the recitation, the bowing, the prostrations, the standing after bowing, and the sitting between the two prostrations; this too is an error, and he has wronged his own soul.

The third type is the one who leads the people in prayer exactly as the Prophet ﷺ used to pray. This is the best of the three categories and the one who has discharged the trust in the most perfect way. Allah is the One who grants success.

2/650 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned from a journey, and I had covered a small alcove of mine with a thin curtain that bore images. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw it, he tore it down, his face changed color, and he said, ‘O ʿĀʾishah, the people who will receive the severest punishment…’” (The word sahwah denotes a little recess or alcove at the front of the house; qirām—with a kasrah on the qāf—means a fine curtain; “he tore it down” means he ruined the images that were on it.)

3/651 – She (may Allah be pleased with her) also narrated that Quraysh were greatly troubled about the case of a woman from Banū Makhzūm who had stolen. They said, “Who will speak to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about her?” and concluded, “No one dares to do so except Usāmah ibn Zayd, the beloved of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” Usāmah therefore spoke to him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Are you interceding concerning one of the penal limits set by Allah?” He then rose and delivered a sermon, saying, “Those before you were only destroyed because, when a nobleman among them stole, they let him go, but when a weak person stole, they applied the punishment. By Allah, even if Fāṭimah the daughter of Muḥammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand.” Agreed upon.