(1) Reported by al-Nasa’i (1/122) and Ahmad (2/138; 6/13) through Malik, from Nafiʿ, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar: “The Messenger of Allah entered the Kaʿbah …” In it ʿAbd Allah says: “When he came out I asked Bilal, ‘What did the Messenger of Allah do?’ He replied, ‘He placed one pillar to his left, two pillars to his right, and three pillars behind him—the House then stood on six pillars—then he prayed, leaving three cubits between himself and the wall.’ This is Ahmad’s wording. Ahmad also transmits, through Hisham ibn Saʿd from Nafiʿ, an abridged version: ‘There were three cubits between him and the wall.’ Al-Bukhari (2/459) records a similar report via Musa ibn ʿUqbah from Nafiʿ. (2) Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Saʿidi, may Allah be pleased with him, related: “Between the place where the Messenger of Allah prayed and the wall there was room for a sheep to pass.” Reported by al-Bukhari (2/455), Muslim (2/59), and al-Bayhaqi (2/272) from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Abi Hazim, from his father, from Sahl. Abu Dawud (1/111) transmits the same isnad with the wording: “Between the Prophet’s standing-place and the qiblah there was room for a goat to pass.” On the strength of this wording Ibn Hajar, in Fath al-Bari, explained the first narration, saying: “The term ‘musalla of the Messenger of Allah’ means the spot where he stood in prayer, and this is how it appears in Abu Dawud’s version.”