What is Ḍuḥā prayer? When and how to pray it.
The Prophet ﷺ called Ḍuḥā the prayer of the repentant. It covers the sadaqah owed on every joint in the body and is a light for the face on the Day.
9 passages from 3 books in the library
Ḍuḥā is the voluntary forenoon prayer, performed after the sun has risen until shortly before noon. Al-Ghazali, in his Book of Prayer, notes that its time runs "from the sun's ascendancy until shortly before noon" — the period between sunrise and midday. He records that the Prophet ﷺ prayed Ḍuḥā in differing numbers, citing reports of six rakʿahs (from Jābir) and eight (from Umm Hāniʾ). In The Mysteries of Regular Divisions he explains it is not obligatory, since it falls when people are often busy with their affairs.
- When: between sunrise and noon — al-Ghazali says "from the sun's ascendancy until shortly before noon"
- After roughly three hours have passed since sunrise, pray it before the time ends
- How many: reports describe six rakʿahs (from Jābir) and eight rakʿahs (from Umm Hāniʾ)
- It is recommended, not obligatory
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 3 books by Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"and three others are the duha prayer, the prayer between Maghrib and Isha, and the tahajjud prayer."
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"The hadith mentioning that he prayed six rakahs of Duha is narrated from Jabir affirming his"
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"The hadith of Umm Hani mentions that he prayed the Duha prayer with eight rakahs, executing"
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"From the sun's ascendancy until shortly before noon is generally the time for Duha prayer."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"However, Duha is not obligatory because it is a time when people are often busy with their affairs,"
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"If three hours pass after sunrise, the Duha prayer should be performed before this time ends."
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"The Duha prayer is between sunrise and noon, similar to how Azr is between noon and sunset."
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"If they remain until the forenoon prayer, each rak'ah is rewarded with a thousand thousand"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"You might see one of them very pleased with the duha prayer, or night prayer, and similar"
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