Authenticity of Hadeeth about praying four Rak'ahs before 'Asr

15-9-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

I have read the following hadith of Prophet SAW and would like to know if it is authentic? "May Allah have mercy upon a person who observes four rak'ahs (nafl) before Asr (afternoon prayer)"
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

The Hadeeth in question was reported by Ahmad, Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi from Ibn ‘Umar may Allaah be pleased with them that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "May Allaah have mercy upon the one who prays four Rak‘ahs before ‘Asr." Ash-Shawkaani said in Nayl Al-Awtaar after stating that Hadeeth: "At-Tirmithi deemed it Hasan (good) while Ibn Hibbaan and Ibn Khuzaymah deemed it Saheeh (sound)."

Also, Shaykh Al-Albaani may Allaah have mercy upon him deemed it Hasan and thus the level of this Hadeeth is at least Hasan.

For more benefit, kindly refer to Fataawa 84719, 83409 and 82005.

Allaah Knows best.

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