sunset. This accords with Ibn Umar’s previous statement (1) and with what we related from Ibn al-Mundhir and others (1).

Yahya ibn Bukayr narrated from al-Layth, from Abu al-Aswad, from Urwah, from Tamim al-Dari, something similar to Zayd ibn Khalid’s report and Umar’s reply to him. It includes: “But I fear that, after you, there will come people who pray from the afternoon prayer until sunset, until they reach the time in which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade prayer.” This too supports what we have said.

I say: Similar to this is what al-Tahawi narrated (1/180) from al-Bara ibn Azib, who said: Salman ibn Rabi'ah sent me as a courier to Umar ibn al-Khattab regarding a need of his. When I came to him, he said to me: “Do not pray after the afternoon prayer, for I fear that you will defer it to another time.”

I say: That is, to the prohibited time when the sun turns yellow. Its chain of transmission is authentic.

These reports confirm what I mentioned previously: that his prohibition was based on his own independent legal reasoning, by way of blocking the means. Therefore, it should not be used to oppose his approval of the man’s action, in following the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in praying after the afternoon prayer—let alone to oppose the authentic hadiths concerning his praying the two rak'ahs, peace and blessings be upon him, or to oppose them with the general wording of his statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “There is no prayer after the afternoon prayer until the sun sets.” For it is qualified by the hadith of Ali, which al-Hafiz deemed authentic, as mentioned above and as will come in the following hadith.

The hadith under this heading was previously documented under no. 2549, in a shorter form than it appears here.

Then I found, in an authentic hadith from Aisha, that which corroborates and supports Abd al-Razzaq’s narration, so I have documented it below under no. 3489.