of Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ if he is the imam; in the rakʿahs that follow he lowers his voice. If he is praying alone, he may choose: if he wishes, he recites aloud so that he can hear himself, and if he wishes, he recites quietly. The imam recites quietly in Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr.
Witr consists of three rakʿahs with no salām between them. In the third rakʿah he performs the qunūt before bowing throughout the entire year. In every rakʿah of Witr he recites the Opening Chapter together with another surah; when he intends to make the qunūt he pronounces the takbīr, raises his hands, and then recites the qunūt. The qunūt is not said in any prayer other than Witr.
No prayer includes a specific surah that alone is obligatory to the exclusion of all others, and it is disliked to single out a surah for a particular prayer, reciting nothing else in it.
According to Abū Ḥanīfa, the bare minimum of recitation that suffices in prayer is anything that falls under the name “Qur’an.” Yūsuf and Muḥammad, however, maintain that nothing less than three short verses—or one long verse—suffices.
The follower does not recite behind the imam.
Whoever wishes to join another’s prayer must make two intentions: one for the prayer itself and one for following the imam.
Congregational prayer is a highly confirmed sunnah. The one most entitled to lead is he who is most knowledgeable of the sunnah; if they are equal, then the most proficient in Qur’anic recitation; if still equal, the most scrupulous; if still equal, the eldest.
It is disliked to appoint as imam a slave, a Bedouin, an open sinner, a blind man, or one born out of wedlock, but if they do lead, the prayer is valid.
The imam should not prolong the prayer for the congregation.
It is disliked for women to establish a congregation by themselves; if they do, the woman leading stands in the middle of them.
If one person prays with the imam, he stands on the imam’s right; if they are two, the imam steps forward ahead of them.
Men may not follow a woman or a child in prayer.
The rows are formed with the men first, then the boys, then the women. If a woman stands next to a man while they are sharing the same prayer, his prayer is invalidated.
It is disliked for women to attend the congregational prayer, but an elderly woman may go out for Fajr, Maghrib, and ʿIshāʾ according to Abū Ḥanīfa, while Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad allow an elderly woman to attend all