while the imam is delivering the Friday sermon. Since this general wording has been qualified by matters upon which there is agreement, its indication of generality has become weak; for once certain things have been excluded from it, its generality is weakened. Some scholars of legal theory even held that once a general text has been qualified, its indication of generality is entirely invalidated, because qualifying it indicates that generality was not intended. If its general applicability is invalidated, then it cannot conflict with the hadiths indicating that prayers performed for a particular reason are to be offered.

The sound view regarding this issue is that prayers which have a particular reason may be performed during all prohibited times, both the longer and shorter ones, for the following reasons:

First: their general applicability remains intact—that is, it has not been qualified. General wording that remains intact is stronger than general wording that has been qualified.

Second: it may be said: what is the difference between the generality in his statement, “Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it” (1), and his statement, “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit until he has prayed two rak‘ahs”?

If you say that his statement, “Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it,” is general with respect to time, then his statement, “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit,” should likewise be general with respect to time; there is no difference. His statement, “Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it,” is specific with respect to the prayer, but general with respect to time.

Likewise, “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit until he has prayed two rak‘ahs,” is specific with respect to the prayer but general with respect to time. So how can you rely on the generality of “Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it,” and say that it qualifies