Al-Hasan here is al-Hasan al-Basri, who—as al-Taqrib notes—was known for extensive tadlis (obscuring the name of one’s shaykh). Al-Bukhari relates from him on the authority of Samurah only the hadith concerning the ʿaqiqah (9/487), and there al-Hasan explicitly states that he heard it from Samurah. Whenever such explicit wording is absent, as in the present report, his narration is not probative. For that reason al-Nawawi (as cited above) declared it weak. Allah knows best. Note: al-Nawawi attributed this hadith of Samurah to the Musnad of Ahmad, but I have not located it there. Al-Shawkani (2/232) also slipped, recording the Companion’s name as “Jabir b. Samurah.” This should be corrected. Even supposing these traditions were sound, they would not conflict with the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbas and Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, because they prohibit only a specific posture of squatting—the “dog’s crouch,” which consists of lowering the buttocks to the ground, raising the shanks, and supporting oneself with the hands. This definition is given by the philologists, among them Abu ʿUbayd as cited by al-Bayhaqi. That posture differs from the form of squatting established by the sunnah, and distinguishing between the two reconciles the reports, as shown by al-Bayhaqi and followed by Ibn al-Salah, al-Nawawi and other careful scholars. Accordingly, there is no basis for claiming abrogation, as al-Khattabi and others did. Al-Nawawi writes in al-Majmuʿ (3/439): “Abrogation is resorted to only when reconciling the hadiths proves impossible and their chronological order is known. Here reconciliation is possible, as al-Bayhaqi indicated, and the chronology is unknown.” He adds: “The only acceptable conclusion is that iqʿa (squatting) is of two kinds: one disliked and the other a sunnah.” As for combining the hadiths of Ibn ʿAbbas and Ibn ʿUmar with the reports of Abu Humayd, Wail and others that describe the Prophet’s prayer and mention his sitting with the left foot laid flat, the answer is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, had several modes in prayer: at times he did this, and at other times he did that, just as he