that he led the dawn prayer (fajr) reciting the two shortest surahs of the Quran. Al-Haythami (4/74) remarks: “In its chain is Abu al-Rabi al-Samman, and he is weak.” Ibn Abi Dawud also recorded it in al-Masahif (4/14/2 = 1/505, 507) from al-Bara ibn Azib with the same chain. Muslim (2/44), al-Daraqutni (196), al-Bayhaqi (2/393), and Ahmad as well (3/153, 156) transmitted it from Anas through Thabit, by way of Jaʿfar ibn Sulayman, with the wording: “The Messenger of Allah would hear the cry of a child with its mother while he was in prayer, so he would recite a light—or short—surah.” Al-Tirmidhi (2/214) narrated it from Humayd, through Marwan ibn Muʿawiyah al-Fazari, in marfu form, with the wording: “By Allah, I do hear the cry of a child while I am in prayer, so I shorten it for fear that his mother be distressed.” He graded it “hasan sahih.” I note: Marwan ibn Muʿawiyah is trustworthy, yet he practised tadlis and has related the report with an unspecified link (ʿanʿana); in addition, his wording differs. Ahmad (3/182, 188, 205) recorded it through other routes from Humayd in the form: “While the Messenger of Allah was praying he heard the cry of a child; he therefore abbreviated his prayer, and we supposed he had shortened it because the child’s mother was in the prayer.” Its chain is sound according to the criteria of the two Sahihs, and it is thulathi (only three narrators between Anas and the compiler). A fourth route occurs in al-Bukhari (2/160) and the Musnad (3/233, 240): from Sulayman ibn Bilal, from Sharik, who said he heard Anas ibn Malik say: