his bowing, his standing straight after bowing, his prostration, and his sitting between the taslīm and his leaving the place of prayer to be almost the same in length.” Agreed upon.

We have already discussed this report, and it is established that the Prophet ﷺ would remain in the upright position after bowing so long that an onlooker might think he had forgotten, due to the length of time he stayed there. Numerous proofs attest to this.

The Ḥanafīs possess no evidence for the view they adopted, nor any sound reply to the clear, authentic proofs advanced by the majority.

Second issue: how this ḥadīth is used to identify what is obligatory in the prayer and what is not.

Al-Ṣanʿānī said in Subul al-Salām: “Know that this is a tremendous ḥadīth. Scholars have repeatedly used it to prove that everything mentioned in it is obligatory and that anything not mentioned in it is not.”

The reasoning for treating everything it contains as mandatory is that the Prophet ﷺ couched it in imperative form after saying, “The prayer will not be complete except with what is mentioned herein.” This wording strengthens the sense of exclusivity: he ﷺ enumerated both the acts at which the worshiper had erred and the acts at which he had not erred, all of which are obligatory. It therefore shows that the instruction was not confined to the points of deficiency alone, nor did he specify exactly where the man’s error lay. In the versions of Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and al-Nasāʾī, the wording is that “he had performed his prayer lightly.” The ḥadīth masters place this narration under the chapter heading “The Obligation of Composure,” indicating that the man’s fault was that he “pecked” through his prayer, abbreviating its acts and utterances.

As for inferring that whatever is not mentioned in the ḥadīth is not obligatory, the context is one of teaching the obligatory elements of the prayer. Had the Prophet ﷺ omitted any duty, that would have amounted to delaying clarification beyond the moment of need, which is unanimously impossible. Hence, when the wording of this sound report is carefully counted, everything it contains must be acted upon.

Should stronger evidence contradict the obligation (or non-obligation) indicated by this ḥadīth, the stronger evidence takes precedence. Thus, in every matter over which the jurists differed regarding obligatoriness, if it is mentioned in this ḥadīth we uphold that it is obligatory; and if it is not mentioned, we uphold that it is not obligatory, for the ḥadīth is a teaching text. If an imperative form is found concerning something not mentioned here, it is possible that this ḥadīth serves as a contextual indicator that the command is merely recommendatory, and it is also possible that the imperative retains its apparent force. In that case, a separate weighing of evidence is required before acting.

Third issue: legal rulings drawn from this ḥadīth.

1- The acts listed in this ḥadīth are the pillars (arkān) of the prayer; they are not waived by forgetfulness or ignorance. They are: the opening takbīr in the first rakʿah only; the recitation of al-Fātiḥah in every rakʿah; then bowing