to them both and then merely pointed out that others relate it as well, he would have been accurate. The ḥadith is also recorded in “Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd,” 1141.

Then he said: “3 – From her likewise: she said, ‘The standing of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the two rakʿahs before the dawn prayer was only as long as it takes to recite the Opening of the Book.’ Narrated by Aḥmad, al-Nasāʾī, al-Bayhaqī, Mālik, and al-Ṭaḥāwī.”

I say: Three criticisms apply here.

First: This precise wording is not found in al-Nasāʾī, al-Bayhaqī, or Mālik; they transmit it with the wording cited previously.

Second: In this form the report is weak because the chain is broken, and this is the very defect for which al-Ṭaḥāwī, its editor, criticized it: it is Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn narrating from ʿĀʾishah even though he never heard from her, as Abū Ḥātim stated.

Third: Placing Mālik after al-Nasāʾī and al-Bayhaqī is an error even clearer than the earlier one, given Mālik’s eminence, fame, and higher rank. Lapses of this sort on the author’s part are so numerous that tracing them all would be difficult.

His words concerning what is to be recited in the two rakʿahs: “1 – From ʿĀʾishah: she said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite in the two rakʿahs of Fajr: Qul yā ayyuhāʾl-kāfirūn (Say, “O unbelievers”) and Qul huwaʾllāhu aḥad (Say, “He is Allah, the One”), and he would recite them quietly.’ Narrated by Aḥmad and al-Ṭaḥāwī.”

I say: Its isnād is weak because it is broken, just like the previous report. Muslim records it on the authority of Abū Hurayrah without the phrase, “and he would recite them quietly.” It is also found in “Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd,” 1142.