Why You should pray the Sunnah Prayers Part I: Gaining Allah’s Love

‘Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”’

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Dear brothers and sisters, read the Sunnah prayers to gain Allah’s blessed love.

patience, barrier, remembrance of Allah,
Allah says:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Say, [O Muhammad ﷺ], “If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (3:31)

Offering the sunnah prayers is part of following the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So do so to gain Allah’s blessed love.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said that Allah said:

مَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ عَبْدِي بِشَىْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَىَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَىَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ، فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ، وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ، وَيَدَهُ الَّتِي يَبْطُشُ بِهَا وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِي يَمْشِي بِهَا، وَإِنْ سَأَلَنِي لَأُعْطِيَنَّهُ، وَلَئِنِ اسْتَعَاذَنِي لَأُعِيذَنَّهُ

My slave does not come near to me with anything more beloved to me than what I have enjoined upon him; And My slave continues to draw near to me with nawafil (supererogatory) deeds until I love him. Then when I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.(Bukhari, 6502)

Thus the sunnah prayers become a way of getting closer to Allah as they are extra other than the obligatory, so do so to gain Allah’s divine love.