the mosque, and, judging by his appearance, their imam was among them. We explained to them that it is impermissible to use such a chiming clock—especially inside a mosque—and they accepted the argument without hesitation. Yet when we asked permission to silence the bell, they refused, saying, “This is beyond our authority; we shall raise the matter to those in charge!” We replied, “How different the present is from the past.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke the truth: “No year comes except that the one after it is worse, until you meet your Lord.” Al-Sahihah, no. 1218. This is but a reminder, and “reminders benefit the believers” (Q 51:55). The report of Qays ibn ‘Abad cited earlier from Ibn Taymiyyah is narrated by al-Bayhaqi (4/74; 9/153) with an authentic chain. The first half is also recorded by Abu Dawud (1/414) and al-Hakim (2/116), and the latter supplied a corroborating marfu‘ report that meets his and al-Dhahabi’s criteria. (2) Narrated by Muslim (2/208–209) and Abu ‘Awana (1/386–387) in their Sahih collections. Ibn Taymiyyah (p. 31) said: “The Prophet ﷺ forbade prayer at sunrise and sunset, explaining that the sun rises and sets between the horns of a devil and that, at those times, the unbelievers prostrate to it. It is clear that a believer intends only to prostrate to Allah, and that most people are unaware of the sun’s rising and setting between the devil’s horns or of the unbelievers’ prostration to it. Nevertheless, the Prophet ﷺ prohibited prayer at those times in order to block every avenue of resemblance. “This also alerts us that any act performed by the polytheists—whether worship or otherwise—that constitutes disbelief or sin by intention is to be avoided in outward form by the believers, even if they do not share the polytheists’ intention, as a preventive measure and a safeguard… “Hence he prohibited praying toward anything that is worshipped besides Allah in general, even if the worshipper…"