There is no explicit, elevated (marfuʿ) report that contradicts what the Ustadh al-Imam said about the middle prayer, for some hadith critics claimed that the words “the afternoon prayer” in ʿAli’s narration are an interpolation added by the transmitter. I reply that such a claim deserves no attention once the numerous authentic reports proving that it is the afternoon prayer have been established—“when the river of Allah comes, the stream of Maʿqil is annulled.” As for the Sayyid’s hint that the hadith is weak because of this alleged insertion, it carries no weight. The reasons are too many to list here; it suffices to note that the charge of interpolation concerns only one single chain of ʿAli’s report, the route of this Shutayr. All his other chains, as well as the chains from other Companions, contain no such alleged addition. One route recorded in the Musnad (no. 1313) runs through ʿUbaydah, who said: “We used to think the middle prayer was the dawn prayer. Then ʿAli informed us that on the Day of the Trench they fought and kept us from the afternoon prayer, whereupon the Prophet said, ‘O Allah, fill their graves with fire—or fill their bellies with fire—for they kept us from the middle prayer.’ From that day we knew that the middle prayer is the afternoon prayer.” This text explicitly nullifies the claim of interpolation, as is obvious. Whoever wishes to review the other isnads of ʿAli’s hadith that clearly attribute the wording to the Prophet may consult the Musnad, nos. 990, 994, 1036, 1132, 1134, 1150, 1151, 1287, 13050, 13070, 13130, and 13260. (1) That is: pray while on foot or mounted. Al-Qurtubi said: