people have complained about you in every matter—even in the prayer.’

Saʿd replied, ‘As for me, I purposely lengthen (1) the recital in the first two units and shorten it in the last two, and I never fall short of what I learned from the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.’

ʿUmar said, ‘That is exactly what we presumed of you—or so we thought of you (2).’

Abū ʿAwn al-Thaqafī is Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allah; this identification is unanimously accepted.

Through the same chain, up to Abū Yaʿlā: Zuhayr narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; Yūnus ibn Abī Isḥāq narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd narrated to us; my father told me, from his father, who said:

‘I passed by ʿUthmān in the mosque and greeted him with salām. He fixed his gaze on me (3) but did not return the greeting, so I went to ʿUmar and said, “Commander of the Faithful, has something new arisen in Islam?”

‘He asked, “What is it?”

‘I said, “I have just passed by ʿUthmān, greeted him, and he did not answer me.”

‘So ʿUmar sent for ʿUthmān. When he arrived, ʿUmar asked, “What kept you from replying to your brother’s salām?”

‘He said, “I did not fail to reply.”

‘I said, “Indeed you did,” and we both swore to our claims.

‘Then he recollected and said, “Yes, I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him. You did pass by me just now, but I was turning over in my mind a statement I heard from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. By Allah, whenever I recall it, a veil comes over my sight and my heart.”

‘Saʿd said, “Then I will inform you of it. The Messenger of Allah once mentioned to us the first (4) supplication; then a Bedouin arrived and distracted him. Afterwards the Messenger of Allah stood up, so I followed him, and when …”