Title: The Position of Sunnah Prayers Question: I want to know the position of the Sunnah Prayers in Islam. Are they obligatory to offer? What is the reward/punishment for offering/not offering them? Also please tell me the difference between " Muaqqadah " and " Ghair-Muaqqadah " Sunnats . Answer: The only prayers, which are obligatory on us, are the Fardh prayers. That is exactly the reason why these prayers are called " Fardh ". " Fardh ", as we know, means "obligatory". Thus, the prayers, missing, which, a person can be held accountable, are only the " Fardh " prayers. These prayers constitute two rak'ats in the Fajr prayer, four in the Zuhr prayer, four in the `asr prayer, three in the Maghrib prayer and four in the `isha prayer. Besides these obligatory prayers, all other prayers fall in the category of naf'l or supererogatory prayers. In matters relating to worship, the Qur'an says that if a person, with the willingness and inclination of his heart, does more than what has been ordained by the Shari`ah , he shall get great reward for this. It is on the basis of this glad tiding of the Qur'an that the Prophet (pbuh) in his general routine, offered additional rak`ahs of prayers besides the obligatory prayers. The additional prayers that the Prophet (pbuh) offered besides the obligatory prayers are generally known as the Sunnah prayers. Of these Sunnah prayers those, which the Prophet (pbuh) offered very regularly are termed as " Muaqqadah ", while those that were offered less regularly are called " Ghair-Muaqqadah ". In any case, neither " Muaqqadah " nor " Ghair-Muaqqadah " prayers are obligatory. Both fall under the category of naf'l . These prayers are a part of the " Uswah-e-Hasanah " (the best example) set by the Prophet (pbuh) in matters relating to worship. We must remember that according to the Qur'an, if we truly love God and if we want God to love us, we must try our best to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (pbuh), for that would guarantee us the love of God. This fact increases the significance of the Sunnah prayers tremendously. Thus, the Sunnah prayers ( Muaqqadah or Ghair-Muaqqadah ) are not obligatory, and therefore, in contrast to the " Fardh " prayers, missing these prayers shall not be punished in the hereafter. But offering these prayers, with the intention of following the footsteps of the Prophet (pbuh) shall be greatly rewarded in the hereafter. The most significant reward of following the footsteps of the Prophet, according to the Qur'an, is that this would qualify a person for the love of God. 6 th July 1999