that it was the Ẓuhr prayer, while others maintained it was ʿAṣr; yet the two Ṣaḥīḥs state unequivocally that it was Ẓuhr.
– “They refrained from speaking to him” (hābā an yukallimāhu): The verb hāba–yahābu (pattern faʿila–yafʿalu) means to hold in awe. Ibn Fāris defines hayba as veneration; thus the phrase means that they revered and exalted him. Al-Ṣanʿānī comments, “This was a weighty matter, not an everyday incident.”
– sarʿānu’n-nās (“the first of the people to hurry out”)—with a fatḥah on both the sīn and the rāʾ—refers to those who were quickest to leave. The final nūn must be pronounced in every grammatical case, whichever vocalisation one adopts.
– “Has the prayer been shortened?” (quṣirat/qasarat al-ṣalāh): It is transmitted either with ḍamma on the qāf in the passive voice (quṣirat), or with fatḥah on the qāf and ḍamma on the ṣād (qasarat).
– Dhū’l-Yadayn (“the man with the two long arms”): so nicknamed because of the length of his forearms. His personal name was al-Khirbaq ibn ʿAmr; some say he was from Banū Sulaym, others from Khuzaʿah.
– “Did you forget, or has the prayer been shortened?”: The interrogative here retains its literal force, for this was still a period in which rulings were being abrogated.
– “I have not forgotten, nor has it been shortened”: that is, according to the Prophet’s own perception ﷺ.
– “I have not forgotten, nor has it been shortened”: This is like his statement, “None of that took place.” It negates both shortening and forgetfulness comprehensively for two reasons:
- The question used the particle am (“or”), which seeks a specific identification once one of the two alternatives is presumed true.
- In some narrations he said, “None of that occurred,” which is more emphatic than “Not all of that occurred,” for the former strengthens both subject and predicate. One could say, “Not all of that occurred; rather, some of it did,” but one cannot say, “None of that occurred; rather, some of it did.” Hence the interlocutor replied, “Indeed, some of that did happen.” Plainly, affirming part of something contradicts a denial of every individual part, not a denial of the collective whole.
– balā: a particle of reply that is used after a negative statement to turn it into an affirmation; for when he said