This applies to al-Haytham as well. Al-Sakhāwī said: “When numerous reliable transmitters narrate from a man, that strengthens our good opinion of him.”

That is precisely why al-Dhahabī and Ibn Ḥajar deemed trustworthy those earlier names whom only Ibn Ḥibbān had authenticated—yet, from another angle, they did not extend the same verdict to the rest of his so-called “trustworthy” (thiqāt) narrators!

The distinguished scholar al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī, in his reply to al-Kawtharī, has a valuable discussion of the men endorsed by Ibn Ḥibbān. He divides them into five levels, all of which he accepts save the last. Whoever desires full details should consult his work al-Tankīl, together with my notes, 1 / 437–438.

In sum, the author of the “section” fell into a glaring error when he declared weak the ḥadith of Ibn ʿUmar on kneading. He relied on a few remarks about Ibn Ḥibbān’s accreditation without understanding the finer distinctions followed by the leading critics such as al-Dhahabī and Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī. He also cited contradictory statements and could find no way out of the contradiction except to adopt whatever best suited his wish to weaken the report!

Still worse is his casting doubt on the sunnah of supporting oneself with the hands when rising, even though the practice is established by two Prophetic ḥadiths apart from the kneading report: one states the hand-support explicitly, and the other, in the judgment of the scholars, converges with and corroborates it.

A detailed critique of that “section”—laying bare its departures from the scholars’ statements and principles, its bolstering of unsound reports, its citation of certain views out of place, and its exaggeration and alarmism—would require more time than I now possess. Should time become available in the days ahead, I shall hasten to present it in a separate book. Allah is the One whose help is sought, and upon Him we rely.

He then said concerning the posture of prostration: “It is recommended for the worshipper in prostration to observe the following: 1) to place his nose, forehead, and hands firmly on the ground while keeping them away from his sides.”

I reply: On the contrary, all of this is obligatory, as stated in the ḥadith of the man who prayed poorly and in other reports, fully clarified and documented in Sifat al-Ṣalāh, pp. 148–153.