with the Prophet’s supplications that he would utter in the prayer while acting as their imam; some of them have already been cited. For the rest, see Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn Taymiyyah 23/116–119.

His statement under the heading “Those behind whom leadership is not valid”: “The leadership of one who has a chronic excuse (maʿdhūr) is not valid for a healthy worshipper, nor for another excused person afflicted with a different excuse, according to the majority of the scholars. The Mālikīs said: His leadership of a healthy person is valid, though disliked.”

I say: There is no basis for deeming it merely disliked—let alone invalid—so long as he meets the conditions that give someone priority to lead the prayer. We see no difference between such a person and the blind man, who cannot avoid urine as well as one who sees, or the one who must sit because he is unable to stand, even though standing is an essential pillar; each has done what he is able, and “Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity” (2:286).

Imām al-Shawkānī has an important discussion on the validity of praying behind a sinful Muslim, a minor who has not yet reached puberty, someone whose prayer or purification is deficient, and others. Consult his al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/247–255; it is extremely valuable.

His words under the title “The recommendation that the imam shift his position …”: “Aḥmad and al-Bukhārī relate from Umm Salamah that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pronounced the salām, the women would stand up as soon as he completed it, while he remained in his place for a short while before rising. She said: ‘We think—Allah knows best—that this was so the women could leave before the men caught up with them.’”

I say: The text here reads qālat (“she said”), i.e., Umm Salamah, and the same appears in Muntaqā al-Akhbār 2/265 with al-Shawkānī’s commentary, from which the author quoted. This is an error; the correct wording is qāl (“he said”). That is how it appears in al-Bukhārī in this narration (2/350/870), transmitted through Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd from al-Zuhrī, from Hind bint al-Hārith, from Umm Salamah. The same chain is found in Aḥmad 6/296, though he omits the phrase “qāl …” and what follows. Likewise