perceived. Thus, when someone says, “We did not hear” or “We did not see,” concerning something he would ordinarily hear or see, he intends thereby to deny its occurrence; mentioning that it was not perceived serves as evidence of that. It is well known that this constitutes evidence regarding things that would ordinarily be perceived.

This becomes clear from the third reason: Anas served the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from his arrival in Madinah until his death. He would enter the presence of his wives before the command to observe the veil, and accompany him both at home and on journeys. When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed Hajj, Anas was beneath his she-camel, with its saliva dripping onto him. Given such close association and lengthy companionship, could he possibly have failed to hear the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recite it aloud, if he had indeed been reciting it aloud? Ordinary experience makes the impossibility of this self-evident.

He then accompanied Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān, and held administrative posts under Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. Over their lengthy terms, it would likewise have been impossible for them to recite it aloud without his hearing it. It is therefore clear that this is distortion, not interpretation. This would be so even if only this wording had been transmitted. How much more so when the other wording explicitly denies reciting it—and he gives preference to this other version.

Both versions also rule out the interpretation of those who take his statement, “They would begin the prayer with ‘All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds,’” to mean that he intended the surah. For his statement, “They would begin with ‘All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds,’ and would not recite ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy,’ either at the beginning of their recitation or at its end,” explicitly shows that he means beginning with the verse, not with Sūrat al-Fātihah, which