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Is it correct to understand that jurists consider what is mentioned in the Hadith of the one who prayed badly to be obligatory, and everything else to be a Sunnah unless there is another دليل (evidence), and that every أمر (command) is obligatory and every نهي (prohibition) is haram in prayer, with the question arising as to why saying "Ameen" is a Sunnah despite being commanded, and why saying "Al-Hamdulillah" (praise be to Allah) is obligatory according to the Hanbalis? And can the Hadith of the one who prayed badly be used to divert what another دليل (evidence) indicates as obligatory to being استحباب (recommended), and what would be the reason for that diversion?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The hadith of the one who prayed badly is considered a fundamental basis for establishing the pillars and obligatory acts of prayer. Some scholars have gone so far as to say that whatever is mentioned in it is obligatory, and anything else is merely recommended. Although the general rule is that a command implies obligation and a prohibition implies prohibition (haram), this rule is not absolute. A command may signify recommendation and a prohibition may signify dislike (makrooh) if there is evidence or an indication to that effect. Therefore, many jurists interpreted the command for saying "Ameen" and "Tahmeed" (All praise is due to Allah) as recommended, contrary to those who deemed them obligatory. Some jurists consider the takbeer and tasbeeh in bowing and prostrating, the tahmeed, and the first tashahhud to be obligatory, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) command and his saying: "Pray as you have seen me praying." Others, however, consider them not obligatory, citing the hadith of the one who prayed badly.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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