Explaining the time of zawal and the time of Dhuha, and the number of rak'ahs for the Dhuha prayer

Question:
The questioner, your sister Umm 'Abd al-Razzaq, says: I have heard about the time of zawal, O honorable Shaykh, so what is this time? And is it true that the Dhuha prayer is twelve rak'ahs, and that the time for the Dhuha prayer extends until a quarter of an hour before the Zuhr prayer?

Answer:
Zawal is the sun's inclination toward the west. The sun moves from the east to the west. When it inclines toward the west, that is zawal. When it is in the middle, that is the standing position, the time of prohibition. And when it inclines slightly toward the setting, that is the zawal, the entry of the time for Zuhr.
The minimum for the Dhuha prayer is two rak'ahs, and there is no limit to its maximum. The minimum is two rak'ahs. If one prays six, or eight, or ten, or twelve, or twenty, there is no harm. The time is between the sun's standing and its rising. When the sun rises after its appearance until it stands, the whole of that is Dhuha. The Dhuha prayer is two rak'ahs, or four, or six, or eight. The matter is broad in this. Praise be to Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised Abu Hurayrah and Abu al-Darda' to pray the two rak'ahs of Dhuha, and he prayed the Dhuha prayer of eight rak'ahs on the Day of the Conquest—(peace and blessings be upon him).