Now, because the ḥadīth just cited has shown us the way out of every dispute that may arise within the ummah—and this question is one over which they have differed—it is our duty to resort to that way out: holding fast to his Sunnah. In this case his Sunnah is nothing other than eleven rakʿahs; therefore we must adopt that number and leave whatever contradicts it, all the more so because the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs corresponds to it. We hold that adding to it contradicts the Sunnah, for matters of worship are governed by revealed prescription and following, not by intellectual embellishment and innovation, as was explained in the first treatise and will be discussed in detail in the treatise dedicated to bidʿah (innovation), if Allah wills.

What is astonishing is that the common folk have noticed this: you often hear them on this and other occasions saying, “The one who adds is the brother of the one who falls short.” So what of the specialists?

In this connection I am pleased with what Ibn Abī Shaybah recorded in the Muṣannaf from Mujāhid. He said: A man came to Ibn ʿAbbās and said, “My companion and I were travelling; I completed the prayer while my companion shortened it.” Ibn ʿAbbās replied, “On the contrary, it was you who were shortening and your companion who was completing.” ⦗88⦘