By the transmission route of Shuʿbah from Abū Isḥāq, the report refers only to the prayer performed before ʿAṣr, and in it he says: “two rakʿahs.” In my judgment this wording is anomalous, because in the Musnad and elsewhere—through this very same chain—it occurs with the earlier wording, “four rakʿahs.” The same reading is found in the other routes from Abū Isḥāq, as mentioned above.

A comparable case of anomaly is that some narrators from Abū Isḥāq said “before Jumuʿah” in place of “before Ẓuhr.” Al-Khalʿī recorded this in his Fawāʾid with a chain that al-ʿIrāqī and al-Būṣīrī, in his Zawāʾid (1/72), judged to be sound, yet they failed to notice its anomalous nature, whereas I have pointed it out in Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah. Allah knows best.

Fiqh of the ḥadīth

His phrase “placing the final salutation at the very end” indicates that the sunnah for the four-rakʿah supererogatory prayers performed in the daytime is to conclude them with a single taslīm, without giving salām midway between the two pairs. Some people have inferred from his words, “he would separate every two rakʿahs by giving salām to the cherubim and to those who follow them from among the believers,” that what is meant is the taslīm that releases one from the prayer. Shaykh ʿAlī al-Qārī rebutted this in his commentary on al-Shamāʾil, saying:

“It is obvious that the salām of disengagement is directed only to those angels and believers who are present with the worshipper, whereas the wording of the ḥadīth is broader than that, for it mentions the angels brought near, the prophets, and those who follow them from among the believers and Muslims until the Day of Judgment.”

For this reason al-Manāwī concluded in his commentary on al-Shamāʾil that what is meant here is the tashahhud, stating, “because it contains a salutation upon everyone in our words: ‘Peace be upon us and upon Allah’s righteous servants.’ ”

I say: This is supported by the agreed-upon ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd, who said:

“When we prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) we would say, ‘Peace be upon Allah before His servants; peace be upon…’ ”