How is the four-rak'ah Sunnah prayer before Dhuhr performed: is it prayed continuously or two rak'ahs by two rak'ahs?

The better way for the pre-Dhuhr regular sunnah prayer is to perform every two rak'ahs with a tasleem (salutation), though it is permissible to perform four rak'ahs with a single tasleem. The majority opinion is that it is better to perform voluntary daytime prayers by saying the tasleem after every two rak'ahs, citing the hadith: "The prayer of the night and the day is two by two." Although Ibn Umar used to pray four rak'ahs during the day, it is also reported from him the saying, "The prayer of the night and the day is two by two." The consideration is given to what the Companion narrated, not to what he saw and did. If it is said that the daytime prayer is "two by two," it does not mean it is exclusively so, but rather that it is the preferred way, and it is permissible to combine the rak'ahs with a single tasleem.