Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has a principle that at times he affirms or refutes a narration through the chapter heading. Affirmation means that even though the wording of the hadith may not meet Imam Bukhari’s conditions, the content of the hadith is authentic. He establishes this content through one of his own narrations.

(2)
The purpose of the aforementioned chapter heading is also to establish the content of a hadith. Thus, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“There should be such an interval between the adhan and the iqamah that the one eating or drinking can fulfill his needs, and the one who needs to relieve himself can do so.” (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi, Kitab as-Salat, Hadith: 195)
Although this hadith is weak, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah’s intent is to establish its content. Thus, it is established from this hadith that there should be at least such an interval between the adhan and the takbir that if someone wishes to perform two rak‘ahs, he can do so—even the Maghrib prayer, whose time is limited, is not exempt from this.
Although in one hadith there is an exception mentioned for Maghrib, due to the opposition of the hadith memorisers (huffaz al-hadith), this addition is considered irregular (shadh).
Moreover, the narrator of the hadith, Hazrat Buraydah radi Allahu anhu, himself used to perform two rak‘ahs before Maghrib prayer.
If the aforementioned addition had been preserved, then at the very least Hazrat Buraydah would not have performed those two rak‘ahs. Furthermore, one of the narrators of this narration, Hayyan ibn ‘Abdullah, has also been critiqued by the hadith scholars.
(Fath al-Bari: 2/142)
We will discuss the matter of performing two rak‘ahs before Maghrib in detail later.

Benefits:

➊ The well-known hadith regarding the interval between the call to prayer (adhan) and the prayer itself is the one narrated from Jabir radi Allahu anhu, that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to Bilal radi Allahu anhu: «اجْعَلْ بَيْنَ أَذَانِكَ وَإِقَامَتِكَ قَدْرَ مَا يَفْرُعُ الآكِلُ مِنْ أَكْلِهِ وَالشَّارِبُ مِنْ شُرْيه وَالْمُعْتَصِرُ إِذَا دَخَلَ لِقَضَاءِ حَاجَتِهِ» [ترمذي: 195] "(O Bilal!) Keep such an interval between your adhan and iqamah that the one who is eating may finish his food, the one who is drinking may finish his drink, and the one who has gone to relieve himself may complete his need." However, this hadith is extremely weak, because among its narrators, according to Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah, 'Abd al-Mun'im is abandoned (matruk) and Yahya ibn Muslim is unknown (majhul). Therefore, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, in order to indicate the weakness of this hadith and other similar ones, ignored all of them and instead mentioned this hadith: that there should at least be such an interval between the adhan and the iqamah that if someone wishes to perform a voluntary prayer (nafl), he can at least perform two rak'ahs. It should be noted that in the hadith, «أَذانَيْنِ» refers to the adhan and the iqamah, because the words of the iqamah are the same as those of the adhan, and «صلاة» refers to the voluntary prayer (nafl), because if "adhanayn" refers to two adhans, then between them is the obligatory prayer (fard), which everyone is required to perform, whereas the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: «لِمَنْ شَاءَ» "Whoever wishes." It is also possible that «أَذَانَيْنِ» refers to the two adhans themselves, but «صَلَاةٌ» refers to the voluntary prayer, and the meaning is that between the two adhans, in addition to the obligatory prayer, there is also the voluntary prayer, so except for the prohibited times, whoever wishes to perform a voluntary prayer may do so.

➋ Some people have said that this hadith does not apply to the adhan and iqamah of Maghrib; according to them, it is not permissible to perform voluntary prayers after the adhan of Maghrib, and this hadith is only for the other prayers, because the time for Maghrib is very short. However, this is not correct. In the time of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Companions used to frequently perform two rak'ahs after the adhan of Maghrib, as is mentioned in the following hadith. As for the issue of the time being short, Nawawi has written in his commentary on Sahih Muslim that "the claim that these two rak'ahs delay the Maghrib from its earliest time is a corrupt statement that throws the Sunnah aside." The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself would sometimes recite Surah al-A'raf in Maghrib prayer, which is a surah of more than one juz', so is there not room for two rak'ahs after the adhan of Maghrib? If there was no room, then why did the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam specifically mention Maghrib by name and say: «صَلُّوا قَبْلَ صَلَاةِ الْمَغْرِبِ، قَالَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ: لِمَنْ شَاءَ، كَرَاهِيَةَ أَن يَتَّخِذَهَا النَّاسُ سُنَّةٌ» [بخاري: 1183] "Pray before the Maghrib prayer." The third time he said, "Whoever wishes," disliking that people might consider it an obligatory practice.

