Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that I and Urwah bin Zubair entered the Prophet’s Mosque. There, Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) was sitting near the chamber of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Some people were performing the Ishraq prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque. Mujahid says that we asked Abdullah bin Umar about this prayer of those people, so he replied that it is an innovation (bid’ah). Then we asked him how many Umrahs the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed. He said four, and one of them was in Rajab. But we did not like to refute his statement. Mujahid narrated that we heard the sound of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the Mother of the Believers, using a miswak from her chamber. So Urwah asked, “O my mother, O Mother of the Believers, are you hearing what Abu Abdur Rahman is saying?” Lady Aisha asked, “What is he saying?” Urwah said, “He is saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed four Umrahs, one of which was in Rajab.” She replied, “May Allah have mercy on Abu Abdur Rahman. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not perform any Umrah except that (Ibn Umar) himself was present, and he never performed Umrah in Rajab.”
Hadith Referenceاللؤلؤ والمرجان / كتاب الحج / 785
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:«صحیح»
Hadith Takhrij«صحیح، أخرجه البخاري في: 26 كتاب العمرة: 3 باب كم اعتمر النبي صلي الله عليه وسلم»
Brief Explanation
The forenoon (Duha) prayer is established by authentic ahadith and its performance is Sunnah. As for the negation by Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha, that is limited to her own knowledge, and it is a negation of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performing the forenoon prayer always and regularly. And as for Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma having called it an innovation (bid‘ah), by this statement he means when the forenoon prayer is performed in the mosque with special attention and arrangement, as is mentioned in this narration regarding the action of the people. Secondly, it will be interpreted in the context of holding the belief that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed it perpetually and with regularity.