53 – The hadith concerning the eclipse prayer (ṣalāt al-kusūf) and the rain-seeking prayer (ṣalāt al-istisqāʾ).
54 – The hadith about the stallion’s stud fee (ʿasb al-faḥl).
55 – The hadith stating, “When a pilgrim in consecration (muḥrim) dies, do not cover his head and do not apply perfume to him.”

I say: All of these hadiths—indeed most of them, and many times their number besides—have been set aside in favor of analogy or the legal maxims mentioned earlier. Ibn Ḥazm ascribed some of this abandonment of the Sunnah to those who preferred the practice of the people of Madinah. Let me give you further examples of how they contradict the Sunnah. Among their points of opposition are:

1 – The hadith that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite Sūrat al-Ṭūr in the Maghrib prayer and Sūrat al-Mursalāt near the end of his blessed life.
2 – His saying “Āmīn” after al-Fātiḥah.
3 – His prostration upon reciting “When the sky is split open” (Sūrat al-Inshiqāq).
4 – His leading the people in prayer while seated, with them also seated behind him; yet they declare that anyone who prays in this manner has an invalid prayer.
5 – The hadith that Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, began leading the people in prayer, then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came, sat beside Abū Bakr, and completed the prayer with the congregation. They nevertheless claim that this report is not to be acted upon and that whoever prays in this way invalidates his prayer.
6 – The hadith that he combined between Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr—meaning while resident in Madinah—