The regular voluntary prayer after the midday prayer

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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Fatwa number ( 20162 )
Q: I pray four rak'ahs before the midday prayer and four after it, and sometimes I pray ten before the midday prayer and ten after it. Is this permissible? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
A: The prescribed practice for the regular voluntary prayers (rawatib) of the Dhuhr prayer is to pray four rak'ahs before Dhuhr, after the adhan, and two rak'ahs after it. Evidence for this is what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), in which she said:

Narrated 'Aishah: "The Prophet (ﷺ) would not sleep until he recited Surat Bani Isra'il and Az-Zumar."

كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يدع أربعًا قبل الظهر

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2920Hasan (Darussalam)

This hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari in his (Sahih) and by Imam Ahmad in his (Musnad) and al-Nasa'i . In a narration by al-Tirmidhi with a good chain of transmission, it is stated:

Four before Zuhr and two after

أربعًا قبل الظهر وركعتين بعدها

Sunan an-Nasa'i 1794Hasan (Darussalam)

Whoever prays four rak'ahs after Dhuhr and four before it has done better, as narrated by Imam Ahmad and the compilers of the four Sunan collections with a good chain of transmission from Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

Whoever maintains four Rak'ah before Az-Zuhr and four after it, Allah makes him prohibited for the Fire.

من حافظ على أربع ركعات قبل الظهر وأربع بعدها حرمه الله على النار

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 428Sahih (Darussalam)

Every Muslim man and woman should strive to maintain
this great virtue and immense reward. You may pray voluntary prayers in addition to what I mentioned, as much as you wish, after the Dhuhr prayer until the Asr prayer, concluding every two rak'ahs with the taslim, based on what is authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:

Prayer by night and day should consist of pairs of rak'ahs.

صلاة الليل والنهار مثنى مثنى

Sunan Abi Dawud 1295Sahih (Al-Albani)

This was narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and by the people of the Sunan collections with an authentic chain of transmission. As for before the Dhuhr prayer, you must not pray during the time when the sun is standing still and is in the middle of the sky until it moves from the middle of the sky, meaning until the adhan is called for the Dhuhr prayer. This time is short, estimated at about one-third of an hour before the sun reaches its zenith. Evidence for this is what is established from 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

There were three times at which Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade us to pray, or bury our dead: When the sun begins to rise till it is fully up, when the sun is at its height at midday till it passes over the meridian, and when the sun draws near to setting till it sets.

ثلاث ساعات كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ينهانا أن نصلي فيهن، أو أن نقبر فيهن موتانا: حين تطلع الشمس بازغة حتى ترتفع، وحين يقوم قائم الظهيرة حتى تميل الشمس، وحين تضيف الشمس للغروب حتى تغرب

Sahih Muslim 831

This was narrated by Imam Muslim in his (Sahih) and al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa'i . As for the time before the sun stands still and is in the middle of the sky, you may pray voluntary prayers in it as much as you wish after the sun has risen the height of a spear, based on his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement:

There is no prayer after the morning prayer till the sun rises, and there is no prayer after the `Asr prayer till the sun sets.

لا صلاة بعد الصبح حتى ترتفع الشمس ولا صلاة بعد العصر حتى تغرب الشمس

Sahih al-Bukhari 586

It is agreed upon that this is authentic. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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