بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Prayer CATEGORIES
Table of prayer categories and rakaat*
* Rak'ah (pl. rakaat) is a basic prayer unit consisting of standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting together with reciting the Quran and dua.
Prayer categories explained
There are several categories of prayer in Islam, and each category has a certain priority and importance. The four categories are fard, wajib, sunnah, and nafl.
Fard - obligatory: they are the five obligatory daily prayers. That's what a beginner should start from. Praying them has the greatest reward, and not praying them is a grave sin.
Wajib - close to obligatory: wajib is also obligatory according to the Hanafi school of law. However, this category is not the same level as fard. A prominent example of such prayer is Witr, prayed after 'Isha. It is the most important prayer after the fard.
Sunnah - emphasized and non-emphasized: these are the recommended prayers that were performed regularly by the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). They are of two categories: emphasized (muakkadah) and non-emphasized (ghayr muakkadah), while the most important among them is the sunnah of Fajr. The emphasized sunnahs should eventually become a part of your daily practice on top of obligatory prayers.
Nafl - optional: nafl prayer are optional prayers that can be prayed almost at any time, and praying them is rewarded. However, not praying them is not sinful. They are indeed optional, and go on top of all the other prayer categories.
Conclusion: a beginner starts from the fard
Some prayers are more important than others, so we adopt them in the order of priority. This categorization brings a great ease to beginners, and gives us the understanding that all good actions in life have certain priority, and we start from the most important ones.
Thus, a beginner should start from the fard prayers, and make them an integral part of his/her life. Once the fard is established, the beginner should proceed to other prayers in the order of importance. Assess your strength correctly, and proceed with firmness.
May Allah give us the wisdom to see the priorities of things and grant us the success to act in accordance with that wisdom. Ameen!