Sunan Abi Dawud 1271
سنن أبي داود#1271Hasanحَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو دَاوُدَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مِهْرَانَ الْقُرَشِيُّ، حَدَّثَنِي جَدِّي أَبُو الْمُثَنَّى، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " رَحِمَ اللَّهُ امْرَأً صَلَّى قَبْلَ الْعَصْرِ أَرْبَعًا " .
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: May Allah show mercy to a man who prays four rak'ahs before the afternoon prayer
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniHasan
Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul HamidHasan
Shuaib Al ArnautHasan
Zubair Ali ZaiIsnaad Hasan
In-book reference: 5:22