Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … From the ahadith of this chapter, it is established that performing prayer after ‘Asr is permissible, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself used to offer two rak‘ahs. First and foremost, it is necessary to keep in mind that as long as the sun appears high in the sky, voluntary (nafl) prayers may be performed after ‘Asr. The ahadith in which performing prayer after ‘Asr is absolutely prohibited will be specified in light of the following hadith: It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ali radi Allahu anhu, who said: “The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam forbade prayer after ‘Asr except when the sun is high.” (Abu Dawud: 1/200, Nasa’i: 1/97, Sahihah: 200) That is: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam forbade prayer after ‘Asr, except if the sun is high.

Now, let us discuss the issue mentioned in this chapter:

Performing voluntary (nafl) prayer after ‘Asr is permissible as long as the sun is high and clearly visible. Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah writes: Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah has narrated from a group among the Salaf that they used to perform two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr; among them were Sayyiduna Abu Burdah radi Allahu anhu, Abu al-Sha‘tha’, ‘Amr ibn Maymun, Aswad ibn Yazid, and Abu Wa’il. Likewise, Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir and Masruq also used to perform this prayer. As for the issue of why Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu used to punish for performing this prayer, this was his personal ijtihad, which relates to the principle of blocking the means (sadd al-dhara’i‘). As Hafiz Ibn Hajar has clarified in Fath al-Bari (2/65) by mentioning the following two narrations:

(a) Zayd ibn Khalid says: Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu punished me for performing two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr … Then Sayyiduna ‘Umar said: “O Zayd! Had I not feared that people would take these two rak‘ahs as a means to continue praying until the night, I would not have punished for them.” (Musnad Ahmad: 4/155, Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzaq: 2/431, 432) A similar narration is also reported from Sayyiduna Tamim al-Dari radi Allahu anhu, to whom Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu replied with these words: “But I fear that after you, people will continue to pray from ‘Asr until Maghrib, and eventually they will enter into the time which the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam forbade praying in.” (Musnad Ahmad: 4/102) Shurayh says: I asked Sayyidah ‘A’ishah radi Allahu anha about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. She said: “He would perform the Zuhr prayer and then two rak‘ahs of Sunnah, then the ‘Asr prayer and then two rak‘ahs of nafl.” I said: “Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu used to prohibit the two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr and punish those who performed them; what was the reason for this?” She said: “Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu himself used to perform these two rak‘ahs and he also knew that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed them. The real issue is that your people are of little understanding and ignorant; they continue to perform voluntary prayers from after Zuhr until ‘Asr, and then, after performing ‘Asr, they continue to pray (taking advantage of the concession of these two rak‘ahs) until Maghrib. That is why ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu punished them, and he did so rightly.” (Musnad al-Siraj: Q 132/1) I (al-Albani) say: Its chain is authentic; it is a strong witness for the previous two reports. It is established with utmost clarity that the reason for Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu prohibiting the two rak‘ahs was not the two rak‘ahs themselves, as most people have misunderstood. Sayyiduna ‘Umar feared that people might delay this prayer so much that the sun would become yellow, and then they would perform it during the disliked time.

In summary, performing two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr is Sunnah, provided they are performed before the sun turns yellow. The punishment by Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu was his ijtihadi matter; some Companions agreed with him and some disagreed, i.e., whether this prayer should be performed or not—there were two groups among the Companions regarding this. In such a case, one must refer to the Sunnah. The statement of Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu also proves the two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr; he said: “I also pray like my companions; I do not prohibit anyone from praying at any hour of the day or night, except that I would say: do not pray at the time of sunrise and sunset.” (Bukhari: 589) This was also the position of Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari radi Allahu anhu; before the caliphate of Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu, he used to perform two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr, but when he became caliph, he abandoned this prayer. When Sayyiduna ‘Umar passed away, he resumed performing these two rak‘ahs. When asked about the reason, he said: “Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu used to punish people for these two rak‘ahs, so I abandoned them.” Ibn Tawus says: My father, Tawus the Tabi‘i, also never abandoned these two rak‘ahs. (Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzaq: 2/433; the chain of this report is authentic.)

Now, we deem it appropriate to say that those among Ahl al-Sunnah who are eager to revive the Sunnahs and eradicate innovations should be diligent in performing these two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr, provided that the ‘Asr prayer is performed at its earliest time (or, in other words, as long as the sun has not turned yellow). And with Allah is success. (Sahihah: 2920)