in its chain stands Ayyub ibn Nuhayk, a narrator who has been discarded; a number of critics judged him weak. Ibn Ḥibbān listed him in al-Thiqat but added, “He makes mistakes.” Al-Hafiz (Ibn Hajar) likewise indicated his weakness in Fath al-Bari.

The author of al-Hidayah quoted the report as traced back to the Prophet in the wording: “When the imam comes out, there is to be neither prayer nor speech.” Its annotator, al-Zaylaʿi, remarks, “I say: it is singular when traced back to the Prophet. Al-Bayhaqi said: attributing it to him is a flagrant error; it is merely a statement of al-Zuhri.” He then adds (p. 204): “Abu Muhammad ʿAbd al-Haqq mentioned in his Ahkam that Abu Saʿid al-Malini, in his book, narrated from Muhammad ibn Abi Mutiʿ, from his father, from Muhammad ibn Jabir, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Harith, from ʿAli—traced back to the Prophet—‘Do not pray while the imam is delivering the sermon.’”

Al-Zaylaʿi lets this pass without comment, most likely because its weakness is obvious: this al-Harith is al-Aʿwar, and he is weak. The same holds for Muhammad ibn Jabir—al-Sahimi—and for Abu Mutiʿ, the Balkhi whose name is al-Hakam ibn ʿAbd Allah; they are all weak. For that reason al-Hafiz says in al-Dirayah, “Its chain is feeble.”