he brought, Allah will not punish him for what has not reached him. For if He does not punish him for failing to believe after reaching puberty, it is all the more fitting that He should not punish him for failing to fulfil some of its conditions until they have been conveyed to him. This is the practice of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as widely reported from him in such cases. It is established in the authentic hadith collections that:

“A group of his Companions thought that Allah Most High’s words, ‘the white thread from the black thread,’ meant a white cord as distinct from a black cord. One of them would therefore tie a cord to his leg and continue eating until he could distinguish one from the other. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained that what was meant was the whiteness of day and the darkness of night, but he did not instruct them to make up their fasts.”

Likewise, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb and ‘Ammār entered a state of major ritual impurity. ‘Umar did not pray until he found water, while ‘Ammār thought that dust had to reach wherever water would reach, so he rolled in the dust as an animal rolls. The Prophet did not instruct either of them to make up his prayers. Similarly, Abū Dharr remained in a state of major ritual impurity for some time without praying. The Prophet did not instruct him to make up his prayers, but told him to perform dry ablution in the future.

Likewise, the woman suffering from irregular bleeding said, “I suffer severe bleeding that prevents me from praying and fasting.” He instructed her to pray during the irregular bleeding, but did not instruct her to make up what she had missed. When speaking during prayer was forbidden, Mu‘āwiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulamī spoke during