I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission, meeting the highest standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Abu ʿAwanah’s name was al-Waddah al-Yashkuri, and he was trustworthy and precise, as al-Hafiz stated in al-Taqrib.

Shuʿbah differed from him in the text of the hadith, narrating it from Ibrahim through the same chain, but saying: “...four rakʿahs before Zuhr,” in place of the two rakʿahs after ʿAsr. Al-Bukhari and others recorded it, and it has been documented in Sahih Abi Dawud, no. 1139. It appears to me—and Allah knows best—that both reports are preserved, in view of the trustworthiness and precision of their narrators, and because the two rakʿahs are related from Aishah through numerous routes, some of which will be mentioned, Allah willing.

Al-Tahawi also recorded it in Sharh al-Maʿani (1/177) through the route of Hilal ibn Yahya, who said: Abu ʿAwanah narrated it to us through the same chain, except that he inserted Masruq between Muhammad ibn al-Muntashir and Aishah. This Hilal was weak. Ibn Hibban said in al-Duʿafaʾ (3/88): “Despite narrating little, he made many errors.”

Nevertheless, Masruq’s hadith has an authentic basis through another narration, as though this report had become confused with that one for him. Imam Ahmad (6/241) said: Ishaq ibn Yusuf narrated to us; Misʿar narrated to us from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abu al-Duha, from Masruq, who said: The truthful daughter of the truthful, the beloved of Allah’s beloved, the one declared innocent, told me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray two rakʿahs after ʿAsr.

This chain too is authentic according to the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim. They both recorded it through another route from Masruq together with al-Aswad, with the wording: “Not a day passed upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, without his praying two rakʿahs after ʿAsr.” In another narration, the wording is: