Is There Any Proof for Six Voluntary Rakʿahs Between Maghrib and ʿIshā’?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Is there any authentic evidence for offering six rakʿahs of voluntary prayer between Maghrib and ʿIshā’?
❖ Answer:
The ḥadīths commonly cited regarding the virtue of praying between Maghrib and ʿIshā’, especially those mentioning six rakʿahs, are all weak (ḍaʿīf) and not acceptable as proof. Here is a detailed analysis:
✿ Analysis of Reported Narrations:
① Ḥadīth from Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها:
“Whoever prays twenty rakʿahs between Maghrib and ʿIshā’, Allah will build a house for him in Paradise.”
📘 Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1373
❌ This narration is fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
- Yaʿqūb ibn Walīd al-Madanī is in the chain.
- Imām Aḥmad رحمه الله said about him:
“He was among the great liars and used to fabricate ḥadīths.”
📘 Al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl: 9/216
- The supporting narration in al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafā’ al-Rijāl includes ʿAmr ibn Jarīr, about whom Imām Abū Ḥātim said:
“He was a liar.”
📘 Al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl: 6/224
② Ḥadīth from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:
“Whoever performs six rakʿahs after Maghrib without speaking any evil in between, it will be equal to twelve years of worship.”
📘 Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 435, Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1374, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 1195
❌ Very weak due to ʿUmar ibn Abī Shum – a weak and rejected narrator.
③ Ḥadīth from ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir رضي الله عنهما:
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ offering six rakʿahs after Maghrib and he said: Whoever performs six rakʿahs after Maghrib, all his sins will be forgiven, even if as much as the foam of the sea.”
📘 Al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ by al-Ṭabarānī: 7245
❌ The chain is very weak and contains unknown (majhūl) narrators.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله said:
“It contains unknown narrators.”
📘 Al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah: 776
④ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
“The prayer of the oft-repentant (ṣalāt al-awwābīn) is between the time people turn away after Maghrib and before ʿIshā’.”
📘 Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/196
❌ Weak chain due to Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah al-Rabdhī.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله said:
“He is weak according to the majority of scholars.”
📘 Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, under Surah al-Isrā’: 44
⑤ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
“Whoever offers four rakʿahs after Maghrib is like one who joins one battle after another.”
📘 Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/196
❌ Again, the chain contains Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah, hence weak.
⑥ Statement of Ibn al-Munkadir and Abū Ḥāzim on Surah al-Sajdah (32:16):
﴿تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ﴾
“They forsake their beds…”
They interpreted this as:
“The prayer of the awwābīn is between Maghrib and ʿIshā’.”
📘 Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 3/19
❌ Weak due to Ibn Lahīʿah, who is mixed-up and a mudallis.
⑦ Statement of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
The narration has no accessible chain, and its authenticity cannot be verified.
⚠ Note on Ṣalāt al-Awwābīn:
Some label this prayer between Maghrib and ʿIshā’ as Ṣalāt al-Awwābīn, but this is not accurate, as the authentic Sunnah refers to Ṣalāt al-Awwābīn as the Duḥā (forenoon) prayer, based on sound ḥadīths.
✅ Important Note:
Offering unspecified nafl (voluntary) prayers between Maghrib and ʿIshā’ is proven from the Prophet ﷺ. However, to specify six rakʿahs with a set virtue is not supported by any authentic ḥadīth.
