Time Limit for the Sunna Prayer after Wudu

Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Question:

If I do my wudu and want to pray two rak'ahs that are recommended after wudu, do I have to pray them immediately after wudu, or can I delay them? If delaying them is permissible, how long can I delay them for?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمالحمد لله رب العالمين و صلى الله على سيدنا محمد و على آله و صحبه و سلم أما بعد

 

You can delay as long as the delay is not considered “long” by common acknowledgment (‘urf). Otherwise, it’s time expires and it can’t be made up. The delay is considered “long” if it is longer than the time to pray two brief rak‘ahs after having read the sunnah dhikr [m: after wudu] and Surah Al-Qadr [m: surah 97] three times. (Bughya Al-Mustarshideen, p. 24)

Amjad Rasheed
Amman, Jordan
(Translated by Moustafa Elqabbany and Hamza Karamali)

 

السؤال :إذا توضأتُ وأردت أن أصلي الركعتين التي هي سنةُ الوضوء هل عليَّ أن أصلي تلك الركعتين فوراً بعد الوضوء أم يجوز لي أن أأخرهما ، وإن كان التأخير جائزاً فما هي المدة التي يجوز التأخير له ؟ الجواب : يجوز لك التأخيرُ ما لم يكن طويلاً عرفاً ، وإلا فاتت ولا تُقضى ، وضابطُ طولِ الفصل هنا : أن يزيد الفصلُ على الذكر المأثور وقراءة ( إنا أنزلناه في ليلة القدر ) ثلاثاً بقدر ركعتين خفيفتين . كما في "بغية المسترشدين" ( ص 24 )

 

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