Sun sabawa game da sallolin nafila, ko a yi su rak'a biyu, ko hudu, ko uku. Malik da al-Shafi‘i sun ce sallolin nafila na dare ko na rana ana yin su rak'a biyu-biyu, tare da sallama bayan kowace rak'a biyu. Abu Hanifa ya ce idan mai ibada ya so, zai iya yin su biyu-biyu, ko uku, ko hudu, ko shida, ko takwas, ba tare da yin sallama a tsakani ba. Wata kungiyar malaman fiqhu kuwa sun bambanta tsakanin sallolin dare da na rana, suna cewa sallolin dare ana yin su biyu-biyu, yayin da sallolin rana ana yin su hudu-hudu.

They disagreed about supererogatory prayers, whether they are to be observed as two rak'as, four, or three. Malik and al-Shafi‘1 said that voluntary prayers during the night or the day are to be offered as two at a time with a salutation after every two rak^as. Abu Hanifa said that if the worshipper likes he may offer them as two at a time, or three, or four, or six, or eight, without offering a salutation in between. A group of jurists distinguished between prayers during the night and those during the day, saying that prayers during the night are two at a time while prayers during the day are four at a time.

Dalilin rashin jituwarsu a wannan batu yana samo asali ne daga sabanin hadisai a kan wannan maudu'i. An rawaito daga Ibn Umar cewa wani mutum ya tambayi Annabi (tsira da amincin Allah su tabbata a gare shi) game da sallolin dare, sai ya ce: "Sallar dare rak'o'i biyu-biyu ne, kuma idan ka ga asuba za ta kama ka, to ka yi raka'a daya a matsayin witr." Haka kuma an tabbatar daga Annabi (tsira da amincin Allah su tabbata a gare shi) cewa yana yin raka'o'i biyu kafin azahar da raka'o'i biyu bayanta, raka'o'i biyu bayan magariba, raka'o'i biyu bayan sallar Juma'a, da raka'o'i biyu kafin la'asar. Wadanda suka karbi wadannan hadisai biyu sun ce sallolin dare da na rana duka rak'o'i biyu-biyu ne. An tabbatar ta hadisin A'isha, wanda ta bayyana sallar Manzon Allah (tsira da amincin Allah su tabbata a gare shi) da cewa: "Ya yi raka'o'i hudu, ba za ka iya tunanin yadda suka kasance da kyau da tsayi ba! Sannan ya sake yin hudu, ba za ka iya tunanin yadda suka kasance da kyau da tsayi ba! Sannan ya yi uku, sai na ce: 'Ya Manzon Allah, shin kana barci kafin ka yi witr?' Sai ya ce: 'Ya A'isha, idanuwana suna barci, amma zuciyata ba ta barci ba'." Haka kuma an tabbatar ta hadisin Abu Hurairah cewa Annabi (tsira da amincin Allah su tabbata a gare shi) ya ce: "Wanda ya yi sallah bayan juma'a, to ya yi raka'o'i hudu." Al-Aswad ya rawaito daga A'isha cewa "Manzon Allah (tsira da amincin Allah su tabbata a gare shi) yana yin raka'o'i tara a dare," amma "lokacin da ya tsufa, sai ya yi bakwai." Wadanda suka dauki ma'anar zahirin wadannan hadisai sun halatta nafilolin raka'o'i hudu ko uku a lokaci guda, ba tare da hutu tsakaninsu da sallamawa ba. Mafi yawan malamai kuwa sun bayar da cewa nafilolin ba a yin su da raka'a daya, kuma ina ganin akwai wani sabani na bidi'a a cikin wannan.

The reason for their disagreement in this arises from the conflict of the traditions on the subject. A tradition from Ibn TJmar is related that a man asked the Prophet (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) about prayers during the night, and he said, “The prayer during the night is two at a time, and if you find that the morning is going to overtake you, then, offer one rak^a as witr”. It is also established from the Prophet (God’s peace and blessings be .upon him) “that he used to pray two rak^as before zuhr and two after it, two rakfas after maghrib, two rakfas after the Friday prayer, and two rak'as before casr”. Those who adopted these two traditions said that prayers during the night as well as the day are two rakcas at a time. It is established through a tradition of ‘Arisha in which she describes the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) by saying “He prayed four rak^as and you cannot imagine how beautiful they were or how long! He then then prayed four and you cannot imagine how beautiful they were or how long! He then prayed three, and I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before observing the wilrP He said, CO c Arisha, my eyes go to sleep, but my heart does not”*. It is also established, through a narration of Abu Hurayra, that the Prophet (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who prays after the jumida should pray four”. Al-Aswad has related from <A>isha “that the Messenger of Allah (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer nine ra&as during the night”—“but when he grew older, he prayed seven”. Those who adopted the apparent meaning in these traditions permitted supererogatory prayers as four or three at a time without a break between them with the salutation. The majority maintained that super­ erogatory prayers are not offered through a single rak*a, and I think there is some deviant disagreement in this.