How many rak’ahs did the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) perform the sunnah of the afternoon prayer as?

- How did the Prophet perform the sunnah of the afternoon prayer (asr)?
- How many rak’ahs does the sunnah of the afternoon prayer consist of?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Ali (ra) narrates:

The Prophet (pbuh) performed a prayer of four rak’ahs before the fard of the afternoon prayer (asr). In the second rak’ah, he would greet the angels closest to Allah Almighty and the Muslims and believers who followed their path. (Tirmidhi, Mawaqit 201, Jumu’a 66. See also Nasai, Imamah 5; Ibn Majah, Iqamah 109)

According to the narration of Abdullah b. Umar (ra), the Prophet (pbuh) said:

“May Allah have mercy on the person who prays four rak’ahs before the fard of the afternoon prayer.” (Abu Dawud, Tatawwu 8; Tirmidhi, Salah 201.)

According to what is narrated from Ali (ra), the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed two rak’ahs before the fard of the afternoon prayer. (Abu Dawud, Tatawwu 8)

How should we understand the hadiths above?

It is understood from the narrations above that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) performed the sunnah prayer of the afternoon prayer sometimes as two rak’ahs and sometimes as four rak’ahs. In the second narration above, it is seen that he prayed so that Allah would have mercy on the person who performed the sunnah of the afternoon prayer as four rak’ahs.

The statement that the Prophet (pbuh) greeted the angels and Muslims, and his words “as-salamu alayna wa ala ibadillahis-salihin” / “Peace be upon us and the righteous servants of Allah” at the end of the second rak’ah were interpreted by some scholars, including Hanafis as getting up for the third rak’ah. Imam Shafii and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal interpreted it as saluting after the second rak’ah, that is, performing those four rak’ahs as two rak’ahs separately.

That our Prophet (pbuh) performed this sunnah sometimes as two and sometimes as four rak’ahs shows that the practice of both Hanafis and other scholars is correct. It should never be forgotten that the seemingly different thoughts of our scholars about such practices is nothing but an effort to determine what is more virtuous. May Allah be pleased with them all!

According to Maymuna (ra), one of the wives of the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) always wanted to perform a prayer or a good deed he performed regularly. Once, while he was busy with state affairs, he could not perform the two rak’ahs of prayer he regularly performed before the afternoon prayer. After performing the afternoon prayer, he came home and performed the sunnah that he could not perform after the afternoon prayer. (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, VI, 334-335)

It is also narrated that this prayer, which he could not perform due to being busy, is the last sunnah of the noon prayer.

Our scholars researched the prayers that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) performed after the afternoon prayer and concluded that he did not want his ummah to perform any sunnah prayers after the fard prayer of the afternoon prayer and did not allow them to do so due to his compassion for his ummah even though he performed them due to various reasons.

Umar’s narration “The Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited performing prayers after the afternoon prayer until sunset” (Bukhari, Mawaqit 30, 31) and the fact that he prevented those who attempted to perform prayers after the afternoon prayer despite this prohibition show that sunnah prayers must not be performed after the afternoon prayer.

According to the hadiths above, it is mandub to perform four rak’ahs before the afternoon prayer. It is a deed of worship with high thawab and virtue. Imam Muhammad holds the view that the sunnah performed before the afternoon prayer can be two or four rak’ahs. In other words, the sunnah prayer of the afternoon prayer can also be performed as two rak’ahs. However, other imams of Hanafi madhhab regard it as more virtuous to perform it as four rak’ahs. Accordingly:

- The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) performed the sunnah prayer of the afternoon prayer sometimes as two and sometimes as four rak’ahs.

- The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) prayed for those who regularly performed the four-rak’ah sunnah prayer before the afternoon prayer.

- Those who perform the sunnah prayer of the afternoon prayer gain great thawabs.

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