Two Sunnah Rak'ah After 'Asr Prayer

Part 1) A Neglected Sunnan – Two Rakats after Asr for everyone

Al-Albani (may Allaah rest him in Firdous) said,  "This is a prayer which is forgotten and should be revived." [Saheehah hadeeth hadeeth 3174]

عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ صَلاَتَانِ مَا تَرَكَهُمَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- فِى بَيْتِى سِرًّا وَلاَ عَلاَنِيَةً رَكْعَتَانِ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ وَرَكْعَتَانِ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ.

1.Âisha (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: "There are two prayers that the messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) never neglected to pray in my house secretly or publicly: Two Rak'ah before Fajr and two Rak'ah after Asr." [Bukhari 592]

عائِشَةُ رضى الله تعالى عنها مَا دَخَلَ عَلَىَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ إِلاَّ صَلاَّهُمَا.

2. Âisha (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: Anytime Allaah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came to my house after Asr he prayed two Rak'ah [Bukhari 593]

The scholars' analysis about these two Rak’ah:

1.    ‪‬Imam At-Tahawee (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, "Some people see no harm in praying two Rak’ah after Asr and consider them a Sunnah." [Sharh Ma'anee Al-Athar 1-301]

2.    ‪‬Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, "…Third: If this hadeeth is authentic it’s a proof for us. This hadeeth tells us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak'ah after Asr. On the contrary if it wasn’t allowed or disliked, Allaah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wouldn't have prayed these two rak'ah. His actions are guidance and correct, regardless whether he does it once or a thousand times." [Al-Muhalla]

3.    ‪‬Ibn Hajr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, "To cling to these narrations establish the permissibility to offer a supererogatory prayer after Asr in any respect as long as it isn't intended to be done during sunset." [Fath 2/85]

Part 2)
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Shaykh Ubayd Al-Jaabiree (may Allaah preserve him) said, "There are a large number of people who don't know that Asr has a Sunnah. It is recommended to pray two rak'ah after Asr. Many people today are unaware of this act therefore it causes some confusion. We have emphasised on more than one occasion that if a Muslim combines Thur and Asr he doesn't offer a sunnah prayer between them. Because doing so contradicts the act of joining. However when he finishes Asr he can pray two rak'ah if he wishes; since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do so as collected by Imam Muslim.

It's a must to know that many Muslims not only in contemporary times but past centuries as well neglected these two rak'ah as being Sunnah. Âisha (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: Anytime Allaah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came to my house after Asr he prayed two Rak'ah. "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two rak'ah before Thur. One day he was to occupied to offer them at that time, hence he prayed them after Asr and continued this act. The fact that he continued to pray these two Rak'ah after Asr makes it a Sunnah. He didn't just pray them once. We are not prohibited from praying these two rak'ah.

[www.Sahab.net]