and no one should omit it except for a valid excuse. Performing the prostration without ritual purity is still better than leaving it out altogether; yet one might argue that, in such a case, it is not obligatory—just as it is not obligatory for a mere listener, or for someone whose reciter does not prostrate—although the majority of scholars deem that prostration permissible.

Likewise, the one praying behind an imam is required, by unanimous agreement, to follow him within the prayer, even though they maintain that this duty does not extend beyond that circumstance. Some scholars have even interpreted the ḥadith of Zayd to indicate that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was not in a state of purity on that occasion.

In the same vein, Friday prayer is not obligatory for the sick person, the traveller, or the slave, even though they are allowed to perform it—especially since most jurists will not permit it without ablution. The stronger opinion, however, is that it remains permissible, owing to the ḥadith.

What has been transmitted from the Prophet concerning this prostration is a single takbīrah (the proclamation “Allāhu akbar”), for one is not moving from one act of worship to another. On this basis al-Bukhārī titled