Abdullah bin Abi Qais says: I asked Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the two rak'ahs after Asr. She said: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two rak'ahs after Dhuhr. One day he became occupied and was not able to perform these two rak'ahs until he had already prayed the Asr prayer. Then, when he finished and came to my house, he performed them. After that, he never abandoned them until he passed away. Abdullah bin Abi Qais says: Then when I asked Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) about them, he said: We used to pray this prayer, but later we abandoned it.

Abdullah bin Abi Musa says: I asked Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the two rak'ahs after Asr. She said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had sent a man to collect charity, and he returned to you at the time of Dhuhr. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the Dhuhr prayer and became occupied with distribution, until he performed the Asr prayer, then he offered those two rak'ahs.

Abdullah bin Harith says: Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) led the people in the Asr prayer. When he turned around, he saw some people performing prayer after Asr. He went home, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) also went to him, and I was with them. Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) made space for them on a cot, and they sat with him. He asked: What is this prayer that I saw people performing, even though neither did I see the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) perform this prayer, nor did he command it? They said: The one who has given the fatwa for this to the people is Sayyiduna Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him). Then he was called, and he came and sat down after greeting. Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Ibn Zubair! What is the reality of this prayer that you command people to perform? We neither saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) perform this prayer, nor did he command it. He said: Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed this prayer in her house with her. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered me and another man to go to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and ask her about this. So I went to Sayyida and asked her about it, and I told her what Sayyiduna Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) was narrating from her. She said: Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) did not remember correctly. I told him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed two rak’ahs of prayer after Asr with me. I asked him: Today you have performed these two rak’ahs, but you did not use to perform them before? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Some wealth was brought to me, and because I was distributing it, I became occupied and missed the two rak’ahs after Dhuhr. In the meantime, Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me and called me for the Asr prayer. At that time, I disliked stopping people because of these two rak’ahs, so now I have performed those two rak’ahs. I returned and informed Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) of the whole matter, but Sayyiduna Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed these two rak’ahs, so I will not leave them. Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: You are always opposing; as long as you live, you will continue to prefer opposition.

It is narrated from the wife of the Messenger, Sayyida Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), that two rak'ahs before Asr were missed by the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he (peace and blessings be upon him) performed them after Asr.

Abdullah bin Harith says: Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) led the Asr prayer and sent (a man) to the wife of the Messenger, Sayyida Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), and then sent another man after him. Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was preparing an army, and he did not have mounts, but in the meantime, mounts from charity were brought to him. He began distributing them among the companions, and they detained him until the time for Asr came, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two or more rak‘ahs, as many as Allah willed, before Asr (but on that day he could not perform those rak‘ahs). Therefore, when he returned after praying Asr, he performed that earlier prayer. The real matter was that when he (peace and blessings be upon him) performed a prayer or did any act, he liked to be consistent in it.