Nafl prayer

In Islam, a nafl prayer, (Arabic: صلاة النفل, romanized: ṣalāt al-nafl, pl. nawafil) or optional prayer, is a type of a non-obligatory or supererogatory salah (ritual prayer). They are believed to give extra reward to the person performing them, similar to Sunnah prayers.

According to the following tradition (hadith), performing nafl prayers help one to draw closer to Allah and attain success in the afterlife:

Rabi'ah ibn Malik al-Aslami narrated that the Prophet said: "Ask."

Rabi'ah said: "I ask of you to be your companion in Paradise."

The Prophet said: "Or anything else?"

Rabi'ah said: "That is it."

The Prophet said: "Then help me by making many prostrations (i.e., nafl prayers)."

Tahiyyat al-wudu (lit., "greeting the ablution") is a nafl prayer which is performed after completing ablution (wudu). It is a minimum of two cycles.