intention (niyyah) is in the heart, not on the tongue. Simply resolve internally that you are praying, for example, the two Sunnah rakahs before Fajr. You do not need to say anything aloud — the Prophet ﷺ never recited a spoken intention formula.

Common mistake: believing there is a special Arabic sentence you must pronounce first. There isn't.

Step 2 — Say the opening takbir

Raise your hands and say:

اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ

Allahu akbar

"Allah is the greatest."

Then place your hands as you normally do, and recite the opening supplication if that is your habit.

Step 3 — Recite Al-Fatihah and a short passage

Recite Surah Al-Fatihah, then a short passage of Quran. Keep Sunnah rakahs brief. Aishah described the Prophet's two rakahs before Fajr as so light that she wondered whether he had recited Al-Fatihah at all (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 1165). A short surah you already know well is enough.

Step 4 — Complete the rakah as normal

Bow (ruku), stand back up, then prostrate twice with the sitting between them. Nothing here differs from the obligatory prayer.

Step 5 — Second rakah, then tashahhud and salam

Stand for the second rakah and repeat. After the second prostration, sit for the tashahhud, send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ, and close with the salam to the right and left.

That's it. For the four rakahs before Dhuhr, the Shafii, Maliki, and Hanbali schools pray them as two separate sets of two with a salam between. The Hanafi school prays all four joined as one prayer with a single salam.

Step 6 — Pray them at home where you can

This is the part most people miss. Zayd ibn Thabit reported the Prophet ﷺ saying:

فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالصَّلاَةِ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ صَلاَةِ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلاَّ الصَّلاَةَ الْمَكْتُوبَةَ

Fa-alaykum bi-s-salati fi buyutikum fa-inna khayra salati-l-mar'i fi baytihi illa-s-salata-l-maktubah

"You should pray in your houses, for the best prayer of a person is that which he prays in his house, except the compulsory prayers." — Narrated by al-Bukhari (Sahih al-Bukhari 731)

The congregation reward attaches to the fard prayer. For the Sunnah rakahs, home is better — it keeps the act private and keeps your household used to seeing prayer.

Use the prayer times above to see when each window opens. A "before" Sunnah only becomes valid once that prayer's time has entered.

How Do the Madhabs Differ?

The schools agree on the principle and differ on the counting and grouping:

The Hanafi school treats the emphasized Sunnah so seriously that Ibn Abidin described it as close to the level of wajib, and habitually abandoning it as blameworthy. The Shafii school lists ten emphasized rakahs and places further rakahs in a lighter recommended tier. The Maliki school does not codify the rawatib as one fixed block, stressing the Fajr sunnah and Witr above the rest.

Witr sits apart from the rawatib in every school — see our guide on how to pray Witr for that one.

Follow your own madhab or the practice of your local mosque. None of these positions falls outside the sunnah.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Praying at the forbidden times. There is no voluntary prayer after the Fajr prayer until the sun has risen, or after Asr until sunset (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 586). If you miss the two before Fajr, pray them after sunrise rather than straight after the fard.
2. Making them as long as the fard. Sunnah rakahs are meant to be light. Long recitation in the two before Fajr goes against how the Prophet ﷺ prayed them.
3. Praying the "before" Sunnah too early. The time has to have entered. Two rakahs prayed ten minutes before the Dhuhr adhan are not the Sunnah of Dhuhr.
4. Treating them as extras you'll get to eventually. The reward in the hadith is tied to regularity — the word thabara means to persist — not to a single good day.
5. Skipping the Maghrib pair in the rush to eat. Two short rakahs after Maghrib cost about ninety seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I make up a missed Sunnah prayer? You can. When the Prophet ﷺ and his companions overslept past Fajr on a journey, he prayed the two Sunnah rakahs first and then the obligatory prayer (Narrated by Muslim, 680). Making up a missed rawatib is recommended, not required. Missed obligatory prayers are a separate and far weightier matter.

Do Sunnah prayers count while traveling? The rawatib are generally dropped on a journey, except the two before Fajr and Witr, which the Prophet ﷺ maintained. You are not falling short by leaving the rest while traveling — see how to pray while traveling for the full picture.

Is Tahajjud a Sunnah prayer? Yes, but in a separate category — it is a night prayer offered after sleeping, not one of the rawatib attached to a fard prayer. Allah describes it as an addition for the Prophet ﷺ in Surah Al-Isra, 17:79. We cover it in how to pray Tahajjud.

Summary

Twelve rakahs a day, in short pairs around your obligatory prayers:

• 2 before Fajr — the most emphasized of all, and the lightest
• 4 before Dhuhr, 2 after
• 2 after Maghrib
• 2 after Isha

Pray them like any other prayer, keep them brief, pray them at home where you can, and avoid the two forbidden windows after Fajr and after Asr. Start with the two before Fajr and add the rest as the habit settles — the hadith rewards consistency, not intensity.

Allah knows best (والله أعلم).