I add: they cite in their favor the Prophet’s words, “Pray as you have seen me pray.” The majority counter with the hadith of “the man who prayed poorly,” for the Prophet ﷺ did not order him to pronounce the transition takbirs but did order him to make the opening takbir, as al-Nawawi states (3/397). This, however, is a weak argument, because none of the well-known scholars has restricted the mandatory elements of prayer to what is mentioned in that report; each of them adds other obligations on the strength of different evidence. Take al-Nawawi himself: in line with his school he deems the final taslim (closing salutation) obligatory, even though no version of that hadith mentions it. The same applies to sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, as Ibn Hajar explicitly observes. How, then, can one use the report as proof against others in one place when it refutes him in another? All of this rests on al-Nawawi’s claim that the Prophet ﷺ did not command the man to make these additional takbirs. That is incorrect, for one sound chain of the hadith—reported by Rifaʿa ibn Rafiʿ—does contain them. He related that a man entered the mosque … and in the course of the story the Prophet ﷺ said: “No one’s prayer is complete until he performs wudu (ritual ablution), applying the water to its proper limbs, then says Allahu akbar, praises and extols Allah the Mighty and Majestic, recites whatever he can of the Quran, then says Allahu akbar and bows until his joints are at ease; then says Samiʿa Allahu liman ḥamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him) and stands upright; then says Allahu akbar and prostrates until his joints are at ease; then says Allahu akbar and raises his head until he is sitting upright; then says Allahu akbar and prostrates until his joints are at ease; then raises his head and pronounces the takbir. When he has done that, his prayer is complete.” Abu Dawud recorded it (1/137): related by Musa ibn Ismaʿil, from Hammad, from Ishaq ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Talha, from ʿAli ibn Yahya, from Rifaʿa.