They are unanimous that when a Companion says, “It is sunnah,” the report counts as a musnad hadith. Two issues arise: 1. It is not on Muslim’s terms, for Muslim cited Ibn ‘Ajlan only as corroborative evidence, as al-Hakim himself notes. 2. The consensus he claims is incorrect, because disagreement on this question among the hadith masters and the usul scholars is well known, as al-Hafiz states (3/159). The stronger opinion is that such a statement is musnad marfu‘, for the Companion clearly intends the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—something that must be followed— as Ibn al-Salah explains in his Muqaddima (53). Al-Shafi‘i says in al-Umm (1/240): “The Companions of the Messenger of Allah use the word ‘sunnah’ only for the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, God willing.” This is the principle we have adopted in the present book. Al-Nawawi affirms in al-Majmu‘ (5/232): “This is the correct position, held by the majority of our scholars in usul and by other usulis and hadith experts.” As for reciting Fatihat al-Kitab (al-Fatihah) in the funeral prayer, many hadiths besides the present one address the issue. They are gathered in the marginal notes to Nasb al-Raya (2/270) and are reported from seven Companions; some are also cited by al-Shawkani in Nayl al-Awtar (4/52). Their isnads are not free of weakness, yet they reinforce one another. Hence Ibn al-Humam’s claim (1/459), “No recitation from the Messenger of Allah is established,” is unsound. Additional evidence from some of our scholars will appear later, all of which indicates that the Sunnah is to recite al-Fatihah during the funeral prayer. Al-Tirmidhi remarks: “Some people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet and others preferred to recite Fatihat al-Kitab after the first takbir; this is also the view of al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad …”