Is it an innovation (bid‘ah) to recite a passage from the Qur’an (ashir) after the ‘Asr prayer?

It is Sunnah, in the absence of a serious excuse, not to leave one’s place immediately after the obligatory prayers, but to remain for a while and continue with remembrance (dhikr) and glorification (tasbihat). The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encouraged this practice after prayers and informed that as long as a person does not leave the place where they performed the prayer, the angels continue to pray for them. (Bukhari, Salat, 87 [477]; Muslim, Masajid, 272 [649]) On the other hand, the Prophet (peace be upon him) recommended reciting the last three verses of Surah al-Hashr after the Fajr prayer and the last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah at night. (Bukhari, Fada’il al-Qur’an, 10 [5009]; Tirmidhi, Fada’il al-Qur’an, 22 [2922]) Apart from the Fajr prayer, there is no specific passage or surah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) recommended to be recited after the prayers. However, the verse in the Qur’an, “When you have finished the prayer, remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying on your sides.” (an-Nisa, 4/103) indicates that there is flexibility in this matter and that remembrance and glorification are not limited to the prayer itself. The essential principle regarding recitation, remembrance, and glorification outside of prayer is that each person does them individually. This was the practice during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, in later times, it became common in some countries for tasbihat to be performed collectively under the guidance of the muezzin and for passages (ashir) to be recited, and this practice has continued to the present day.

Accordingly, although there is no narration specifically about reciting a passage (ashir) after the ‘Asr prayer, in light of the above-mentioned verses and hadiths, it can be said that there is no objection to reciting the Qur’an, provided that one does not believe it is religiously obligatory.

Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu