a condition of allegiance, and Muslims would have to acknowledge Alī alone as their ally, so that neither al-Hasan, al-Husayn, nor the rest of Banū Hāshim would be included in that allegiance. This contradicts the consensus of the Muslims.

The sixth response is that the expression “those who” is plural and therefore cannot apply to Alī alone.

The seventh response is that Allah praises a person [only] (1) for something He regards as praiseworthy, whether obligatory or recommended. By the consensus of the Muslims, giving charity, emancipating a slave, presenting a gift, making a grant, entering into a lease, contracting a marriage, pronouncing a divorce, and undertaking other such transactions during prayer are neither obligatory nor recommended. Indeed, many of them hold that doing so invalidates the prayer even if no words are spoken; rather, even an intelligible gesture invalidates it. Others hold that such a gesture does not effect a transfer of ownership because the legally required offer is absent. Had this been recommended, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would have done it and urged his Companions to do so, and Alī would have done it on occasions other than this incident (2).

Since none of this occurred, it is known that giving charity during prayer is not among righteous deeds. The opportunity to give to the beggar will not be lost: the giver can give to him after concluding the prayer with the salām. Prayer indeed demands one’s full attention.

The eighth response is that, even supposing this were prescribed during prayer, it would not be confined to bowing. Rather, doing it while standing or sitting would be more appropriate than doing it while bowing. How, then, could it be said, “There is no ally [for you] (3) except those who give charity every time they bow”? For if a person were to give charity