Nasai

1798. Commentary: The twelve rak‘ahs (units of prayer) referred to by the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have already been mentioned in previous hadiths. ‘Ata’ (rahimahullah) understood this as general, but this is not correct.

1800. Commentary:
➊ Abu Yunus Qushayri is a student of ‘Ata. He has mentioned Shahr ibn Hawshab as the teacher of ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah, thereby differing from the other students of ‘Ata whose narrations have just been mentioned. The second difference is that Abu Yunus, in his narration, did not mention the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Thus, the narration is mentioned as mawquf (stopped at the Companion) rather than marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet), whereas the other students narrate it as marfu‘.
➋ That is, he will enter Paradise; otherwise, what benefit is there in the house? Also, it is hoped that he will enter (Paradise) at the very first instance; otherwise, absolute entry is established on the basis of true faith (iman) as well. And Allah knows best.

1801. Commentary: "Before Zuhr" — this meaning has been adopted in order to reconcile this hadith with another hadith.

1803. Commentary: This narration is weak in its chain. In this narration, the mention of two (rak‘ahs) before ‘Asr instead of after ‘Isha is a mistake of the narrator, and that is Fulayh ibn Sulayman, who is weak. Imam al-Nasa’i rahimahullah has said about him in «لیس بالقوي» “He is not strong.” Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah has accepted him in follow-up narrations in his Sahih.

1805. Commentary: Isma'il's student Yazid bin Harun has narrated this report as marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), whereas Ya‘la and ‘Abdullah have narrated it as mawquf (attributed to a Companion), as is clearly evident from the following three narrations.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
يَأْخُذْنَ مِنْ رَؤُسِهِنَّ:
They would make their hair like a "wafrah" (a certain style/length).
When women performed the ritual bath (ghusl), if their hair was loose, they would gather it together and place it on the head or nape of the neck, so that pouring water over the body would become easier. If the hair was loose and lying on the back, washing the body underneath it would become difficult and burdensome. Therefore, the meaning of "akhadh" here is to gather or hold, not to cut.

(2)
Wafrah:
According to the general linguists, it refers to hair that reaches the ears, and according to Imam Asma‘i, it refers to hair that falls on the shoulders.

Benefits and Issues:
Aishah radi Allahu anha demonstrated the ritual bath (ghusl) to her foster brother Abdullah bin Yazid and her foster nephew Abu Salamah so that they could learn both the amount of water required for the ritual bath and the manner of performing it. From this, it is also understood that it is permissible for a mahram to see the upper part of a woman’s body. Aishah radi Allahu anha demonstrated the method of washing the head, while the rest of the body was covered. Abu Salamah radi Allahu anhu had been breastfed by Aishah’s radi Allahu anha sister, Umm Kulthum.
(Fath al-Mulhim, vol. 1, p. 472)

1250. Commentary:
This glad tidings pertains to the Sunnah prayers performed before and after the obligatory (fard) prayers, which are called "Sunan Mu’akkadah" or "Sunan Rawatib." This hadith clearly demonstrates the virtue of the Sunan Mu’akkadah. The details of these twelve rak‘ahs have been explained by the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in other hadiths as follows: four rak‘ahs before Dhuhr, two rak‘ahs after it, two rak‘ahs after Maghrib, two rak‘ahs after ‘Isha, and two rak‘ahs before the Fajr prayer. See: [جامع الترمذي، الصلاة، حديث : 415]

In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, there is also mention from Ibn ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) of performing two rak‘ahs before Dhuhr. See: [صحيح بخاري، التطوع، حديث : 1172، 1180، وصحيح مسلم، صلاة المسافرين، حديث : 729]

From this, it is understood that whoever performs even ten rak‘ahs in the day, apart from the obligatory prayers, a house will be built for him in Paradise as well. However, the scholars state regarding this that if there is enough time before the Dhuhr prayer to perform four rak‘ahs, then four should be performed, and it is better to perform them as two sets of two rak‘ahs, although it is also permissible to perform them with one salam.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ By "twelve rak‘ahs" is meant the emphasized Sunnah prayers (sunan mu’akkadah), the details of which have been mentioned in the previous hadith.

➋ The construction of a house in Paradise is the reward for these prayers. Even if a person enters Paradise due to other deeds, he will still receive a special house as a reward for this particular act.

➌ From this, it is understood that the sins of the one who regularly performs the Sunnah prayers will be forgiven, due to which he will become deserving of entering Paradise by Allah’s mercy. Therefore, abandoning the Sunnah prayers merely out of laziness and carelessness is a blameworthy act.