Answered by Shaykh Sohail Hanif, SunniPath Academy Teacher
Is a prostration of recitation permissible after the Asr prayer has been performed?
Assalamu Alaykum
There are times when one is not permitted to offer supererogatory prayers and not even make up prayers. These times are:
When the sun is rising [i.e. when Fajr time exits] until it is a spear’s length above the horizon. This can take about fifteen to twenty minutes after sun rise. When the sun is setting until it has set [i.e. the last part of Asr time until Maghrib time enters]. This can last for about twenty minutes to half an hour. When the sun is at its zenith [just before Zuhr time]. This is just a brief moment when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. As it is hard to determine exactly when this occurs, it is best to avoid praying in the five to ten minute period before the Zuhr prayer enters.
In each of these three times it is prohibitively disliked to prostrate a prostration of recitation if the verse that one is prostrating for was recited before these times entered. If the verse was recited during these very times then it is somewhat disliked to prostrate. (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, 1:250, Bulaq)
There are two other times when one may not offer any supererogatory prayers but one may offer as many make up prayers as one likes. These times are from after the entry of the Fajr prayer until sun rise and after praying Asr until the sun starts setting. Just like make up prayers, one may offer as many prostrations of recitation in these times as one likes. (ibid, 1:251)
Sohail Hanif