Short answer
Not in the Hanafi school. Do not pray the two sunnah rakats between the Fajr fard and sunrise. If you missed them, pray them after the sun has fully risen and before zawal. If you arrive as the congregation starts, pray the sunnah first away from the rows if you can still catch the imam. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools allow praying them right after the fard.
The two sunnah of Fajr are the most emphasised sunnah. Praying them after the Fajr fard before sunrise is makruh tahrimi. If missed, Imam Muhammad's view, which is preferred, is to pray them after sunrise and before zawal. When the congregation has started, one prays them apart from the rows if one expects to catch the imam, at least in the final sitting according to many texts.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The Fajr sunnah may be prayed straight after the fard, or later; once the iqamah is called, one joins the congregation instead of praying it.
- Maliki
- Once the iqamah is called, join the congregation and pray the sunnah after sunrise.
- Hanbali
- It may be prayed straight after the fard or later; once the iqamah is called, one joins the congregation.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said the two rakats of Fajr are better than the world and all it contains, and he never left them, even when travelling. The Hanafi school therefore takes great care over them.
- Best: pray them at home or in the masjid before the iqamah.
- Iqamah already called: if you think you can pray the sunnah and still join the imam (many Hanafi texts say even in the final sitting), pray them quickly away from the rows, for example at the back or in a side room. If you would miss the congregation completely, join it and leave the sunnah.
- After the fard, before sunrise: do not pray them. This is a time when nafl is forbidden.
- After sunrise, before zawal: pray them then. This is Imam Muhammad's view, and it is the one generally followed.
- After zawal: they lapse unless the fard was also missed, in which case see praying Fajr after sunrise.
The other schools rely on a hadith in which a man prayed the sunnah after the fard and the Prophet ﷺ stayed silent, and on the hadith that once the iqamah is called the only prayer is the obligatory one. Hanafis read the first as a special case and apply the second to praying in the rows. If you follow another school, follow its teaching.
For the full list of daily sunnah prayers, see what are the sunnah prayers.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 725
Sahih... ركعتا الفجر خير من الدنيا وما فيها ...
"The two rakats of Fajr are better than the world and what is in it."
The great virtue of the Fajr sunnah.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 423
Graded sahih... من لم يصل ركعتي الفجر فليصلهما بعد ما تطلع الشمس ...
"Whoever has not prayed the two rakats of Fajr, let him pray them after the sun rises."
Missed Fajr sunnah is prayed after sunrise.
Sahih Muslim 710
Sahih... إذا أقيمت الصلاة فلا صلاة إلا المكتوبة ...
"When the iqamah is called, there is no prayer except the obligatory one."
No sunnah in the rows once the congregation starts.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on catching the obligatory prayer. Whoever fears missing Fajr in congregation joins it; otherwise he prays the sunnah at the door of the masjid.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Chapter on catching the obligatory prayer. The Fajr sunnah is not made up alone except, per Muhammad, after sunrise until zawal.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Chapter on voluntary prayer. The Shafi'i permission to pray the Fajr sunnah after the fard.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.