Continuation of the explanation of the chapter on voluntary prayer from Bulugh al-Maram.

The reciter: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Chapter on Voluntary Prayer: From Rabi'ah ibn Malik al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: . It was narrated by Muslim.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him), said in his book Bulugh al-Maram, in the chapter on voluntary prayer.
Voluntary prayer is the prayer that is not obligatory. The obligatory prayer is the five prayers: Zuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha', and Fajr. Jumu'ah is a substitute for Zuhr, and Zuhr is a substitute for it if it is missed. As for Witr, it is not obligatory, and anything other than these five prayers is not obligatory. The five prayers are those upon which the scholars have agreed. As for Witr, there is disagreement, and the correct view is that it is not obligatory. As for the prayer of the festival, there is disagreement about it, and the correct view is that it is obligatory, but it is not like the obligation of the five prayers. As for the eclipse prayer, there is also disagreement about it, and the correct view is that it is obligatory, at the very least as a collective obligation. Everything else is voluntary. And among the blessings of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is that He prescribed for His servants recommended practices of the same kind as the obligatory ones. So the obligatory prayers have voluntary recommended practices. Zakah has voluntary charity. Fasting has voluntary fasting. Hajj has voluntary 'Umrah. Jihad has voluntary effort. This is because a person does not fail to fall short in the obligatory duties, so Allah (the Exalted) made this voluntary practice a compensation for the shortcoming that occurs. And if Allah had not prescribed this for us, then worshipping with it would have been an innovation, and the one worshipping would have been sinful. But among the blessings of Allah is that He prescribed this voluntary practice for His servants so that they may increase in righteous deeds and so that their obligatory duties may be compensated. Praise and grace belong to Allah. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) began by mentioning the hadith of Rabi'ah ibn Malik. Rabi'ah ibn Malik fulfilled a need for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said to him: "Ask," meaning: ask for something and I will give it to you as a reward for that. His ambition was high (may Allah be pleased with him); he did not ask for anything from the matters of this world. He said: . Look at the high ambition; he did not say, "I want a camel," or "I want a garden," or "I want goods," or "I want clothes," or "I want dirhams," or "I want dinars." He said: . He said: , meaning: or do you ask me for something else? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to know the extent of this man's determination regarding what he asked for. He said: , meaning: I do not ask you for anything other than this. He said: , meaning: by praying a lot. This indicates that praying a lot is among the causes of being a companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Paradise. And prayer is the best thing prescribed. Pray as much as you are able. But know that what is meant by that is the prayer that is truly prayer, which is the connection between the servant and his Lord, where when a person says the takbir in it, he feels that he is standing before Allah, talking to Him, his heart becomes humble, his limbs become humble, and his heart is illuminated. It is not like the prayer of many people. We ask Allah to cover us with His pardon. A mechanical prayer, just movements that he makes while he is in one place and his heart is in another field. This is a formal prayer that is actually devoid of spirit; it is nothing but a body, a shell with no substance. So what is meant by the prayer that is a cause for being a companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Paradise—and I ask Allah for myself and for you that we be his companions in Paradise, and good are those companions—is the prayer with humility, presence of heart, and tranquility, where a person feels that he is before Allah, talking to Him. . This is the prayer. So the important thing is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Do we think that Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) decreased his prostrations or increased his prostrations?
The answer: He increased his prostrations, without doubt, because he asked for a reward. It was said, "The reward is that we will give it to you on the condition that you give us this matter." So he will strive to increase his prostrations, to increase his prayer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But there are times when prayer is not permissible except for a reason, and they are from the Fajr prayer until the sun rises the length of a spear, and before the sun reaches its zenith until it passes its zenith, and from the 'Asr prayer until sunset. These are times when prayer is not permissible unless it has a reason, such as entering the mosque; for example, if you enter it, you pray at any time. But other than that, increase; if you pray from the time the sun rises the length of a spear at the beginning of the day until before the sun reaches its zenith, twenty rak'ahs, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, a hundred, that is better. But deeds differ in rank. Seeking knowledge is better than prayer. Seeking religious knowledge is better than prayer, because seeking knowledge is jihad in the path of Allah. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Discussing [knowledge] for a night is more beloved to me than standing [in prayer] for it", meaning: discussing knowledge is more beloved to me than standing [in prayer] for it. But if a person is not qualified for seeking knowledge due to lack of understanding or lack of memorization or the like, then prayer is the best thing prescribed. And Allah is the One who grants success.
The reader: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on voluntary prayer: From Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I memorized from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ten rak'ahs: two before Zuhr, and two after it, and two after Maghrib in his house, and two after 'Isha' in his house, and two before Fajr. It was agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And in a narration from them: . And for Muslim: .
And from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): . It was narrated by al-Bukhari.
And from her (may Allah be pleased with her), she said: . It was agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And for Muslim: .
And from Umm Habibah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), she said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: . It was narrated by Muslim. And in a narration: . And for al-Tirmidhi, something similar. And he added: .
And for the five [books] from her: .
And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It was narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Tirmidhi, and he graded it as good, and Ibn Khuzaymah, and he graded it as authentic.
And from 'Abdullah ibn Mughaffal al-Muzani (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then he said in the third [rak'ah]: . It was narrated by al-Bukhari. And in a narration by Ibn Hibban: . And for Muslim from Ibn 'Abbas, he said: .
And from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), she said: . It was agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in the two rak'ahs of Fajr: and . It was narrated by Muslim.
And from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), she said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he prayed the two rak'ahs of Fajr, would lie on his right side. It was narrated by al-Bukhari.
And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It was narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Tirmidhi, and he graded it as authentic.
And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It was agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

The Shaykh : They are all among the rawatib attached to the obligatory prayers. That is, the sunnahs that follow the fard. They are twelve rak'ahs: four before the Zuhr prayer with two taslims, two after it, two after the Maghrib prayer, two after the 'Isha' prayer, and two before the Fajr prayer. . And of these twelve rawatib, some are more emphasized than others. The most emphasized is the sunnah of Fajr, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not leave it, whether resident or traveling. And he said regarding it, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him: . And he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pray anything else with it from the adhan of Fajr until the prayer. And he would make it brief. This is the sunnah. Until Aisha said: . And he would recite in the first rak'ah along with al-Fatihah, and in the second rak'ah along with al-Fatihah. And sometimes he would recite in the first rak'ah. And in the second, . And if these rawatib are missed, they are made up, for when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) missed the rawatib of Zuhr that comes after it, he made it up after the 'Asr prayer, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him. And likewise the sunnah of Fajr: if you enter the mosque and the people are praying Fajr and you have not prayed the sunnah, pray it after the prayer. And if you wish, delay it until the sun has risen the length of a spear after its appearance. And among the sunnahs are sunnahs that are not rawatib, such as: two rak'ahs before Maghrib. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: so that people would not take it as a regular sunnah. And among them is praying four before Zuhr, and four after it. For it came in the hadith: . And among them is praying four before 'Asr. For it came in the hadith: . But these are not of the rank of the twelve rak'ahs of rawatib. Four rak'ahs before Zuhr with two taslims, two after it, two after Maghrib, two after 'Isha', and two before the Fajr prayer. And success is from Allah.