the dawn prayer.” He also reported a similar narration from Abū Hurayrah (1), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with the wording: “Two rak‘ahs before the dawn prayer, two rak‘ahs before the noon prayer, two rak‘ahs after it, and two rak‘ahs—I think he said—before the afternoon prayer; two rak‘ahs after the sunset prayer; and, I think he said, two rak‘ahs after the night prayer.”

This explanation may have been the words of one of the narrators, interpolated into the hadith, or it may have been the Prophet’s own words (peace and blessings be upon him), transmitted as such. And Allah knows best.

As for the four rak‘ahs before the afternoon prayer, no authentic report establishes that he (peace and blessings be upon him) performed them except the lengthy hadith narrated by ‘Āsim ibn Damrah from ‘Alī. It states that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray sixteen rak‘ahs during the day: he would pray four rak‘ahs when the sun’s position on this side corresponded to its position on the other side at the noon prayer. He would also pray four rak‘ahs before the noon prayer, two after it, and four before the afternoon prayer (2). Another wording (3) states:

“When the sun’s position on this side corresponded to its position on the other side at the afternoon prayer, he would pray two rak‘ahs. When the sun’s position on this side corresponded to its position on the other side at the noon prayer, he would pray four. He would pray four before the noon prayer, two after it, and four before the afternoon prayer. He would separate each pair of rak‘ahs with salutations to the angels brought near to Allah, [the prophets] (4), and those who followed them among the believers and the messengers (5).”

I heard Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah reject this hadith most emphatically, declaring it fabricated and mentioning that Abū Ishāq al-Jūzajānī had rejected it (6).