He then said, “We come upon the verse of prostration, yet it has not been made binding on us; nevertheless, you are eager for it.” He thereupon descended and prostrated.

It is therefore replied: that was a particular incident, and perhaps, because Zayd did not prostrate, he (the Prophet) did not prostrate either—just as Ibn Masʿūd said, “You are our leader; if you prostrate, we will prostrate.”

ʿUthmān said, “The prostration is only incumbent upon the one who sits to hear it and listens attentively.” This indicates that it is obligatory for the attentive listener but not for someone who merely overhears it. Ibn Masʿūd’s report likewise shows that it is not obligatory when the reciter himself does not prostrate.

It may also be said that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a valid excuse, according to those who maintain that prostration at that verse is still legislated. Among the scholars there are those who say: it is possible