as al-Nawawī states in al-Majmūʿ, and on that basis he judged the ḥadīth defective.

His words: “Supporting this is what has been transmitted from her—that the Prophet ﷺ would be praying, and if someone sought to enter, he would open the door so long as it lay in front of him, or to his right or left, and he would not turn his back to the qiblah. Reported by al-Dāraqutnī.”

I say: In this exact wording the report is very weak, for al-Dāraqutnī (p. 194) relates it through Muḥammad b. Ḥumayd al-Rāzī, who, despite being a ḥāfiẓ, has been accused of lying. The ḥadīth is, however, authentic in another wording recorded by al-Nasāʾī and others; that version mentions the Prophet’s walking—the very point the author wished to prove—and he quoted it earlier. It is also listed in al-Ṣaḥīḥa, no. 2716. Had he relied on that version alone, it would have been preferable.

His statement: “6 – Initiating salām to someone engaged in prayer and addressing him, and that it is permissible for him to reply by gesture to the one who greets or addresses him. From Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me… I came to him while he was praying on his mount, so I spoke to him and he signalled to me with his hand like this… Reported by Aḥmad and Muslim.”

I say: Muslim also relates another version (2/71): “I greeted him with salām, and he gestured back to me.” This wording is clearer for the intended ruling, so citing it would have been better.

His statement under number 7: “From Sahl b. Saʿd al-Sāʿidī, from the Prophet ﷺ who said: ‘If something occurs to a person in his prayer, let him say subḥān Allāh…’ Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasāʾī.”

I say: The ḥadīth is also found in both Ṣaḥīḥs within a longer narration from Sahl, and it has already appeared in full earlier in the book—under the discussion of congregational prayer—as evidence for the permissibility of the imam and the follower moving from their places. It seems the author overlooked this.