Praise be to Allah.
Proven Virtue of 4 Rak`ahs before and after Thuhr
Yes, it is proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: “Whoever regularly prays four Rak`ahs before Thuhr and four after it will be forbidden to Hell.” (Narrated by Abu Dawud, 1269 and At-Tirmidhi, 428; classed as authentic by An-Nawawi in Al-Majmu`, 4/7 and Al-Albani in Sahih Abu Dawud)
Is There a Sunnah Prayer before Jumu`ah?
There is no Sunnah prayer before Jumu`ah prayer, because that is not proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and there is no report from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that suggests that there is any specific regular Sunnah prayer before Jumu`ah . Rather it was narrated that optional prayers in general may be offered, without specifying any number.
It is not valid to draw an analogy between Jumu`ah and Thuhr prayer and say that it is recommended to offer the regular Sunnah prayer before Jumu`ah as it is recommended to do so before Thuhr, because Jumu`ah prayer is different from Thuhr prayer in many ways, and because this analogy is contrary to the apparent Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), which is that he did not offer any regular Sunnah prayer before Jumu`ah.
The best guidance is the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had offered any prayer before Jumu`ah, that would have been narrated to us. As there is no such narration, we know that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not offer any regular Sunnah prayer before Jumu`ah.
Sunnah Prayers after Jumu`ah
With regard to praying after Jumu`ah, a number of Hadith concerning that have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Hadiths confirm that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had prayed Jumu`ah, he would enter his house and pray two Rak`ahs of Sunnah. However, he would command those who wanted to pray Sunnah after Jumu`ah, to pray four Rak`ahs.
And Allah knows best.
Comment