Regarding Sunnah Prayers What is your opinion about the status and the right method of performing four Sunnah of Zuhr prayer, which are thought to be obligatory before or after Fardh . How should they be prayed i.e. like Fardh (only reciting Surah Faatihah in the third and fourth rak'at without adding any other Surah ) or like Nafal ( reciting any other Surah after Surah Faatihah in the third and fourth rak'at ). Regards Reply First of all, it should be clearly understood that the Prophet (pbuh) determined and uniformly taught all his followers a few parts of sala’h . While other parts were left on the understanding and practice of individuals. There is and always has been a considerable level of practical uniformity in the ummah in the parts of sala’h belonging to the first category, while there can and does exist some variance in the ummah in the parts of sala’h belonging to the second category. Some of the important parts of sala’h belonging to the first category are raising of hands close to the ears at the Takbeer e Tehreemah ; recitation of Surah Fatihah ; recitation of a part of the Qur’an after Surah Fatihah, during the first two rak’at ; qiyaam ; rukoo and sajdah etc. On the other hand, some parts of the sala’h belonging to the second category include: Recitation of a part of the Qur’an after Surah Fatihah in the rak’at that follow the first two rak’at ; supplications in the qa`dah and the words of Tasbeeh as well as the number of times they should be uttered during rukoo and sajdah . In the light of the above explanation, it should be clear that it is neither prohibited nor obligatory to recite a part of any Surah of the Qur’an in the last one or two rak’at of even the fardh prayers. One may or may not recite any part of any Surah of the Qur’an in these rak’at . I hope this helps. In case any aspect remains unclear, please feel free in writing back to me at your convenience. Regards The Learner Home Page Use this "Home Page" link only if you have opened this page by following an external link