He was asked:

“Someone saw a man offering voluntary prayer at a prohibited time and told him, ‘The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade prayer at this time.’ The relevant hadith expressing disapproval of this was cited to him, but the man replied, ‘I will not listen to it; I shall pray however I wish.’ What should be done with him?”

He answered:

Praise be to Allah.

As for voluntary prayer without a specific occasion, the imams agree that it is forbidden after the dawn prayer until sunrise and after the afternoon prayer until sunset. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb used to strike those who prayed after the afternoon prayer. Whoever does this is therefore subject to discretionary punishment, following the precedent established by ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, one of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, since hadiths prohibiting this have been transmitted from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, through numerous independent chains.

As for prayers prompted by a specific occasion, such as the prayer of greeting the mosque and the eclipse prayer, these are subject to scholarly disagreement and interpretation. If he is offering a prayer concerning which there is legitimate scope for scholarly judgment, he is not to be punished.

As for his rejection of the hadiths without evidence, his insulting the person who forbade him, and his saying to that person: