Proper Method of Performing the Supererogatory Prayers Before Midday and Afternoon Prayers

Question: As’Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah, According to Hanafi Fiqh, how are the four Sunnah before Zohar and Asar to be offered? Is it two cycles each with separate Tasleem or four with one Tasleem? 

Answer: In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The four raka’a of sunna before dhuhr and asr is to be performed as four straight units ending with one salam. In the first sitting, one will stand up immediately after the tashhahud supplication. The Darood/salat on the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) will not be read except in the final sitting.

It has been narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) that He used to pray four raka’a after zawal (upon the entering of dhuhr time). He would not make salam except at the end [Tirmidhi].

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) used to pray four raka’a before dhuhr prayer, when the sun would decline (i.e. upon the entering of dhuhr time). He would not separate them with a salam. And He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily the doors of the heavens open when the sun declines” [Ibn Majah].

Hope this helps
Allahu A’alam

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a graduate from Tarim; a student of Habib Umar and other luminaries; and authorized teachers of the Qur’an and the Islamic sciences.