It is recorded by al-Bukhari (1/79–81, 399–400; 8/138–139)—his wording is followed here except for the second narration, which is that of al-Tirmidhi—by Muslim (2/55, 66), al-Nasa’i (1/85, 121), al-Tirmidhi (2/169–170), who graded it hasan sahih, Ibn Majah (317), al-Daraqutni (102), al-Bayhaqi (2/2–3), al-Tayalisi (98), and Ahmad (4/283, 289, 304), all through various chains from Abu Ishaq, some of which explicitly state that he heard it directly from the narrator. This provides strong corroboration for Tuwayla’s report that the prayer concerned was the ‘asr prayer. Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi writes in ‘Aridat al-Ahwadhi (2/139): “The reconciliation between the versions mentioning fajr and ‘asr is that the news reached some people at the time of ‘asr, while it reached the people of Quba’ at fajr.” Ibn Hajar makes the same point in Fath al-Bari. The hadith yields several legal benefits: 1. If a worshiper realises during the prayer that he is facing the wrong direction, he must turn within the prayer toward the qibla, even if this occurs repeatedly. Imam Muhammad states in the Muwatta’, after citing the report: “Our ruling for someone who has prayed one or two rak‘as in the wrong direction is that he should pivot toward the qibla, complete what remains, and count what has already been performed.” This is also the view of Abu Hanifa. 2. It is permissible for a person outside the prayer to instruct someone who is praying, and the latter’s prayer is not invalidated by hearing such speech. Further examples will appear later in the book, and other points are listed in Fath al-Bari. * * *