one may humble oneself to Him by placing both hands on the chest during the prayer, so the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade that same posture when it is directed to anyone other than Allah, because it entails humility and veneration for someone besides Him. Hence the ḥadith has no connection with the prayer per se. As for interpreting the word *takfir* in the way Imam Ahmad suggested, we have found no support for it in the lexicons available to us. Imam Ibn al-Athir says in al-Nihaya: “*Takfir* is for a person to bend and lower his head until it is near the level of bowing, as one does when exalting another person.” Al-Qamus states: “*Takfir* is when a person shows submissiveness to another,” and a few lines earlier: “*al-kafr* (with fatḥa) is the obeisance a Persian gives his king.” The commentator adds: “It is a mere nod of the head without actual prostration.” These texts confirm our conclusion that the ḥadith is unrelated to prayer and that its purport is a prohibition of showing servility to anyone other than Allah. This is said on the assumption that the ḥadith is authentic, though I do not believe it is; we have found no trace of it in any of the sources at hand. “Above every possessor of knowledge there is One more knowing” (Q 12:76). I am moreover astonished that Ibn al-Qayyim passed over Imam Ahmad’s statement without the least comment, despite his vast expertise in Arabic and in the Sacred Law—especially since Imam Ahmad’s view conflicts with what Ibn al-Qayyim himself adopted in his book on Prayer, where he reports that the Prophet used to place his hands on his chest. Allah knows best the secrets of hearts. Subsequently I discovered in Masaʾil al-Imam Ahmad (p. 62) a report transmitted by his son ʿAbd Allah: “I saw my father, whenever he prayed, place one of his hands upon the other above the navel.” Imam Ishaq ibn Rahawayh also practiced this sunnah, for al-Marwazi says in his Masaʾil (p. 222):