and its obligatory elements as well as its recommended ones, and it entails a prohibition of every act inside the prayer that is not an act of obedience. Allah alone grants success. The verse also establishes that standing is compulsory in the prayer for anyone who is able to do so; the same ruling is indicated by the verse that follows: fa-in khiftum farijalan aw rukbanan (but if you are in fear, then [pray] on foot or mounted). The scholars have transmitted a consensus of the ummah on this point, whether the person is leading the prayer or following it. They differed, however, about a healthy follower who prays sitting behind an ill imam who is unable to stand. Al-Qurtubi states in his Tafsir (3/218): “A group of scholars—indeed, the majority—permitted this, basing themselves on the Prophet’s words concerning the imam: ‘When he prays seated, then all of you pray seated.’ This is the sound position.” Further clarification will be given shortly when we discuss the relevant hadith. As for standing in supererogatory prayers, al-Nawawi reports in his Commentary on Sahih Muslim a consensus of the scholars that it may be omitted even when one is able to stand, citing the Prophet’s night prayers while seated, as will be mentioned below. The same conclusion is supported by his praying voluntary prayers while mounted, unlike the obligatory prayers, as we have noted and documented earlier. (Benefit) Abu Bakr al-Jassas writes in Ahkam al-Quran, in connection with the verse wa-qumu lillahi qanitin (and stand before Allah in devout obedience): “The wording entails the obligation of standing. Because qunut is a term that denotes obedience, it requires that every action within the prayer be an act of obedience and that nothing else interrupt it; qunut implies persistence upon a matter. The verse therefore forbids speaking during the prayer, moving about, lying down, eating and drinking, and every action that is not an act of obedience. The wording commands an unbroken sequence of devotional acts belonging to the prayer and forbids interrupting them with anything else, for that would nullify qunut—that is, constant devotion. It also implies continuous khushu (humble stillness), for the wording contains and necessitates it. Thus, with very few words, the verse embraces all the actions and utterances of the prayer,