1128/1 - Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O people, pray at your homes, for a person’s best prayer is the one he performs at his home, except the obligatory prayer.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1129/2 - Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Perform some of your prayers at your homes, and do not turn them into graves.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1130/3 - Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When one of you finishes his prayer in the mosque, let him offer some of his prayers at home, for Allah will put goodness in his house by virtue of his prayer.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) It is preferable to perform all supererogatory prayers at home, which is the Prophet’s guidance and his Sunnah.
2) When a person offers a supererogatory prayer at home, Allah puts goodness therein by virtue of his prayer, as his family will follow his example, and there he is farther from showing off his worship. Moreover, the reward of a supererogatory prayer at home is multiplied. There are other benefits related to this. However, if this serves no purpose but following the Prophet’s Sunnah, this would be good enough.
Multiplication of the reward of a supererogatory prayer at home is proved by a Hadīth narrated by Imām ‘Abdur-Razzāq al-San‘āni in which one of the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) reported that he said:
“A voluntary prayer a man performs at home is better than a voluntary prayer he performs among people as much as his prayer in congregation is better than his prayer alone.”
This Hadīth is supported by another one narrated by Imām Abu Ya‘la in which Sohaib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A voluntary prayer a man performs where people cannot see him is 25 times better than his prayer where people can see him.”
In Fayd al-Qadīr Sharh al-Jāmi‘ al-Saghīr, Al-Munāwi said:
“This is because supererogatory prayers are prescribed as means for drawing close to Allah on the basis of sincerity. So, the more hidden they are, the more distant a person is from show-off. Obligatory prayers, on the other hand, are prescribed for proclaiming the religion. So, it is more appropriate to show them.”
1131/4 - ‘Umar ibn ‘Atā’ reported that Nāfi‘ ibn Jubayr sent him to Al-Sā’ib, the nephew of Namir, to ask him about something that Mu‘āwiyah had seen him doing in prayer. He said: “Yes, I performed the Friday prayer along with him in the Maqsūrah (place in the mosque assigned for the ruler), and when the Imām concluded the prayer with Taslīm, I stood up in my place and performed the Sunnah prayer. When Mu‘āwiyah went home, he sent for me and said: ‘Never do again what you did. When you have observed the Friday prayer, do not start a (Sunnah) prayer till you have spoken to someone or have shifted your place. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us not to follow up the prayer with another prayer until we have talked or moved from the place.’” [Narrated by Muslim]
The Maqsūrah: a private room for prayer, separated from its surroundings.
1) It is recommended to separate the obligatory prayer from the supererogatory one, either by talking or moving from the place where the obligatory prayer was offered.
2) The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to adhere to the Prophet’s Sunnah and abandon what people had newly introduced in religion.
3) When a person does something wrong, we should teach him how to correct his mistake in a good manner, and we should express disapproval of what he did using wisdom and good admonition.