—whether on the day he was teaching or on the day he was judging. Al-Shaʿbī used to issue rulings in the congregational mosque, while Shurayḥ adjudicated in the mosque and even dyed his beard black; and the Prophet ﷺ himself passed judgment in his mosque among the Anṣār concerning inheritance cases that had long been pending.

I add: I have not been able to locate this ḥadith at present, so it should be investigated.

Al-Shāfiʿī’s position is the one that best accords with sound reasoning: it does not set aside the Sunnah we have cited, nor does it entail any impropriety in the mosque. By contrast, designating the mosque specifically as a courtroom would make it difficult to keep the place free of rabble and noise. Allah knows best.

17 – Reclining. The ḥadith of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd al-Māzinī states that he saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lying on his back in the mosque with one leg crossed over the other.

It was recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, by Mālik—and from him by Abū Dāwūd—as well as by al-Nasāʾī, Muḥammad in his Muwaṭṭaʾ, al-Tirmidhī, al-Dārimī, al-Ṭayālisī, and Aḥmad through various chains from al-Zuhrī, who said, “ʿAbbād ibn Tamīm informed me on the authority of his uncle ….” Al-Tirmidhī commented, “A ḥadith that is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ (good and authentic).”

The report is corroborated by a narration of Abū Hurayrah that Ibn Ḥibbān declared authentic, as noted in Fatḥ al-Bārī.