Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 836
sahih

Mukhtar b. Fulful said:

I asked Anas b. Malik about the voluntary prayers after the afternoon prayer, and he replied: 'Umar struck hit hands on prayer observed after the 'Asr prayer and we used to observe two rak'ahs after the sun set before the evening prayer during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said to him: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observe them? He said: He saw us observing them, but he neither commanded us nor forbade us to do so.

وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَأَبُو كُرَيْبٍ جَمِيعًا عَنِ ابْنِ فُضَيْلٍ، - قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ فُضَيْلٍ، - عَنْ مُخْتَارِ بْنِ فُلْفُلٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ عَنِ التَّطَوُّعِ، بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ فَقَالَ كَانَ عُمَرُ يَضْرِبُ الأَيْدِي عَلَى صَلاَةٍ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ وَكُنَّا نُصَلِّي عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ غُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ قَبْلَ صَلاَةِ الْمَغْرِبِ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ أَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَلاَّهُمَا قَالَ كَانَ يَرَانَا نُصَلِّيهِمَا ‏.‏ فَلَمْ يَأْمُرْنَا وَلَمْ يَنْهَنَا.

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 6, Hadith 366
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 4, Hadith 1820 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Prayer is one of the best acts that bring closeness to Allah Almighty; hence, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen on it as a means of drawing closer to Allah Almighty. This Hadīth emphasizes the Muslims' keenness to learn the religion. The Tābi‘i Mukhtār ibn Fulful narrates that he asked Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) about offering voluntary prayer after the ‘Asr prayer. Anas informed him that during the Caliphate of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he used to strike hands for praying after 'Asr, which is an indirect reference to his prohibition of such a prayer because he did not see the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) doing this. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) used to follow the Prophet's example in everything; so, whenever he did something, they would race to do it, and whenever he abandoned something, they would leave it. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to forbid praying after ‘Asr for fear of offering a prayer during the prohibited time, namely at sunset. Then, Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: And we used to offer two Rak‘ahs after sunset before the Maghrib prayer during the time of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), i.e., between the Adhān (call to prayer) and the Iqāmah (second call to prayer). Mukhtār ibn Fulful asked him: Did the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) observe them? Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) replied saying: He used to see us observing them, but he neither commanded nor forbade us, which denotes his approval of the permissibility of this voluntary prayer. The Hadīth encourages the act of offering supererogatory prayers. It also points out the Prophet's approval of offering prayer before Maghrib..
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