When to Offer the Sunnah Prayers of Thuhr when Combining Thuhr and ‘Asr

Fatwa No : 171921

Fatwa Date : Jumaadaa Al-Aakhir 28, 1434 / 9-5-2013

Question

I am suffering from urinary incontinence. I delay the Thuhr and combine it with 'Asr. I am very keen on offering the Sunnah prayer so when can I offer the regular Sunnah prayers before and after Thuhr as well as the Sunnah prayer before 'Asr? Can I offer them after I combine Thuhr and 'Asr?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  is His slave and Messenger.

 

If you combined the two prayers, you may make up the regular Sunnah prayer, that is after Thuhr after you perform 'Asr, whether you offered an advanced or delayed combining of the prayers. In his book, Al-Insaaf, the Hanbali scholar, Al-Mardaawi said: "As for the regular Sunnah prayer after Thuhr, the most correct opinion of the Hanbali school of Fiqh entails that it is to be offered after 'Asr in case of combining the prayer, whether it is in the time of Thuhr or 'Asr."

If you offered a delayed combination of the prayer, you can offer the regular Sunnah prayer, - those (usually offered) after Thuhr - after you offer the Thuhr prayer since observing consecutiveness is not conditioned in the delayed combination of prayers.  As for the voluntary prayer that is to be offered before 'Asr, it is not to be made up according to the Hanbali school of Fiqh because it is not a regular confirmed Sunnah prayer in their opinion.

Allaah Knows best.