How Many Rakats in Each Prayer
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That number does not change; what changes is travel, combining and shortening.
The obligatory prayers
| Prayer | Rakats | Aloud or silent |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | Aloud |
| Dhuhr | 4 | Silent |
| Asr | 4 | Silent |
| Maghrib | 3 | Aloud in the first two |
| Isha | 4 | Aloud in the first two |
| Total | 17 | — |
Reciting aloud or silently is a sunnah, not an obligation: someone who reverses them has still prayed validly, though following the sunnah is better. The time of each prayer differs by city and by day, and the prayer-times page computes them for wherever you are.
The confirmed sunnah prayers
Umm Habibah reported the Prophet ﷺ saying: “No Muslim servant prays twelve voluntary rakats each day, beyond the obligatory, without Allah building him a house in Paradise” (Muslim).
| Position | Rakats |
|---|---|
| Before Fajr | 2 |
| Before Dhuhr | 4 |
| After Dhuhr | 2 |
| After Maghrib | 2 |
| After Isha | 2 |
| Total | 12 |
Asr has no confirmed regular sunnah, though praying four before it is a sunnah in its own right: “May Allah have mercy on a man who prays four before Asr.”
The most emphasised of them all is the two rakats before Fajr, of which he ﷺ said: “The two rakats of Fajr are better than the world and everything in it.” He never left them, travelling or at home. The simplest way to hold on to them is to pray them before you stand up from where you prayed, and follow them with the morning adhkar in their place.
Witr and Duha
- Witr: at least one rakat, at most eleven, most commonly three. Its time runs from after Isha until dawn, and the end of the night is best for anyone confident of waking — with the dua of qiyam in its place in the night.
- Duha: at least two rakats, at most eight, from after the sun has risen fully until just before midday.
What a traveller prays
The four-rakat prayers are shortened to two: Dhuhr, Asr and Isha. Maghrib remains three and Fajr remains two — eleven rakats in the day, with the dua of travel said on setting out.
Shortening is an emphasised sunnah in the view of most scholars rather than an obligation; someone who prays in full has prayed validly and left what is better.
What is most often forgotten
- The count itself is a pillar. Adding or dropping a rakat deliberately invalidates the prayer; doing so out of forgetfulness is repaired.
- If you are unsure how many you have prayed, build on certainty — the lower number — then prostrate for forgetfulness before the salam.
After the salam comes the place of the adhkar after prayer: seeking forgiveness three times, then “O Allah, You are Peace and from You is peace”, then the tasbih, tahmid and takbir.
