There is also a third route, transmitted as a mauqūf report from Ibn Masʿūd with the wording: “There will be leaders who delay the prayer beyond its appointed times. When they do so, do not wait for them to pray; perform the prayer yourselves, and count the one you offer with them as a supererogatory act.”

Aḥmad recorded it (1/455 and 459) through Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, who said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad ibn Yazīd al-Nakhaʿī narrated to me from his father, from him. This isnād is also ḥasan.

Hārūn ibn ʿAntarah corroborated it from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad, though without the phrase “and count…,” etc. Al-Nasaʾī recorded that (128–129), and Aḥmad likewise (1/424), with an isnād that is ṣaḥīḥ.

Aḥmad further reported it (1/405) through Shuʿbah, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿĀbis, who said: “A man from Hamdān, one of Ibn Masʿūd’s companions, narrated it to us.” All the transmitters are those relied upon by al-Bukhārī and Muslim except for the unnamed Hamdānī, whose identity is not specified.

An incident concerning Ibn Masʿūd—may Allah be pleased with him—occurred in this connection, and it is useful to relate it: Al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah once delayed the prayer, so ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd stood up, announced the prayer, and led the people. Al-Walīd then sent for him and asked, “What prompted you to do this? Did an order come to you from the Commander of the Believers, or is it something you invented?” He replied, “No instruction has come to me from the Commander of the Believers, nor have I innovated anything. Rather, Allah and His Messenger have forbidden us to postpone our prayer while you are busy with your own affairs.”