disregards what he has recited, begins his recitation anew, does not return to sitting, and prostrates before the salām—meaning, because he omitted the required rising. My interlocutor argued that this statement in al-Mudawwana is like Ibn Nāfiʿ’s ruling concerning someone who inadvertently pronounces the salām after two rakʿahs, then remembers shortly afterwards while standing: he [disregards what he has recited, begins his recitation anew, does not return to sitting, and prostrates before the salām—meaning, because he omitted the required rising. My interlocutor argued that this statement in al-Mudawwana is like Ibn Nāfiʿ’s ruling concerning someone who inadvertently pronounces the salām after two rakʿahs, then remembers shortly afterwards while standing: he does not return to sitting, contrary to Ibn al-Qāsim’s ruling that he pronounces an opening takbīr], and returns to sitting.

I replied: “This ruling in al-Mudawwana is sound, and that disagreement cannot apply to it, because it concerns a different case. The distinction between them is that there are two positions on whether someone who inadvertently pronounces the salām after two rakʿahs thereby leaves the prayer. Those who hold that he leaves the prayer say that he resumes with an opening takbīr and returns to sitting, because he did not rise for the purpose of prayer. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position. Those who hold that an inadvertent salām does not take a worshipper out of prayer say that he needs no opening takbīr when resuming and does not return to sitting, because his standing counts as part of his prayer. This is the position of Ibn al-Mājishūn, Ibn Nāfiʿ and Ashhab, and the view preferred by Muhammad ibn al-Mawwāz. As for someone who rises before the imam’s salām and becomes aware of that salām while standing, his action has not taken him out of prayer. The rising he performed while still following the imam, before the imam’s salām, is disregarded and does not count. It is therefore as though he omitted it, so he must not go back to perform it, but must prostrate before the salām. This is by analogy with someone who inadvertently omits the middle sitting and does not remember until he is standing fully upright: he does not return to it, but prostrates before the salām.”

He said to me: “There is no difference between the recitation and the rising performed before the imam’s salām: neither counts. Just as he must begin his recitation anew, he must likewise return to sitting in order to perform the rising which, having been performed while he was still following the imam, did not count. This accords with Ibn al-Qāsim’s position concerning someone who pronounces the salām after two rakʿahs.”

I replied: “That does not follow. The difference between recitation and rising is that it is already too late for the latter