Four Rakʿāt Before ʿAṣr Prayer — Proven by Authentic Aḥādīth
📘 Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, p. 419
❖ Question:
Is it established from authentic ḥadīths to offer four rakʿāt of Sunnah prayer before the ʿAṣr Ṣalāh?
✅ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
There are multiple authentic and reliable aḥādīth that prove the legitimacy and virtue of praying four rakʿāt before ʿAṣr, which was the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
✿ 1. The Practice of the Prophet ﷺ
Narration:
❝ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي قَبْلَ الْعَصْرِ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ ❞
“The Prophet ﷺ used to pray four rakʿāt before ʿAṣr.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 429, Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1161)
✔ Status:
→ This narration is ḥasan (sound) with supporting chains
→ Also recorded in al-Awsaṭ by Ṭabarānī (Vol. 3, pp. 275–276, Ḥadīth 2601)
✿ 2. The Prophet’s Supplication for One Who Performs Them
Narration:
❝ رَحِمَ اللَّهُ امْرَأً صَلَّى قَبْلَ الْعَصْرِ أَرْبَعًا ❞
“May Allāh have mercy on a person who offers four rakʿāt before ʿAṣr.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 430, Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1271)
✔ Status:
→ Chain is ḥasan
→ Declared ṣaḥīḥ by:
• Ibn Khuzaymah (Ḥadīth 1193)
• Ibn Ḥibbān (Mawārid al-Ẓamān, Ḥadīth 616)
✿ How Should These Four Rakʿāt Be Performed?
There is scholarly discussion on whether these four rakʿāt should be prayed in a single set (with one salām) or in two sets (with salām after every two rakʿāt).
◉ View of Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh:
Four rakʿāt should be prayed with two tashahhud and one salām.
◉ Preferred and Stronger View Based on Authentic Ḥadīth:
Perform them as two rakʿāt + salām, then two rakʿāt + salām
Supporting Ḥadīth:
❝ صَلَاةُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى ❞
“The night and day prayer is in sets of two rakʿāt.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1295, Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 597)
✔ Ḥasan isnād
✅ Conclusion:
◉ Praying four rakʿāt Sunnah before ʿAṣr is established from the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
◉ It is a virtuous and rewarded act — so much so that the Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ of mercy for the one who offers it.
◉ The preferred method is to pray two rakʿāt + salām, then two rakʿāt + salām, based on the general Prophetic guidance for voluntary prayers.
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
