to the western wall of the mosque; and when the wall’s shadow had covered the entire awning, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb would come out. Al-Shāfiʿī also relied on what he transmitted from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“He forbade prayer in the middle of the day until the sun declines—except on Friday.”
Thus he excluded Friday from the general prohibition, and the practice current in the time of ʿUmar reinforced the report in his eyes, even though he regarded the report’s chain as weak. Those who deemed the sound, contrary narration stronger retained the original ban.
Their disagreement over praying after the ʿAṣr Prayer arises from a clash between two authentic reports. The first is the well-attested ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade prayer after ʿAṣr until the sun sets, and after Subḥ until the sun rises.”
The second is the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never left two prayers in my house, whether openly or in secret: two rakʿahs before Fajr and two rakʿahs after ʿAṣr.”
Whoever preferred Abū Hurayrah’s report declared such prayer impermissible; whoever preferred ʿĀʾishah’s report—or viewed it as abrogating, since it reflects the practice upon which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away—ruled it permissible.
The report of Umm Salamah conflicts with ʿĀʾishah’s. She said that she saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) pray two rakʿahs after ʿAṣr, and when she asked him about them he replied:
“Some people from ʿAbd al-Qays came to me and kept me from the two rakʿahs after Ẓuhr; these are they.”
Issue Two: The jurists also differ over which prayers are barred during these times. Abū Ḥanīfah and his colleagues hold that no prayer whatsoever is valid then—neither a missed obligatory prayer, nor a Sunnah, nor a supererogatory act—save for the very ʿAṣr of that day, which, they say, may be made up at sunset if one has forgotten it.
Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī agree that missed obligatory prayers may be made up. Al-Shāfiʿī further maintains that what is forbidden in these hours are only voluntary prayers performed without a specific cause, whereas Sunnah prayers that have a cause—such as the Funeral Prayer—are permissible. Mālik concurs with him regarding such Sunnahs after ʿAṣr and after Subḥ, but disagrees concerning acts done for a cause like the two rakʿahs of greeting the mosque. Al-Shāfiʿī allows those two rakʿahs after ʿAṣr and after Subḥ, while Mālik does not; and Mālik’s own opinion varies concerning the permissibility of Sunnah prayers when