an anomaly even by the standards of Islamic law itself. An act of worship is either beneficial to the heart and indispensable to its soundness, in which case it is prescribed at every time and in every place, or it is not beneficial, in which case it is not prescribed. Yet according to the hadith related concerning this prayer, a person may perform it every day, every week, every month, or once in a lifetime. This has no parallel in Islamic law. It therefore demonstrates its anomalous nature in both its chain of transmission and its text. Whoever declares it fabricated—as Shaykh al-Islām did—is correct. Hence Shaykh al-Islām said, “None of the leading imams deemed it recommended.”

I have cited it as an example only because men and women frequently ask about it, and I fear that this innovation may come to be regarded as prescribed. I do call it an innovation, and I say so even if some people find that difficult to accept, because we believe that every practice by which a person seeks to worship Allah—Glorified is He—but which is found neither in Allah’s Book nor in the Sunnah of His Messenger is an innovation.

Likewise, some may also rely on evidence that is weak in terms of