Explanation of the Regular Voluntary Prayers and the Ruling on the Four Rak'ahs Before the Afternoon Prayer

The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.

The questioner:
We begin with a message from our brother Rakan. He says: Peace be upon you. Honorable Shaykh, I am asking about the sunnah and the rawatib, regarding their manner of performance. Are they connected or separate? And are the four rak'ahs before the afternoon prayer a confirmed practice that brings reward?

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The rawatib sunnahs are those that accompany the obligatory prayers, and the hadiths have clarified them. They are two rak'ahs before the midday prayer, or four rak'ahs before the midday prayer, and this is better. And two rak'ahs after it, or four rak'ahs after it, and this is better. And two rak'ahs after the sunset prayer, and two rak'ahs after the night prayer, and two rak'ahs before the dawn prayer, and these are the most difficult to perform. These are the rawatib sunnahs that accompany the obligatory prayers. As for the afternoon prayer, it has no rawatib, but it is authentic in the hadith So it is not a rawatib, but rather it is an absolute sunnah, and not a rawatib for the afternoon prayer. Yes.