180 – Abu Qatadah (d. ?) related: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray while carrying Ummamah, daughter of Zaynab. When he went into prostration he would set her down, and when he rose he would pick her up again.” Agreed upon.

Muslim adds: “while he was leading the people in prayer in the mosque.” (1)

Glossary of the ḥadīth
• Ummamah: the hamzah is pronounced with ḍammah and the mīm with fatḥah. She was the daughter of Zaynab, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ummamah’s father was Abu al-ʿĀṣ ibn al-Rabīʿ. Zaynab died in the year 8 AH, and her daughter Ummamah married ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; after his martyrdom she married al-Mughīrah ibn Nawfal ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib.

Points derived from the ḥadīth
1 – Such movement is permissible in prayer—obligatory or voluntary—whether one is the imam, a follower, or praying alone, even without pressing necessity. This is the view of the exacting scholars, for in this report the Prophet ﷺ was leading an obligatory prayer, which merits even greater care than a prayer offered alone or as a supererogatory act.

2 – It is permissible to touch or carry someone whose impurity is merely feared, giving precedence to the basic rule of purity over speculative doubt, for certainty is not displaced by uncertainty. Certainty is the presumption that things are pure; the doubt concerns the likelihood that children’s clothes or bodies may be impure. When he carried her, Ummamah was three years old.

3 – The humility of the Prophet ﷺ, his noble character, and his mercy toward old and young alike. So may Allah’s blessings