Hadith Commentary:

The purpose of the chapter is that there should be some interval between the call to prayer (adhan) and the commencement (iqamah) of the prayer.
At the very least, it is necessary that a person is able to perform two units (rak‘ah) of Sunnah prayer.
However, due to the shortness of time at Maghrib, the congregational prayer is started immediately.
Yet, if someone wishes to perform two units of Sunnah prayer before the obligatory (fard) prayer of Maghrib, permission is granted for this.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
The translation of the words of the hadith is as follows: "There is a prayer between every two calls to prayer (adhan)."
It is not correct to take this at its apparent meaning, because between the two calls to prayer, the obligatory prayer is performed, whereas in this hadith, performing a prayer between the two calls to prayer has been left to one's discretionary choice.
In reality, in this hadith, the iqamah has been referred to as adhan by way of predominance (taghlib), because the adhan is an announcement of the entry of the time for prayer, and the iqamah is an announcement of the actual time for performing the prayer, by which those present are alerted.
(Fath al-Bari: 2/141)
(2)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has written, quoting Allamah Ibn al-Jawzi rahimahullah:
This hadith serves to remove a misconception that only the prayer for which the adhan is given is permissible, and perhaps no other prayer is allowed besides it. However, this hadith removes that misconception, indicating that after the adhan, supererogatory prayers (nawafil) and the like may be performed. As for the iqamah, the principle remains that after it, only the prayer for which the iqamah was pronounced is to be performed.
As is mentioned in the hadith: When the takbir (iqamah) is pronounced for prayer, then at that time only the prayer for which the takbir is pronounced is permissible.
(Sahih Muslim, Salat al-Musafirin, Hadith: 1644(710))

Benefits:

➊ The well-known hadith regarding the interval between the call to prayer (adhan) and the prayer itself is the one narrated from Jabir radi Allahu anhu, that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to Bilal radi Allahu anhu: «اجْعَلْ بَيْنَ أَذَانِكَ وَإِقَامَتِكَ قَدْرَ مَا يَفْرُعُ الآكِلُ مِنْ أَكْلِهِ وَالشَّارِبُ مِنْ شُرْيه وَالْمُعْتَصِرُ إِذَا دَخَلَ لِقَضَاءِ حَاجَتِهِ» [ترمذي: 195] "(O Bilal!) Keep such an interval between your adhan and iqamah that the one who is eating may finish his food, the one who is drinking may finish his drink, and the one who has gone to relieve himself may complete his need." However, this hadith is extremely weak, because among its narrators, according to Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah, 'Abd al-Mun'im is abandoned (matruk) and Yahya ibn Muslim is unknown (majhul). Therefore, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, in order to indicate the weakness of this hadith and other similar ones, ignored all of them and instead mentioned this hadith: that there should at least be such an interval between the adhan and the iqamah that if someone wishes to perform a voluntary prayer (nafl), he can at least perform two rak'ahs. It should be noted that in the hadith, «أَذانَيْنِ» refers to the adhan and the iqamah, because the words of the iqamah are the same as those of the adhan, and «صلاة» refers to voluntary prayer (nafl), because if "adhanayn" refers to two adhans themselves, then between them is the obligatory prayer (fard), which everyone is required to perform, whereas the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: «لِمَنْ شَاءَ» "Whoever wishes." It is also possible that «أَذَانَيْنِ» refers to the two adhans themselves, but «صَلَاةٌ» refers to voluntary prayer (nafl), and the meaning is that between the two adhans, in addition to the obligatory prayer, there is also voluntary prayer, so except for the prohibited times, whoever wishes to perform voluntary prayer may do so.

➋ Some people have said that this hadith does not apply to the adhan and iqamah of Maghrib; according to them, it is not permissible to perform voluntary prayer after the adhan of Maghrib, and this hadith is only for the other prayers, because the time for Maghrib is very short. However, this is not correct. In the time of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Companions used to frequently perform two rak'ahs after the adhan of Maghrib, as is mentioned in the following hadith. As for the claim that the time is short, Nawawi has written in Sharh Muslim: "The claim that these two rak'ahs delay the Maghrib from its earliest time is a corrupt statement that throws the Sunnah aside." The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself would sometimes recite Surah al-A'raf in Maghrib prayer, which is more than one juz' in length, so is there not room for two rak'ahs after the adhan of Maghrib? If there were no room, then why did the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam specifically mention Maghrib by name and say: «صَلُّوا قَبْلَ صَلَاةِ الْمَغْرِبِ، قَالَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ: لِمَنْ شَاءَ، كَرَاهِيَةَ أَن يَتَّخِذَهَا النَّاسُ سُنَّةٌ» [بخاري: 1183] "Pray before the Maghrib prayer." The third time he said: "Whoever wishes," disliking that people might consider it an obligatory practice.

