289 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said, “May Allah have mercy on a person who performs four rakʿahs before the ʿAsr prayer.” It was narrated by Ahmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī—who graded it ḥasan—as well as Ibn Khuzaymah, who declared it ṣaḥīḥ. (1)

Degree of authenticity
The hadith is classified as weak; nevertheless, al-Tirmidhī regarded it as ḥasan, Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated it, while Ibn al-Qaṭṭān considered it defective. Taken together with the following corroborating reports, it rises to the level of ḥasan:

1. Ḥadith of ʿAlī: recorded by Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd; al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan and Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated it.
2. Ḥadith of ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ: narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr and al-Awsat.
3. Ḥadith of Abū Hurayrah: reported by Abū Nuʿaym.
4. Ḥadith of Umm Salamah: related by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr.

Points derived from the hadith

1. These four rakʿahs before ʿAsr are not among the regular rawātib; rather, they are voluntary supererogatory prayers that do not possess the same rank of virtue and emphasis as the rawātib.
2. Ibn al-Qayyim said: “As for the four before ʿAsr, nothing authentically transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ confirms them, although he ﷺ would pray sixteen rakʿahs during the day.” I heard Shaykh al-Islām emphatically reject this hadith, declaring it fabricated. He then cited the narration of Ibn ʿUmar in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “May Allah have mercy on a person who performs four before ʿAsr,” and added, “Scholars have differed over it: Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated it, whereas others criticised it.”