as though twenty-three units were an act of grave immorality and sin for which one must oppose the imam and leave the Sacred Mosque! Some of them sit among the worshippers talking to a brother beside them, perhaps even raising their voices in conversation—Allah knows best—in order to disrupt this supposedly innovated prayer! In any case, I say: this stems from a lack of understanding of the religion, deficient adherence to the early generations, and remoteness from their methodology. The early generations disliked disagreement: even when their views differed, their hearts remained united. Whatever they were commanded to unite upon, they did, even if they did not personally hold that view. This was part of the understanding of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. These disagreements that occur among us result from a lack of understanding and from our distance from the era of Prophethood—the era of light. Therefore, the earlier a generation of this ummah was, the closer it was to what is correct, without doubt. (1)

The view that appears stronger to me—though not decisively so—is that completing the prayer is disliked, not prohibited, and that one who completes it is not sinful. This is from the theoretical perspective.

As for the practical perspective: is it fitting for a person to do something in which he fears that he may be sinful?

Thus, from the standpoint of conduct and spiritual cultivation, one should not do so. Rather, do what accords with the sunnah, for that is better for your heart, even if the contrary is permissible for you. The matter is not simply that an act is either obligatory or prohibited, or that one is entirely free to do it or leave it. A person should not complete the prayer; at the very least, we say that completing it is disliked, because the textual evidence is nearly evenly balanced,