WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF NAMAZ?

In general there are four categories of Namaz:

Farz, Wajib, Sunnath and Nafil. Let us briefly learn something about them.

1. Farz : means duty. It is compulsory and should not be avoided. It has two sub-divisions:

a) Farz-i-ayn ; which is compulsory on all Muslims, for example offering Namaz five times a day, fasting during the month of Ramadan etc. One who performs it gets the reward but one who does not perform it is a sinner, liable to be punished. One who rejects it altogether is a kafir (Unbeliever).   

  

b) Far,z-i-kifayah ; which is not compulsory on all Muslims and even if a group of Muslims perform it the responsibility of all Muslims would be fulfilled, for example Namaz-i-janazah (Namaz for the dead).

2. Wajib : means essential or necessary. It is next to Farz in importance., for example Namaz-i-Idd. One who performs it gets the reward but one who does not perform it is a sinner liable to be punished.

3. Sunnath : means that which Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) did. There are two types of sunnaths: a) Sunnath-i-muakkadah: that which Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) always did and ordered his followers to do. One who does it gets the reward and one who does not do, is a sinner liable to be questioned. Sunnath-i-ghair muakkadah ; that which Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) did occasionally and which is optional on his followers. One who does it gets a reward.

4. Nafil: means extra. One who does it gets a reward but one who does not do/ is not liable to be punished.  

                      

The table given below/ shows different categories/ number of rakats etc. of Namaz. For convenience following abbreviations have been used: Farz=F; Sunnath-i-muakkadah=SM; Sunnath-i-ghair muakkadah=SGM; Wajib=W; Nafil=N.