O son of my brother: I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he did not exceed two rak'ahs until Allah took his soul. I accompanied Abu Bakr, and he did not exceed two rak'ahs until Allah took his soul." He then mentioned Umar and Uthman and said: "There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern [of behavior]" (28). It is agreed upon (29). The argument for the first [position] (30) is what was narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made the prayer of residency obligatory, so we used to pray before and after it, and we used to pray during travel before and after it." Recorded by Ibn Majah (31). From Abu Basra al-Ghifari, from Al-Bara' ibn Azib, who said: "I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on eighteen journeys, and I never saw him omit two rak'ahs when the sun had declined before the Dhuhr prayer." Recorded by Abu Dawud (32). The hadith of Al-Hasan concerning the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has already been mentioned. This indicates that there is no harm in performing them, and the hadith of Ibn Umar indicates that there is no harm in omitting them, so the hadiths are reconciled. And Allah knows best.
(28) Surah al-Ahzab, 21. (29) Mentioned previously on pages 104, 105. (30) In the original: "the first [opinion/position]". (31) In: The Chapter of Voluntary Prayer During Travel, from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/341. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 1/232. (32) In: The Chapter of Voluntary Prayer During Travel, from the Book of Traveler's Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/278. It was also recorded by Al-Tirmidhi, in the Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding Voluntary Prayer During Travel, from the Chapters on Traveler's Prayer. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/24; and by Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 4/292.
