Discussion of voluntary and regular prayers, and an explanation of their virtue and number
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The Shaykh : We now move on to a wisdom from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in the obligatory acts. Allah the Exalted made the obligatory acts obligatory upon the servants: prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj. Does a person perform all of them with perfection, or may they be deficient? Yes, they may be deficient. And how much deficiency there is! So what is the way to make up for this deficiency? The way to make up for this deficiency is voluntary acts. For voluntary acts bring one closer to Allah and make up for the deficiency in the obligatory acts. For this reason, you will not find an obligatory act from the five pillars without finding a voluntary act of the same kind. Prayer has a voluntary counterpart. Zakah has a voluntary counterpart. Fasting has a voluntary counterpart. Hajj has a voluntary counterpart.
In order to complete the obligatory acts, the regular prayers attached to the prescribed prayers are twelve rak'ahs. Now look at the youngest among you; let him explain these regular prayers to me. Please.
The student: Four rak'ahs before the midday prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs after the midday prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs after the sunset prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs before the night prayer.
The Shaykh : Before the night prayer?
The student: After the night prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs before the dawn prayer.
The Shaykh : Well done, correct. Four before the midday prayer and two after it, and two after the sunset prayer. As for the afternoon prayer, it has no regular prayer attached to it. And two after the night prayer and two before the dawn prayer. These are twelve rak'ahs.
Whoever prays them, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. Allahu Akbar. A person among us may stay for two years or more without building a house, and when he does build a house, it is exposed to error, to error, and exposed to danger, to collapse, and to burning, and then the end is when the destruction is complete. The person is removed from it, but the house in Paradise—I ask Allah to make me and you among those for whom a house and palaces are built that do not perish, and in which there is no flaw or deficiency, and whose owner does not die, does not get sick, and does not move away from it for a year. Allahu Akbar. Every person in Paradise, even if there is someone above him, does not want to move from his residence. In this world, in this world, however beautiful your palace is, you see a more beautiful palace and you say, "Oh, I wish I had this palace." And even if you are rich, you say, "Let's demolish my palace and build me one like this palace." But in the Hereafter, even if your rank is lower than that of another, you do not want to move from your rank, because the owner of Paradise does not see anyone who has been given more than him. Each one of them does not see anyone who has been given more than him, because if he saw that someone had been given more than him, that would be a source of distress in his bliss, and there is no distress in Paradise... So we say: If you pray these twelve rak'ahs, these regular prayers attached to the prescribed ones, then Allah will build for you a palace in Paradise. Guard them, my brother. And if you miss the ones before the prayer, pray them after the prayer, because it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made up the regular prayers.
In order to complete the obligatory acts, the regular prayers attached to the prescribed prayers are twelve rak'ahs. Now look at the youngest among you; let him explain these regular prayers to me. Please.
The student: Four rak'ahs before the midday prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs after the midday prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs after the sunset prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs before the night prayer.
The Shaykh : Before the night prayer?
The student: After the night prayer.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Two rak'ahs before the dawn prayer.
The Shaykh : Well done, correct. Four before the midday prayer and two after it, and two after the sunset prayer. As for the afternoon prayer, it has no regular prayer attached to it. And two after the night prayer and two before the dawn prayer. These are twelve rak'ahs.
Whoever prays them, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. Allahu Akbar. A person among us may stay for two years or more without building a house, and when he does build a house, it is exposed to error, to error, and exposed to danger, to collapse, and to burning, and then the end is when the destruction is complete. The person is removed from it, but the house in Paradise—I ask Allah to make me and you among those for whom a house and palaces are built that do not perish, and in which there is no flaw or deficiency, and whose owner does not die, does not get sick, and does not move away from it for a year. Allahu Akbar. Every person in Paradise, even if there is someone above him, does not want to move from his residence. In this world, in this world, however beautiful your palace is, you see a more beautiful palace and you say, "Oh, I wish I had this palace." And even if you are rich, you say, "Let's demolish my palace and build me one like this palace." But in the Hereafter, even if your rank is lower than that of another, you do not want to move from your rank, because the owner of Paradise does not see anyone who has been given more than him. Each one of them does not see anyone who has been given more than him, because if he saw that someone had been given more than him, that would be a source of distress in his bliss, and there is no distress in Paradise... So we say: If you pray these twelve rak'ahs, these regular prayers attached to the prescribed ones, then Allah will build for you a palace in Paradise. Guard them, my brother. And if you miss the ones before the prayer, pray them after the prayer, because it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made up the regular prayers.