Section: Harb said: I asked Ahmad: "A man recites [in prayer] (33) by following the order, today a surah and tomorrow the one that follows it, and the like?" (34) He said: "There is nothing wrong with this, except that it was narrated from Uthman that he did that only regarding the Mufassal [surahs]. It has also been narrated from Anas who said: The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite the Quran from its beginning to its end in the obligatory prayers. However, Ahmad said: "This is a munkar (rejected) hadith." Muhanna said: I asked Ahmad about a man who recites in the prayer until his portion ends? He said: "There is no harm in that in the obligatory prayers."
Section (35): Ahmad said: "There is no harm in leading the people in the Qiyam (night prayer) while looking into the Mus-haf (copy of the Quran)." It was said to him: "In the obligatory prayer?" He said: "No, (35) I have not heard anything about that." The Qadi said: "It is disliked in the obligatory prayer, and there is no harm in it in voluntary prayer if he is not a hafiz (memorizer); but if he is a memorizer, it is also disliked." [Because Ahmad was asked] (36) about leading the prayer while reading from the Mus-haf during Ramadan? He said: "If one is compelled (37) to do that." [Narrated by Ali ibn Sa'id, Salih, and Ibn Mansur] (38). It was narrated from Ibn Hamid that the voluntary and obligatory prayers are equal in permissibility (39). Al-Zuhri was asked about a man who recites in Ramadan while looking into the Mus-haf,
(33) Omitted from M. (34) Omitted from the original. (35) Omitted from the original. (36) In M: "He said: And Ahmad was asked." (37) In M: "idtarru" (if they are compelled). (38) Omitted from the original. (39) From here to the end of the section, it appears in M as follows: "Abu Hanifah said: The prayer is invalidated by it if he is not a memorizer, because it is a long action. Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud narrated in Kitab al-Masahif, with his chain of authority from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Commander of the Faithful forbade us from leading the people while reading from the Mus-haf, and from being led by anyone who has not reached puberty. It was narrated from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, al-Hasan, Mujahid, Ibrahim, Sulayman ibn Hanzalah, and al-Rabi' that they disliked that. From Sa'id and al-Hasan, they said: Recite what you have memorized of the Quran, and do not read from the Mus-haf. The evidence for its permissibility is what Abu Bakr al-Athram and Ibn Abi Dawud narrated, with their chains of authority from Aisha, that a slave of hers used to lead her in prayer while reading from the Mus-haf. Al-Zuhri was asked about a man who recites in Ramadan while reading from the Mus-haf, and he said: The best among us used to recite from the copies of the Quran. This was narrated from Ata, Yahya al-Ansari, and from al-Hasan and Muhammad [ibn Sirin] regarding voluntary prayer. And because what is permitted to be recited openly is permitted to be looked at, just like the memorizer, and we do not concede that this requires a long action, and even if it is frequent, it is =
