remembering, if he deliberately prolongs the interruption, he may not resume where he left off but must begin the prayer anew. Likewise, if he inadvertently does something incompatible with prayer—such as speaking, making excessive movements, or the like—this does not permit him to interrupt it deliberately. All of this establishes that continuity is obligatory in prayer, except where an excuse justifies an interruption. This applies all the more to ablution.

If it is asked, “What, then, do you say about ritual bathing?” the answer is: The well-known view among Ahmad’s followers distinguishes between the two. Their principal evidence is the following report:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, noticed a spot on his hand that the water had not reached, so he squeezed his hair over it.”

Ibn ʿAbbās also reported:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, bathed to remove major ritual impurity, then noticed a spot that the water had not reached. He took his hair and used it to moisten the spot.”

Ahmad and Ibn Mājah narrated this through Abū ʿAlī al-Sarūjī. Ahmad and others judged his hadith to be weak.

Ibn Mājah also narrated that ʿAlī said:

“A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘I bathed to remove major ritual impurity and prayed Fajr. Then, when morning came, I noticed a spot the size of a fingernail that no water had reached.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Had you wiped it with your hand, that would have sufficed.’”

Ibn Masʿūd also reported:

“A man asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about a man who bathes to remove major ritual impurity but misses part of his body. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied: