Re: husband asked me to read something
Nafl - supererogatory prayers.
These can be prayed any time of the day however, like any other prayers they can not be performed on zawal or the time nearing sunrise or sunset.
There are some nafala attached to the main prayers - read below
And there are some nafala that are general fixed/routine - read below
And there are some which are on an as needed basis
For the as needed basis we have flexibility in choosing when to pray them all of them must be prayed as sets of 2 rakahs the intention should be in accordance to what you have determined. It could be for shukr, it could be for making a du'a, it could be for compensating missed prayers or for compensating imperfectly executed prayers. These are little signs of a person's love for Allah (SWT) extra non-obligatory prayers should only be performed if the rest of the prayers are focussed on.
There are some nafala attached to the main fard prayers of the day. Often you may see people offer prayers before jamaat and after these are the usual ones often called Sunnah (if they were performed regularly by RasoolAllah (SAW)) or just simply nafala.
The nafala which have given methods or routines are prayers such as:
Istikhara - usually at night before going to sleep
Tahajjud - midnight after waking before fajr time
Taraweeh during Ramadan between Isha Fard and Isha Witr
Ishraq (after sunrise) - Salat-ud-Duha
Tahaiyatul Masjid - Upon entering the Masjid provided it is outside the forbidden times
There are some other fixed nafala after tawaf in Makkah, after wearing the ihram, and for a multitude of other settings, another example is before approaching ones wife on the first conjugal night, (which may or may not be the first night of marriage)