1.Âisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “There are two prayers that the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never neglected to pray in my house secretly or publicly: Two Rak’ah before Fajr and two Rak’ah after Asr.” [Bukhari 592]
However, these 2 rakahs are to be performed while the sun's rays is still shone and not after sunset.
I'm always sure (and I've read some hadiths that state) that there is NO prayer after asr.
The two time when are not allowed to offer prayer is the time after fajr (before dhuha) and after asr (before maghrib).
I remember when I was doing umra last year. I was in masjid nabawwi in the rawdha section after asr, and there were some people that attempted to offer some sunnah prayer (not asr), and they were told off (and banned) by the guards of the prophet's grave.
Imam At-Tahawee (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “Some people see no harm in praying two Rak’ah after Asr and consider them a Sunnah.”
Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said,” …Third: If this hadeeth is authentic it’s a proof for us. This hadeeth tells us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak’ah after Asr. On the contrary if it wasn’t allowed or disliked, Allah’s messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wouldn’t have prayed these two rak’ah. His actions are guidance and correct, regardless whether he does it once or a thousand times.”
Ibn Hajr (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “To cling to these narrations establish the permissibility to offer a supererogatory prayer after Asr in any respect as long as it isn’t intended to be done during sunset.”
Shaykh Nasirud deen Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said, ”Among the accepted errors in the books of Fiqh is the prohibition of these two rak’ah and not mentioning them among the supererogatory exercises of devotion. Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) preserved these two Rak’ah the same way he preserved the two before Fajr. There isn’t any evidence for the two Rak’ah after Asr’s abrogation or their being special for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only! How could it be, when Âisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the most knowledgeable person about these two rakah’ safeguarded them as well as other companions and pious Salaf."
Shaykh Muhammad Adam El-Ethiopee (may Allah preserve him) said, ”The more acceptable position is that it is permissible to pray after Asr as long as the sun is pure white. The ruling for this action is based on an authentic hadeeth, the actions of the companions, and tabee’oon...Thakheerahtul ‘Uqba fee Sharh Al-Mujtabah 7/202
Shaykh Ubayd Al-Jaabiree (may Allah preserve him) said, “There are a large number of people who don’t know that Asr has a Sunnah. It is recommended to pray two rak’ah after Asr. Many people today are unaware of this act therefore it causes some confusion. We have emphasized on more than one occasion that if a Muslim combines Thur and Asr he doesn’t offer a sunnah prayer between them. Because doing so contradicts the act of joining. However when he finishes Asr he can pray two rak’ah if he wishes; since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do so as collected by Imam Muslim.
This is where you feel the need to understand the fiqh and know that just reading a Hadith isn't sufficient for one to derive any rulings from it. This is where you understand the difference between Hadith and Sunnah.
There are two Ahadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari that say:
Ibn ‘Abbaas RadhiyAllahu 'Anh said: "Some trustworthy men bore witness in my presence, the most trustworthy of whom in my view was ‘Umar, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying after Fajr until the sun had risen and after ‘Asr until the sun had set.”
al-Bukhaari (547) and Muslim (1367)
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri RadhiyAllahu 'Anh said: "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun has risen fully, and no prayer after ‘Asr until the sun has set.”
Al-Bukhaari (551)
There is a principle in fiqh that the sayings and commands of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam take precedence over his own action. That is because there are a few actions that were specific to Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam which were not for the Ummah, and the Sahabah did not act upon them.
The Ahadith that mention the act of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam praying two Rakat after Asr... mentions his act, not command for the Ummah. But the rigorously authenticated Ahadith from Sahih Bukhari mention his command forbidding any prayer after Fajr until sunrise and after Asr until sunset.
This is where you feel the need to understand the fiqh and know that just reading a Hadith isn't sufficient for one to derive any rulings from it. This is where you understand the difference between Hadith and Sunnah.
There are two Ahadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari that say:
Ibn ‘Abbaas RadhiyAllahu 'Anh said: "Some trustworthy men bore witness in my presence, the most trustworthy of whom in my view was ‘Umar, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying after Fajr until the sun had risen and after ‘Asr until the sun had set.”
al-Bukhaari (547) and Muslim (1367)
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri RadhiyAllahu 'Anh said: "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun has risen fully, and no prayer after ‘Asr until the sun has set.”
Al-Bukhaari (551)
There is a principle in fiqh that the sayings and commands of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam take precedence over his own action. That is because there are a few actions that were specific to Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam which were not for the Ummah, and the Sahabah did not act upon them.
The Ahadith that mention the act of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam praying two Rakat after Asr... mentions his act, not command for the Ummah. But the rigorously authenticated Ahadith from Sahih Bukhari mention his command forbidding any prayer after Fajr until sunrise and after Asr until sunset.
It is generally believed that Muslims have been forbidden to pray or prostrate after the ‘asr prayer until maghrib.
It needs to be appreciated that according to the established Sunnah of the Prophet (sws), the only forbidden times for prayer are sunrise and sunset. This precautionary measure is meant to curb polytheism, since many nations of antiquity worshipped the sun at these times. At all other times, prayers can be offered. Consequently, one can pray between ‘asr and maghrib.
It seems that the following Hadith has led to the belief that no prayer can be offered between ‘asr and maghrib:
لاَ صَلاَةَ بَعْدَ الصُّبْحِ حَتَّى تَرْتَفِعَ الشَّمْسُ وَلاَ صَلاَةَ بَعْدَ العَصْرِ حَتىَّ تَغِيْبَ الشَّمْسُ
The Prophet is reported to have said there is no prayer after dawn until the sun rises and there is no prayer after ‘asr until the sun sets. (Bukhari,No: 561)
If all the texts of this Hadith are collected, it comes to light that a part of it has been left out in most of its texts. This can be observed from the underlined portion of the following two Ahadith:
لَا تُصَلوُّا بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ اِلاَّ اَنْ تُصَلوُّا وَالشَّمْسُ مُرْتَفِعَةٌ Do not pray after ‘asrexcept if the sun is high [in the sky]. (Musnad Ahmad, No: 1076)
لَا تُصَلوُّا بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ اِلاَّ اَنْ تُصَلوُّا وَالشَّمْسُ نَقِيَّةٌ Do not pray after ‘asrexcept if the sun is shining brightly high [in the sky]. (Bayhaqi, No: 4196)
In other words, what the Prophet (sws) actually forbade was praying very near the time of sunset since this might accidentally lead a person to pray in the forbidden period of sunset. Consequently, it is clear from these Ahadiththat if one intends to pray after ‘asr, one should make sure that one does so before sunset. One has not been stopped from praying after ‘asr, as has been inferred by some.
There are a lot of contradictions regarding the matter. Also the fact that Umar Radia Allahu Anhu used to hit people to stop them from praying after asr because he feared they would take it openly and pray in the forbidden period and so this could be another reason for people neglecting it.
As for me, I won't stop praying it inshallah unless there is something that says its 100% sure its not there, till now its 50-50 so am on the positive 50 that is to pray it.
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