He also said—may Allah have mercy on him—concerning recitation behind the imam, after some preceding discussion:

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“No prayer is valid for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.”

This was recorded by the compilers of the authentic hadith collections, including al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their Sahīh collections. Al-Bukhārī relied upon it in his treatise, under the chapter heading “The Obligation of Recitation in Every Rak‘ah.” He narrated this hadith through several chains, including the transmissions of Ibn ‘Uyaynah, Sālih ibn Kaysān, and Yūsuf ibn Yazīd.

Al-Bukhārī said:

Ma‘mar narrated from al-Zuhrī:

“No prayer is valid for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book or more.”

Most reliable transmitters did not corroborate Ma‘mar’s wording “or more,” although he did affirm the recitation of the Opening of the Book. It is unclear what he meant by “or more”: two letters, or more than that? Unless it is like the Prophet’s statement:

“The hand is not to be cut off except for a quarter of a dinar or more.”

The hand may thus be cut off for a quarter of a dinar, or for more than a dinar.

Al-Bukhārī said:

It is said that ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Ishāq corroborated Ma‘mar. However, ‘Abd al-Rahmān would sometimes narrate from al-Zuhrī and then insert another transmitter between himself and al-Zuhrī. It is not known whether this is among his authentic reports.

I say: The substance of this is conveyed in an authentic hadith, as narrated by the compilers of the Sunan collections, and indeed