He said: “They are unanimously agreed that the two ʿEid prayers, the solar-eclipse prayer, and the night vigil of the Ramadan nights are not obligatory, and that night prayer (tahajjud) is not required of anyone other than the Prophet ﷺ. (1)

I say: According to the apparent view in Ahmad’s school, the two ʿEid prayers constitute a communal obligation. It is reported from Abū Ḥanīfah that each individual is personally obliged to perform them. ʿUbaydah al-Salmānī held that the night vigil is obligatory “like the milking of a goat,” and this is one opinion within Ahmad’s school.

He said: “They unanimously agree that every prayer—apart from the five prescribed prayers, the funeral prayer, witr, and any prayer a person vows—is not obligatory. (2)

I say: There is a well-known dispute over whether the two rakʿahs performed after circumambulating the Kaʿbah are obligatory, and obligation has also been claimed for repeating the congregational prayer with the local imam, for the two pre-dawn rakʿahs, and for the eclipse prayer.

He said: “They unanimously agree that whoever, out of forgetfulness, omits the middle sitting in ẓuhr, ʿaṣr, maghrib, or ʿishāʾ must perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness. (3)

I say: Al-Shāfiʿī does not make the prostrations of forgetfulness obligatory.

He said: “They unanimously agree that on two hundred dirhams the due amount is five dirhams, unless the sum consists of a woman’s jewellery, the adornment of a sword, a belt, a Qur’an case, or a signet ring.” (4)

I say: There is disagreement over all permissible jewellery, and over the adornment of a helmet, a bridle, and the hanger of a sword; in Ahmad’s school and elsewhere these are treated like a belt. One report from him allows a small quantity of gold attached to a garment—such as embroidery whose width does not exceed four fingers. In one report, the ornamentation of every weapon is treated like that of a sword. The scholars differ over other kinds of jewellery as well.

He said: “They unanimously agree that the time for standing at ʿArafah is not before noon on the ninth of Dhu al-Ḥijjah.” (5)

I say: One of the two opinions—indeed, the more renowned view in Ahmad’s school—is that it suffices