“This has no sound basis upon examination, for there is no established report or valid analogy to support such a distinction. And Allah knows best.”

The hadith of Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim to which he alluded is sufficient to establish the proof against those who differ, if they consider it fairly and do not blindly follow others. Its wording is:

“O descendants of ʿAbd Manāf, do not prevent anyone from circumambulating this House and praying, at whatever hour he wishes, by night or by day.”

It was authenticated by al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabī, and it is documented in al-Irwāʾ (2/238–239).

Know that what prompted me to include the hadith under discussion in this series was that I had commented on it in al-Mishkāh (1/331), in Aḥmad’s version, saying: “Its chain of transmission is weak, but it is supported by the preceding hadith (1041).” I overlooked adding another number alongside this one, namely (1045). One of our contemporaries then courteously and kindly responded to me in a treatise which he entitled, “Clarification of What Escaped the Imam,” stating that the hadith indicated by (1041) contains nothing to support the exception, “except in Mecca.” He was correct. The treatise states (p. 30):

“This exception is weak, both in chain and text; the correct view is that the ruling is general. And Allah knows best. See Nasb al-Rāyah (1/254) and al-Bayhaqī (2/461).”

I was astonished that he had overlooked the hadith of Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim, which supports the exception upheld by the majority of the scholars, as mentioned above; and that he instructed readers to consult the two sources cited, which contain the hadith of Jubayr as well as other chains and corroborating reports.

(Note): The chain of transmission of the hadith under discussion in Musnad Aḥmad does not mention (Ḥumayd