“Nothing invalidates a Muslim’s prayer except a donkey, an unbeliever, a dog, and a woman.” ʿAishah protested: “Messenger of Allah, we have been lumped together with foul beasts!” Ahmad records the report (6/84–85) through Abu al-Mughirah, from Safwan, from Rashid ibn Saʿd, on her authority. All the transmitters are those found in Sahih Muslim except Rashid; he is reliable yet frequently transmits mursal reports, as noted in Taqrib. If he actually heard it from ʿAishah, the isnad is sound; otherwise, it is broken and therefore weak. These hadiths indicate that a dog, a woman, and a donkey “cut,” that is, invalidate, the prayer. Al-Shawkani (3/9) writes: “A number of Companions held this view, among them Abu Hurayrah, Anas, and—according to one narration— Ibn ʿAbbas; it is also reported from Abu Dharr and Ibn ʿUmar. Another report from Ibn ʿUmar restricts it to the dog, while al-Hakam ibn ʿAmr al-Ghifari affirmed it for the donkey. Among the Tabiʿin who maintained that all three nullify the prayer are al-Hasan al-Basri and Abu al-Ahwas, the companion of Ibn Masʿud. From the leading jurists, Ahmad ibn Hanbal—according to Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri in al-Muhalla (4/11)—held this position; al-Tirmidhi, however, relates that Ahmad limited it to the black dog and suspended judgment regarding the donkey and the woman.” I add: There are two narrations from Imam Ahmad on the issue. Both agree that the black dog breaks the prayer, but they differ concerning the woman and the donkey: in one he categorically denies that they do so, while in the other he is non-committal. The first narration is that of his son ʿAbd Allah in al-Masaʾil: “I asked my father, ‘What breaks the prayer?’ He replied, ‘The black dog.’ I said, ‘But Anas narrates that a dog, a woman, and a donkey break the prayer.’ He answered, ‘As for the woman, I rely on the hadith of ʿAishah…’”