one rakʿah for themselves and then ended the prayer with the salām.”

This is the format endorsed by Abū Ḥanīfah and his associates—except for Abū Yūsuf, as mentioned earlier.

The fourth format is found in the ḥadīth of Abū ʿAyyāsh al-Zuraqī, who said:

“We were with the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—at ʿUsfān, while the idolaters were under the command of Khālid ibn al-Walīd. We performed the ẓuhr prayer. The idolaters said, ‘We have caught them unawares—had we attacked them while they were praying, we would have overwhelmed them.’ Thereupon Allah revealed the verse permitting the shortening of the prayer between ẓuhr and ʿaṣr.

When the time for ʿaṣr came, the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—stood facing the qiblah with the idolaters in front of him. One rank lined up behind him, followed by another rank behind that. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—bowed, and they all bowed with him. Then he prostrated, and the rank nearest to him prostrated while the other rank remained standing to guard them. When the first rank had completed its two prostrations and risen, the second rank—the one that had been guarding—prostrated.

Next, the rank closest to him fell back to the position of the rear rank, and the rear rank advanced to the place of the front rank. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—bowed again, and they all bowed with him. Then he prostrated, and the rank nearest him prostrated while the others stood guard. When the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—sat for the final tashahhud, and the rank nearest him sat as well, the others prostrated; then they all sat together, and he concluded the prayer by giving the salām to all of them.”

The Prophet performed this prayer at ʿUsfān and again on the day of Banū Sulaym.

Abū Dāwūd said: This arrangement is also reported from Jābir, Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, Abū Mūsā, and from Hishām ibn ʿUrwah on the authority of his father, from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him.

He added: This is likewise the view of al-Thawrī, and it is the most prudent of the formats, because it contains no substantial act that departs from the familiar motions of prayer. A number of Mālik’s companions and of al-Shāfiʿī’s companions have adopted it as well, and Muslim transmitted it on the authority of Jābir. Jābir remarked, “It is just like the way these guards of yours protect your commanders.”

The fifth format is found in the ḥadīth of Hudhayfah. Thaʿlabah ibn Zahdam reports:

“We were with Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ in Ṭabaristān. He rose and said, ‘Which of you performed the Prayer of Fear with the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him?’ Hudhayfah replied, ‘I did.’ He then led this group in one rakʿah and that group in one rakʿah, and they did not make up anything afterward.”

This departs markedly from the established norm.

Abū Dāwūd also transmitted, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, a similar statement in which he said:

“Prayer, according to the teaching of your Prophet, is four rakʿahs when resident, two when traveling, and a single rakʿah in time of fear.”

Al-Thawrī likewise deemed this format permissible.