They fall into three opinions: (1) that it is unconditionally permissible—on Friday and on other days alike; (2) that it is absolutely disliked; and (3) that it is a time of dislike except on Friday. This third view is the position of al-Shāfiʿī, and it is the correct opinion chosen by a number of Ḥanafīs and others. It is also the view of Imām Abū Yūsuf—may Allah have mercy on him—and it is the relied-upon, sound position in the school, as stated in al-Ashbāh wa l-Naẓāʾir, and it is the opinion on which legal verdicts are given, as noted by al-Ṭaḥṭāwī in his commentary on Marāqī al-Falāḥ.¹

This is how the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—actually practiced. Ibn Saʿd reports in al-Ṭabaqāt (8/360) with a sound chain that meets Muslim’s criteria, from Ṣāfiya who said: “I saw Ṣafiyya bint Ḥuyayy—one of the Prophet’s wives, who died during the caliphate of Muʿāwiya—pray four rakʿahs before the imam came out, and then perform the Friday prayer with the imam as two rakʿahs.”

In al-Zād, Ibn al-Munadhir said: