so I love that a righteous deed of mine be raised up during that hour.” Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who graded the ḥadith ḥasan.

1118 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) related that if the Prophet ﷺ did not manage to pray four rakʿahs before Dhuhr, he would perform them afterward. Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who judged it ḥasan.

[Commentary]
The compiler (may Allah have mercy on him) entitles this section “The Sunnah Prayers of Dhuhr” and cites several narrations, all of which show that Dhuhr has six associated rakʿahs: four before the obligatory prayer—offered with two taslīms—and two after it. If a person forgets or misses the four rakʿahs that precede Dhuhr, he should make them up after the farḍ, for the rawātib (regular Sunnah prayers) are made up just as the obligatory prayers are made up.

However, a ḥadith recorded by Ibn Mājah indicates that one should begin with the post-Dhuhr Sunnah and then perform the pre-Dhuhr Sunnah. For example, suppose you arrive for Dhuhr and the imām is already leading the prayer so you cannot pray the Sunnah beforehand. In that case, join the congregation; after the farḍ prayer is finished, pray the two rakʿahs that come after Dhuhr, and then pray two and two to make up the ones that should have been before it—that is the correct procedure.

These ahādith further demonstrate that one should be diligent in observing the rawātib, for ʿĀʾishah said that the Prophet ﷺ never neglected the four rakʿahs before Dhuhr, meaning he virtually never left them off. The exception is when travelling: he would not pray either the pre- or post-Dhuhr Sunnah, because the Prophet ﷺ did not offer the regular Dhuhr Sunnah while on a journey. And Allah grants success.