but then fails to respond without an excuse has no prayer.” They answered the hadith concerning the greater merit of congregational prayer by saying that it concerns someone whose excuse permits him to pray alone, just as it is authentically reported that he said:

“The prayer of a man sitting is worth half the prayer of one standing, and the prayer of one lying down is worth half the prayer of one sitting.”

This refers to someone with an excuse, as the hadith relates that he came out to them when they were suffering from fever and were praying sitting down, and made this statement. None of the early generations permitted voluntary prayer while lying down without an excuse, nor is anyone among them known to have done so. Its permissibility is one view within the schools of al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, but no reliable predecessor among the early generations is known for its proponent, even though this is a matter of widespread practical concern. If every Muslim were permitted to offer voluntary prayers lying on his side while healthy and free of illness, just as he may offer voluntary prayers sitting or riding a mount, the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would have explained this to his community, and the Companions would have known it. Given their strong eagerness to do good, some of them would inevitably have done so. Since none of them did, this indicates that they did not regard it as prescribed. This is discussed at length in its proper place.

The point here is that a Muslim should accord the words of Allah and His Messenger their due weight. Indeed, no one may interpret anyone’s words except according to what that person is known to have intended—not according to whatever meaning those words might bear in anyone else’s speech. Many people, when interpreting texts that contradict their own position, proceed as though “interpretation” consisted merely of mentioning a possible meaning of the wording. Their purpose is to fend off the person citing that text against them. This is mistaken. Rather, everything Allah and His Messenger have said