Are My Prayers Valid If I Did Not Pray Sunna Prayers before Fard?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I did not know that sunnah prayers are supposed to be offered before fard for every prayer except maghrib. I am 16 years of age and have always performed my fard prayers first. are my prayers still valid?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Omitting the Sunna prayers does not affect the validity of the obligatory prayers. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

However, you should make a habit of praying the 12 units of emphasized Sunna prayers.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever is consistent in praying 12 units of prayer each day enters Paradise. (They are) four units before Dhuhr, two units after it, two units after Maghrib, two units after ‘Isha, and two units before Fajr.” [Nasa’i]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.