The fifth cause: The hadith may have reached him, but it was abrogated and he was unaware of the abrogating text.

Thus, the hadith may be authentic and its intended meaning clear, yet it has been abrogated without the scholar knowing this. In that case, he is excused, because the fundamental presumption is that a text has not been abrogated until the abrogating text becomes known.

An example of this is the position of Ibn Masūd—may Allah be pleased with him—regarding what a person should do with his hands when bowing. In the early days of Islam, worshippers were instructed to clasp their hands together and place them between their knees. This was the prescribed practice at the beginning of Islam. It was later abrogated, and the prescribed practice became placing the hands upon the knees. This abrogation is established in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and elsewhere,1 and Ibn Masūd