Tuesday, September 06, 2005

4 rakat before Esha prayer

Question: Please provide the hadeeth(s) that prove 4 rakat sunnah before the farz of Esha prayer, and also the authencity of it.

Answer: It is not sunnah, but mustahabb, i.e. preferrable. I do not know of any authenticated Hadith, though it is mentioned in some books that Aisha related that he -may Allah raise his rank- prayed 4 rakat before and after Esha. In any case, it can be based on Abu Hanifa's saying that 4 rakat are better than 2, and that it is prescribed to pray 2 rakat after the a dhaan of any prayer, and that Esha is like Thuhr in that it is allowed to pray both before and after it.
 
Note that the judgement of "mustahabb" can be made by a mujthid based on analogy and even weak hadiths that have a sound meaning and no liars in the chain of narration.
 
... and Allah knows best.