The Lawfulness of the Dhuha Prayer

A sister in Allah (F. N. H) from the land of Zahran sent this message, saying: Is the Dhuha prayer performed every day, and is it one of the regular voluntary prayers (rawatib) or not?
Answer: The Dhuha prayer is a confirmed recommended practice (sunnah muakkadah). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended it; he recommended it to some of his Companions, specifically Abu Hurayrah and Abu al-Darda. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would sometimes pray it. So it is a confirmed recommended practice that he (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended. If it is easy for a believing man or woman to perform it, that is a great good. However, it is not obligatory. If one performs it sometimes and leaves it off sometimes, or leaves it off entirely, there is no blame. But it is a confirmed recommended practice, like the recommended prayer before Fajr, the recommended prayer before Zuhr, the recommended prayer before Maghrib, and the recommended prayer before Isha. They are all confirmed recommended practices containing great good, but they are not obligatory. If a person leaves them off, he does not sin. It is better to perform it after the sun has risen high, when the day has become strong and the sun has risen, about half an hour or an hour before the sun reaches its zenith. The point is that it is better when the Dhuha time has risen. If one prays it early, after the sun has risen the length of a spear, the objective is achieved. And the later one delays it until the day has risen, the better. Two, four, six, or eight rak'ahs; it has no upper limit, but its minimum is two rak'ahs. If one prays more, he prays four, six, or eight rak'ahs, or more than that, and there is no harm in that. Yes.