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: From the narration of Abdullah al-Muzani radi Allahu anhu in Sahih al-Bukhari, it is understood that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam stated this matter specifically regarding the Maghrib (sunset) prayer.

English Commentary:
1:
By "both calls to prayer" is meant the adhan and the iqamah.
This hadith indicates the permissibility of performing two rak‘ahs after the adhan of Maghrib.
The claim that this ruling is abrogated is not worthy of consideration, as there is no evidence for it.
Similarly, the assertion that this would delay the Maghrib prayer is incorrect, because this prayer is performed very lightly,
and it hardly takes two or three minutes, which does not affect the performance of Maghrib at its earliest time, nor does it cause the prayer to be delayed.
(In one narration of Sahih al-Bukhari, the imperative form is used: "Pray before Maghrib.")

1283. Commentary:
By "the two calls to prayer" is meant the well-known adhan and iqamah, and the voluntary prayers (nawafil) which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) regularly observed, emphasized, and encouraged between these two are called the regular (mu’akkadah) Sunnah prayers. Those for which regular observance was not emphasized are called non-emphasized (ghayr mu’akkadah) Sunnah prayers.

682. Commentary:

➊ It is established that there should be a pause for voluntary (nafl) prayer between every call to prayer (adhan) and the commencement (iqamah). Whoever wishes may perform at least two units (rak‘ah) of prayer, and this applies even between the adhan and iqamah of Maghrib.

➋ Along with the encouraging command of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam regarding the two rak‘ahs before Maghrib, his tacit approval also indicates its importance. The senior Companions radi Allahu anhum practiced this during the Prophetic era, and after the Prophetic era, the eminent Followers (Tabi‘in) also maintained this practice. To this day, by Allah’s grace, those who uphold the Book and the Sunnah continue this practice, as detailed in the introduction to the Book of Prayer Times (Kitab al-Mawaqit) under the heading “The Recommendation of Two Rak‘ahs of Prayer Before Maghrib, Between the Adhan and Iqamah”—refer to that section for further details.

➌ Where there are emphasized Sunnah (sunnah mu’akkadah) prayers, there is already a pause; in the remaining prayers, it is also recommended. The Hanafis do not accept a pause in the Maghrib prayer, arguing that it would cause a delay. However, what great harm is there in a pause of a few minutes, especially when the Hanafis themselves sometimes delay the Maghrib adhan by five minutes, particularly in Ramadan at the time of breaking the fast? In some (Barelvi) Hanafi mosques, only the announcement for iftar is made, and then, after five to seven minutes, once eating and drinking as needed is completed, the adhan is given—which is absolutely contrary to the Sunnah. If such caution does not delay the prayer, then how would a brief, Sunnah two rak‘ahs cause any delay? Acting upon the Sunnah is a source of blessing and reward.

➍ The two calls to prayer (adhanayn) do not refer to two actual adhans, because between them is the obligatory prayer, whereas here the wording of «لمن شاء» is “whoever wishes may pray,” indicating that this is not the obligatory prayer. Therefore, the two calls refer to the adhan and the iqamah.

Benefits and Issues:
➊
Sometimes the iqamah is also referred to as adhan. The first adhan of Jumu‘ah has, in this sense, been called the third adhan. See: (Hadith: 1135) In this hadith as well, the iqamah has been expressed as adhan. From this, it becomes clear that after every adhan, the sunnah prayers should be performed. Just as before Zuhr, ‘Asr, ‘Isha, and Fajr, similarly after the adhan of Maghrib, there are also sunnah prayers before the Maghrib prayer. And how many are they? Only two sunnah units. Because in another narration, this is explicitly mentioned. However, these are non-emphasized (ghayr mu’akkadah) sunnahs. Because the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) left their performance to the desire of the one praying.

➋
This prayer is performed after the adhan has ended. As is evident from the phrase “between the adhan and the iqamah.”

➌
From (liman shaa’), it is clear that this sunnah is non-emphasized (ghayr mu’akkadah).