Title: The Necessary Rak`ahs in the Jum`ah prayers Question: I want to know that is 4 " rakaat " of sunnat prayed after two " farz " of juma is necessary? We are told that total salaat for jum`ah prayer is as under: 4 rakaat sunnat 2 rakaat farz 4 rakaat sunnat 2 rakaat sunnat 2 rakaat naffal Thanks Bilal Sabir. United Kingdom Answer: The obligatory (necessary) Rak`ahs in the Jum`ah prayer are only the two Rak`ahs that are offered in congregation. No other Rak`ahs , besides these two, are obligatory. However, it is known that the Prophet (pbuh) in his general routine would offer and also prompted others to offer some supererogatory ( naf'l ) Rak`ahs before and after the obligatory Rak`ahs . Muslims should indeed try to emulate the excellent example of the Prophet (pbuh) in worshiping the Almighty in the most appropriate manner and try to offer supererogatory Rak`ahs as consistently as possible. They shall indeed be greatly rewarded for such an act. Nevertheless, the Rak`ahs , which are obligatory and missing which, a person shall be held accountable are restricted to those, which we call 'Fardh' . No other Rak`ahs in any prayer are obligatory or necessary. As far as the number of supererogatory Rak`ahs , which a person should offer before and after the two obligatory Rak`ahs of Jum`ah is concerned, One may offer any number, according to one's willingness and state of mind. The number of these Rak`ahs was not fixed by the Prophet (pbuh). I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad September 5, 2001