Chapter on the virtue of the Dhuha prayer, and the explanation of its minimum, maximum, and middle, and the exhortation to be consistent in performing it.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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 said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "Chapter on the virtue of the Dhuha prayer, and the explanation of its minimum, maximum, and middle, and the exhortation to be consistent in performing it:
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:

My Khalil (the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)) directed me to fast three days of each month, and to observe two Rak'ah Duha (optional prayer) at forenoon, and to perform the Witr prayer before going to bed.

أوصاني خليلي صلى الله عليه وسلم بصيام ثلاثة أيام من كل شهر، وركعتي الضحى، وأن أوتر قبل أن أرقد

Riyad as-Salihin 1139

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And it was narrated from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:

In the morning charity is due from every bone in the body of every one of you. Every utterance of Allah's glorification is an act of charity. Every utterance of praise of Him is an act of charity, every utterance of profession of His Oneness is an act of charity, every utterance of profession of His Greatness is an act of charity, enjoining good is an act of charity, forbidding what is distreputable is an act of charity, and two rak'ahs which one prays in the forenoon will suffice.

يصبح على كل سُلامى من أحدكم صدقة : فكل تسبيحة صدقة، وكل تحميدة صدقة، وكل تهليلة صدقة، وكل تكبيرة صدقة، وأمر بالمعروف صدقة، ونهي عن المنكر صدقة، ويجزي من ذلك ركعتان يركعهما من الضحى

Sahih Muslim 720

Narrated by Muslim.
And it was narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to pray four Rak'at in Duha prayer and increase (the number of Rak'at) as much as Allah willed.

كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي الضحى أربعاً، ويزيد ما شاء الله

Bulugh al-Maram 2:296

Narrated by Muslim.
And it was narrated from Umm Hani' (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:

I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the day of the conquest of Makkah. He was taking a bath at that time. When he finished the bath, he performed eight Rak'ah (of optional) prayers. This was during the Duha (forenoon).

ذهبتُ إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عام الفتح فوجدته يغتسل، فلما فرغ من غسله، صلى ثماني ركعات، وذلك ضحى

Riyad as-Salihin 1142

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
"Chapter on the virtue of the Dhuha prayer, and the explanation of its minimum, middle, and maximum":
The Dhuha prayer is: two rak'ahs or more, performed from when the sun has risen the length of a spear until just before the zenith. The sun rising the length of a spear is: approximately a quarter of an hour or so after the sun rises. From then, the time for the Dhuha prayer begins until there are ten minutes or so remaining before the zenith. All of this is its time, but performing it in the last part of the time is better, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): : And the foals are the offspring of camels, and "tarmid" means: the heat of the sun becomes intense on them, and this is in the last part of the time.
And this is one of the prayers for which it is recommended to delay it, and its counterpart among the obligatory prayers is the Isha prayer, for the best thing regarding the Isha prayer is to delay it to the last part of its time, unless it becomes difficult for the people. And the Dhuha prayer is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) entrusted to some of his Companions; he entrusted it to Abu Hurayrah, Abu al-Darda, and Abu Dharr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) when he advised him, saying: : And he did not specify a time of the month for it. For this reason, Aisha said: , and there is no difference between them being consecutive, meaning one after the other, or scattered; all of them result in reward. But the best of these three days are the white days: the thirteenth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) advised him regarding the two rak'ahs of Dhuha: two rak'ahs performed between the sun rising the length of a spear and just before the zenith.
And the third: For this reason, he advised him to perform the witr before he sleeps.
The point of this is his saying: .
Then he mentioned the hadith of Abu Dharr: : The "sulama" are the limbs or the bones and joints. The previous scholars -may Allah have mercy on them- mentioned that in every person there are three hundred and sixty joints, and every joint demands from you a charity every day, because the One who gave you life, provided for you, and kept you healthy has a favor and grace over you. So every day, every limb demands from you a charity, but it is not a charity of money; rather, it is everything that brings one closer to Allah, whether it is a word, an action, giving money, or otherwise. : So whatever brings one closer to Allah is a charity. And it is easy for a person to perform three hundred and sixty charities every day. He said: meaning as a substitute for that, : Praise be to Allah is a great blessing. Instead of demanding a charity for every one of your limbs, it is sufficient for you to pray two rak'ahs of the Dhuha. And this indicates that it is incumbent upon a person to be consistent with them, meaning the two rak'ahs of Dhuha, whether resident or traveling.
But does it have a specific number? We say: As for its minimum, it is two rak'ahs, and as for its maximum, it is whatever Allah willed. If you keep praying all through the Dhuha time, you are doing well. For this reason, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: : And she did not set a limit.
As for the saying of those who say that its maximum is eight, there is a need to look into it, because the hadith of Umm Hani' regarding the Conquest of Mecca: : does not indicate that this is its upper limit. This happened coincidentally, and what happens coincidentally is not evidence of restriction. And based on this, we say: its minimum is two rak'ahs and there is no limit to its maximum. Pray as much as you wish. But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray four, and sometimes he would pray eight. A person should seize his life with good deeds, because he will regret when death comes to him that he spent an hour of his life in which he did not draw near to Allah the Exalted and Mighty. Every hour that passes over you while you are not drawing near to Allah with it is a loss, because it has gone away from you and you did not benefit from it. So seize the opportunity with prayer, dhikr, reading the Qur'an, and clinging to Allah the Exalted and Mighty. Make your heart always with Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. Your Lord is in the sky and you are on the earth. Do not be heedless of the remembrance of Allah with your tongue, your actions, and your soul with your heart. For indeed, this world is departing and has not remained for anyone. Look at the first of your predecessors from the past nations, the distant ones, and look at your predecessors from your companions yesterday who were with you, enjoying and eating as you eat and drinking as you drink, and now they are bound by their deeds. And this will happen to you, whether the world is long or short: So seize the opportunity, my brother. Seize the opportunity of life. On the Day of Resurrection, neither wealth nor children nor family will benefit you, except that you come to Allah with a sound heart. I ask Allah the Exalted to make me and you among those who come to their Lord with a sound heart, and to cause us to die upon faith and the oneness of Allah. Indeed, He is capable of all things.