he ruled that renewing ablution was obligatory. The questioner then asked him, “If the imam does not renew his ablution, should I pray behind him?” He replied, “Glory be to Allah! Would you not pray behind Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib and Mālik ibn Anas?”

Mālik holds that speaking during prayer out of forgetfulness or ignorance does not invalidate it, on the basis of the hadith concerning Dhū al-Yadayn; the hadith concerning Mu‘āwiyah ibn al-Hakam, when he invoked Allah’s mercy upon someone who had sneezed; and the hadith concerning the Bedouin who said during prayer, “O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not have mercy on anyone else along with us.”

This is also the position of al-Shāfi‘ī and of Ahmad according to one of the two reports from him. According to the other report, Ahmad’s position agrees with that of Abū Hanīfah. They argued, “The incident of Dhū al-Yadayn occurred before speaking during prayer was prohibited.” But that is not so. Rather, the incident of Dhū al-Yadayn occurred after Khaybar, since Abū Hurayrah witnessed it, and he only embraced Islam in the year of Khaybar. Speaking during prayer was prohibited before Ibn Mas‘ūd returned from Abyssinia, and Ibn Mas‘ūd was present at Badr.

The school of the people of Medina allows latitude consistent with the Sunnah in supplication during prayer, drawing attention by reciting the Quran or glorifying Allah, and similar matters. The Kufans, by contrast, imposed very severe restrictions in this area, classifying all of this as prohibited speech.