[Q 542] Nafl After Asr

QUESTION:

In Asr, we can’t read the Sunnahs afterwards if we’ve read our Fardh, is this also correct?

ANSWER:

After performing the Fard (obligatory prayer) of Asr, it is not permissible (na-ja’iz — unlawful) to perform the Sunnat-e-Qabliyyah (the Sunnah before Asr) or any Nafl (optional prayer).

Regarding the prohibition of offering Nafl prayer after Asr, it is narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari from Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri رضي الله تعالى عنه, who said:

“سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: لاصلاة بعد الصبح حتى ترتفع الشمس، ولا صلاة بعد العصر حتى تغيب الشمس”

“I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم saying: There is no (Nafl) prayer after Fajr until the sun rises, and there is no (Nafl) prayer after Asr until the sun sets.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, p. 121, Hadith no. 586, Dar Tawq al-Najat)

It is stated in Hashiyah Tahtawi ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah:

“ويكره التنفل بعد طلوع الفجراي قصدا، ومثل النافلة في هذا الحكم الواجب لغيره كالمنذور وركعتي الطواف وقضاء نفل افسده، اما الواجب لعينه فلا كراهة فيه”
(Hashiyah Tahtawi ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah, p. 188, Beirut print)

Answered by: Usman Madani (Ask Mufti scholar)
Translated answer
Date: 13th February 2026.