'Asim ibn Damra said

“We asked 'Ali (may Allah ennoble his countenance) about the ritual prayer of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the daytime, and he said: ‘You would be incapable of that,’ so we said: Anyone of us who is capable of that will perform it!’ He therefore said: ‘When the sun was from over here [pointing eastward], like its appearance from over here [pointing westward], at the time of the afternoon prayer, he used to perform two cycles of ritual prayer, and when the sun was from over here, like its appearance from over here, at the time of the midday prayer, he would perform four. He would also perform four cycles before the midday prayer and two after it, and four before the afternoon prayer, separating each pair of cycles with the salutation of peace upon the angels drawn near, and upon the Prophets and the believers and Muslims who follow them'.”