The ruling on praying four rak'ahs before and after the midday prayer

Question:
May Allah reward you. The questioner asks: If one prays four consecutive rak'ahs before and after the midday prayer, are they to be concluded with a tashahhud as in the obligatory prayer?

Answer:
Yes, every two rak'ahs are concluded with a taslim, so four rak'ahs are concluded with two taslims; this is the most preferred. If one prays four rak'ahs with a single taslim, this is permissible according to the jurists, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the night prayer is prayed in pairs of two. He specified this for the night prayer, which indicates that the daytime prayer is not like the night prayer. They hold that it is permissible to pray the four rak'ahs with a single taslim, but the correct view is that one should conclude them with two taslims, and in a narration of the same hadith, .