—to say nothing of the purified Sunnah.

In these circumstances, no one with even the slightest familiarity with this discipline would doubt the soundness of the ḥadith, even if its chain were weak. How much more certain we are, then, when the chain is intrinsically sound! In that case it gains strength upon strength. The ḥadith under discussion is of this very kind: its isnād is sound, as we have already shown by applying the principles of the science, and this conclusion is supported by the scholars we previously quoted who declared it authentic. In addition, it has corroborating evidence (shāhid) from both the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

As for the Qur’an, the proof is the Almighty’s statement: “And whoever is ill or on a journey—then [let him fast] the same number of other days” (Qur’an 2:184). The phrase “on a journey” includes a person who has prepared to travel but has not yet departed. Imām al-Qurṭubī affirms this in his commentary al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, as will be cited shortly, and this meaning is perfectly clear to every fair-minded and knowledgeable reader, Allah willing.