The fifth argument:

It is established in an authentic report that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—made up the two units of prayer associated with Zuhr after Asr. This was making up a voluntary prayer at a prohibited time, although it could have been made up at another time. Voluntary prayers whose opportunity would be lost if they were not performed at the prohibited times have an even stronger claim to permissibility than making up a voluntary prayer at such a time when it could be performed otherwise. This applies especially to prayers that have been commanded, such as the prayer of greeting the mosque and the eclipse prayer.

A group of Ahmad’s followers, including Abū Muhammad al-Maqdisī, held that the regular Sunnah prayers may be made up after Asr, but not at the other prohibited times, such as the three specified periods. He stated that Ahmad’s position was that the Sunnah prayer before Fajr may be made up after the obligatory prayer, although Ahmad preferred that it be made up in the forenoon.

Imam Ahmad said: “If he performs the two units after Fajr, that suffices him. As for me, I prefer that.”

Regarding making up Witr after dawn, he mentioned that Ahmad’s explicitly stated position was that one should perform it.

Al-Athram said: “I heard Abū Abd Allāh being asked, ‘May a man perform Witr after dawn has broken?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’”

He said: “This has been related from Ibn Mas‘ūd, Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbās, Hudhayfah, Abū al-Dardā’, Ubādah ibn al-Sāmit, Fadālah ibn Ubayd, Ā’ishah, and Abd Allāh ibn Āmir ibn Rabī‘ah. It is also related from Alī ibn Abī Tālib. When it was mentioned to him that Abū Mūsā had said, ‘Whoever performs Witr after the muezzin has no valid Witr,’ they asked Alī. He said, ‘I know: he may perform Witr up until the prayer.’ He rejected