Can I Pray the Sunna Prayers at the Mosque?
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
Should I prioritize communal harmony by praying sunna prayers in the masjid, as per local norms, or follow the sunna of praying them at home, despite concerns about people’s opinions affecting my sincerity?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I really hope that this beautiful answer by Ustadha Sulma Badrudduja (may Allah, Most High, preserve her) will help you make the choice the most pleasing to Allah, Most High:
The Preferred Place for Sunnas
The most meritorious location, generally speaking, for sunna and nawafil prayers is the house. This would apply to both pre-fard sunnas and post-fard sunnas.
For the post-fard sunna, if one fears that by returning home they will be distracted or busied from preforming the prayer, then it is better to perform it in the masjid.
The wisdom in praying in the house is that one is further away from the possibility of showing-off and one is able to have more sincerity and humility. Some scholars mentioned that the most meritorious place is the one in which the person is able to have the most sincerity and humility. There are some exceptions for the general recommendation of praying sunnas at home, such as the tarawih prayer. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Please see: Sunna Prayers: Time, Place, and the Prayer of Greeting the Mosque
Allah, Most High, says: “Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you.” [2.185]
The Messenger of Allah (blessing and peace be upon him) has said, “Those who make things hard for themselves will be destroyed.” [Muslim]
And Allah knows best.
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
