Should We Perform Four Sunna Rak’at Right after the Zawal or at Any Time before Zuhr?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to pray four rak‘at before Zuhr once the sun had passed its zenith.” Abu Ayyub asked him about it. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed the doors of the heaven are opened up in this hour, so I love that good should rise up for me in that hour.”

Which hour is mentioned in this Hadith? After zenith or before Zuhr obligatory prayer(any time)?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

There are various opinions regarding the following narration:

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) used to pray four units after the sun declined from its zenith before praying the Dhuhr prayer.” He would say, “Indeed, it is a time in which the doors of the Heavens are opened, so I love that good deeds should rise for me therein.” [Tirmidhi]

The scholars have mentioned various opinions about the time alluded to in the above narration. The word in Arabic (Sa‘a – ساعة) is an indefinite word yielding a general meaning.

For this reason, some scholars opined that it means just an unidentified portion of time. [Mubarakpuri, Mira‘t al-Mafatih]

Others mentioned that it means anytime after the declining of the sun from its zenith (zawal). [Ali Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih]

And yet others opined that this narration is just an expression specifically referring to the acceptance of the four units of Sunna prayers before the obligatory Zuhr prayer. [Ibid.]

This last opinion is supported by the following narration: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The doors of the Heavens are opened for the four units of prayer before Dhuhr between which there is no closing invocation of Salām.” [Ibn Majah]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.