Because this is a ruling that has not yet been substantiated in the Sacred Law by any proof that would compel us to adopt it. Accordingly, if the wording before us does not point to real disbelief—meaning outright denial—it must be taken to indicate a figurative sense, not a sense that would impose a ruling nowhere confirmed in the Law, indeed one whose opposite is confirmed: namely, that his blood is inviolable, for he does not fall under the three categories the Law has expressly allowed to be put to death. Reflect on this, for it is self-evident; and Allah knows best.

(That is to say, we are bound to one of two alternatives: either we posit an unspoken qualification in the text if we wish to interpret it according to the technical legal meaning of “disbelief,” or we take it in its borrowed, figurative sense. To construe it as meaning that he is to be treated exactly like an unbeliever in every legal respect while he is in fact a believer clashes with foundational principles, for the ḥadīth is explicit about those who must be killed for disbelief or as a ḥadd penalty. Hence this opinion borders on the view of those who declare people unbelievers on account of sins.)

Second Treatise: On the Conditions—Conditions of the Prayer

Chapter One: Knowledge of the Prayer Times

Section One: Knowledge of the Times Commanded for Prayer

Part One of Section One of Chapter One of the Second Treatise: The Extended and the Preferred Times

The second treatise, on the conditions, comprises eight chapters:

1. Chapter One: Knowledge of the times.
2. Chapter Two: Knowledge of the adhān and the iqāmah.
3. Chapter Three: Knowledge of the qiblah.
4. Chapter Four: Covering the nakedness and proper dress within the prayer.
5. Chapter Five: The stipulation of ritual purity from physical impurity for the prayer.
6. Chapter Six: Determining the places in which prayer is permissible and those in which it is not.
7. Chapter Seven: Knowing the conditions that are prerequisites for the validity of the prayer.
8. Chapter Eight: Knowledge of the intention (niyyah) and how it is required for the prayer.

Chapter One: Knowledge of the times. This chapter is first divided into two sections:
• Section One: Knowledge of the times during which prayer is prescribed.
• Section Two: Knowledge of the times during which prayer is forbidden.

Section One: Knowledge of the times during which prayer is prescribed. This section is further divided into two parts:
• Part One: The extended times and the preferred times.
• Part Two: The times for those in circumstances of necessity.