Second: Its Manner and Virtue
The regular sunnah prayer of Dhuhr may be performed as four rak‘ahs before the Dhuhr prayer and four afterward; four before Dhuhr and two afterward; or two before the Dhuhr prayer and two afterward. Whichever of these a Muslim performs with the intention of observing the regular sunnah prayer of Dhuhr will suffice him, and he will have performed this sunnah.
The evidence establishing these forms is found in the following hadiths:
A) Umm Habība reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—say, “Whoever regularly observes four rak‘ahs before Dhuhr and four afterward, Allah will forbid him from the Fire.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah. (1)
This hadith indicates that it is recommended to perform four rak‘ahs before Dhuhr and four afterward, and to observe them regularly.
B) Abd Allah ibn Shaqīq said: I asked Aisha about the voluntary prayers of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. She replied: “He would perform four rak‘ahs in my home before Dhuhr, then go out and pray
(1) An authentic hadith.
It was recorded by al-Tirmidhī in the Book of Prayer, chapter “Another Chapter on the Same Subject” (hadith no. 428). He said: “This is a hasan sahih (fair and sound) hadith, gharib (singularly transmitted) through this route.” It was also recorded by Ibn Mājah in the Book of Prayer and Its Sunnah Practices, chapter “What Has Been Reported concerning One Who Performs Four Rak‘ahs before Dhuhr and Four after It” (hadith no. 1160), with the wording: “Whoever performs prayers before Dhuhr…”; by Abū Dāwūd in the Book of Prayer, chapter “The Four Rak‘ahs before and after Dhuhr” (hadith no. 1269); and by al-Nasā’ī in the Book of Night Prayer and Voluntary Prayers by Day, chapter “The Reward of One Who Performs Twelve Rak‘ahs during the Day and Night in Addition to the Obligatory Prayers, Mentioning the Transmitters’ Differences concerning Umm Habība’s Report on This Matter and the Variations in Transmission from Atā” (3/265).
The hadith was graded authentic by al-Albānī in *Sahīh Sunan Ibn Mājah* (1/191) and by the editor of *Jāmi al-Usūl* (6/24).
See also another hadith concerning the virtue of these rak‘ahs in *al-Silsila al-Sahīha* (hadith no. 1431).