Muslims also offer additional Rak‘at of Prayer apart from Fard and Sunnat Rak‘at. These are called Nawafil Prayers or Nafl.
These are optional Prayers. Those who voluntarily offer Nawafil Prayers reap the benefits of Allah’s favours. Nawafil Prayers are as follows:
Eight Rak‘at of Tahajjud.
Two Rak‘at after the two Rak‘at of Sunnat at the end of Zuhr Prayer.
Four Rak‘at before Fard of ‘Asr Prayer.
Two Rak‘at after the two Rak‘at of Sunnat in Maghrib Prayer.
Four Rak‘at of Ishraq Prayer.
Two Rak‘at offered when one enters a mosque.
Two Rak‘at offered when seeking blessings from God Almighty.
Two Rak‘at offered as Salat-i-Hajjat.
Two Rak‘at offered as a Thanksgiving Prayer.
There are some other Nawafil Prayers which are mentioned later in this book.
One may offer as many Nawafil Prayers as one wishes. However, Nawafil should not be offered during the forbidden times for Prayers. For example, they should not be offered between ‘Asr Prayer and Maghrib Prayer. It is preferable to offer Nawafil Prayers at home rather than in a mosque except for those which have been mentioned to be offered in a mosque. However, it is a matter of personal choice and there is no compulsion in this matter.