and the prayer of repentance, the Sunnah prayer after ablution, and the prostration of recitation—neither at this time nor at any other prohibited time. This is because authentic hadiths establish that the regular Sunnah prayers may be made up then. They said: The prohibition at this time is less stringent than at other times, since the Companions differed over it; therefore, the other prohibited times cannot be treated in the same way. Moreover, the regular Sunnah prayers have a special distinction.

This distinction is weak. The Prophet’s commands—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to perform the prayer of greeting the mosque, the eclipse prayer, and the prostration of recitation carry greater weight than making up a missed Sunnah prayer. If the latter is permissible, then the former is all the more permissible. There is no command from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to make up Sunnah prayers, nor even a command to perform the Sunnah prayer in question—the Sunnah prayer of Dhuhr. Rather, he performed it, observed it regularly, and made it up when he missed it. What he commanded his community to do—especially when he also practised it himself—is more emphatically prescribed than what he did without commanding them to do it.

Thus, if they may perform the latter during the prohibited times, then performing the former is all the more permissible. If the Sunnah prayer of Dhuhr may be made up after Asr, then making up the Sunnah prayer of Fajr after Fajr is all the more permissible, for that is its time. If the latter can be delayed until sunrise, the former can likewise be delayed until sunset. They used to pray between the call to the Maghrib prayer and the call to commence it, while he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—watched them and approved of their doing so.

He said:

“Between every two calls to prayer there is a prayer.” Then, the third time, he added, “For whoever wishes,” lest people adopt it as a regular Sunnah practice.”