the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“Whoever offers twelve rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer, apart from the obligatory prayers, in a day and night, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.”
The Sunan collections specify four before Zuhr, two after it, two after Maghrib, two after ‘Ishā’, and two before Fajr. The Sahīh contains only these three reports on this matter: those of Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Ā’ishah, and Umm Habībah.
As for prayer before ‘Asr, no report stating that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to pray before ‘Asr is free of weakness—indeed, error. One example is a report attributed to ‘Alī stating that he used to offer some sixteen rak‘ahs, including some before ‘Asr. This report has been criticized, for those who took care to transmit accounts of his voluntary prayers, such as ‘Ā’ishah and Ibn ‘Umar, explained which prayers he used to offer.
Likewise, he did not offer prayers before Maghrib or before ‘Ishā’. His companions, however, used to pray before Maghrib, between the adhān and iqāmah, while he watched them without objecting. It is also authentically reported in the Sahīh that he said:
“Between every two calls to prayer there is a prayer; between every two calls to prayer there is a prayer.” Then, the third time, he added, “For whoever wishes.”
This was because he disliked people adopting it as a sunnah. This shows that praying before ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Ishā’ is good, but is not a sunnah. Thus, if someone wishes to pray before ‘Asr, just as he prays before Maghrib and ‘Ishā’, on this basis, that is good. But to believe that it is a regular sunnah prayer which the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to offer, as he prayed before and after Zuhr and after Maghrib, is mistaken.
The prayers offered alongside the obligatory prayers fall into three ranks. The first comprises the sunnah prayer before Fajr and Witr. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—commanded these two, but did not command the others. Both are sunnah by agreement of the imams. The Prophet