It is also established in the authentic collection that his Companions used to pray two rak‘ahs between the call to Maghrib and the call to commence it, while he watched them without forbidding them. If voluntary prayer is prescribed between these two calls for Maghrib, then it is all the more appropriate that it be prescribed between the corresponding calls for ‘Asr and ‘Ishā’, since the imams agree that the Sunnah is to perform Maghrib promptly. This shows that prayer before ‘Asr, before Maghrib and before ‘Ishā’ is among the prescribed voluntary prayers, but not among the regular Sunnah prayers whose number he specified verbally or which he consistently observed in practice.

Anyone who thinks that he had a Sunnah prayer before ‘Asr which he made up after ‘Asr is mistaken. Rather, those were the two rak‘ahs associated with Zuhr: when he missed them, he made them up after ‘Asr. A prayer performed after Zuhr is also before ‘Asr, but the only prayer he made up after ‘Asr was the two rak‘ahs normally performed after Zuhr.

“Prescribed voluntary worship,” such as prayer between the two calls, prayer in the forenoon and similar prayers, is like other voluntary acts of remembrance, recitation and supplication: it may be recommended for someone who is not otherwise occupied with something better, but not for someone who is occupied instead with something better. Consistently doing a little is better than doing much without consistency. Thus, the practice of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was steady and continuous. The imams recommended that a man have a set number of rak‘ahs which he rises to pray during