And if something occurs while one is praying—such as someone asking permission to enter, a person in front of him slipping into forgetfulness, or his fearing that someone might fall into danger—he may alert them: the man by saying subḥān Allah ("Glory be to Allah"), and the woman by clapping her hands. This is based on the ḥadith, “If anything happens to you in your prayer, let the men say subḥān Allah and the women clap,” agreed upon.

It is not disliked to greet a person who is praying with salām, provided he knows how to respond. The worshipper may then return the greeting during the prayer with a gesture, not verbally; he must not say, “Wa ʿalaykum al-salām.” Should he answer aloud, his prayer is invalidated, for that would be speech directed to another human being. He may also defer the reply until he has concluded the prayer.

The worshipper may recite several sūrahs within a single rakʿah, for the Ṣaḥīḥ collections relate that the Prophet recited al-Baqarah, Āl ʿImrān, and al-Nisāʾ in one standing. He may likewise repeat the same sūrah in both rakʿahs, divide one sūrah between two rakʿahs, or recite the closing or middle passages of a sūrah. Aḥmad and Muslim report from Ibn ʿAbbās that the Prophet would recite in the first rakʿah of the dawn prayer the verse, “Say, ‘We have believed in Allah and what has been sent down to us…’” (al-Baqarah 2:136), and in the second the verse in Āl ʿImrān, “Say, ‘O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is just between us and you…’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:64). Moreover, the general command, “So recite whatever is easy for you of it” (al-Muzzammil 73:20), applies. However, it is not fitting