the statement of Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) in the hadith of Dhu al-Yadayn (30), when he asked them: "Is what Dhu al-Yadayn says true?" They said: Yes. Even though he was in doubt, evidenced by the fact that he denied what Dhu al-Yadayn had said and asked them about the truthfulness of his statement, and this is evidence of his doubt. Furthermore, because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded them to glorify Allah [by saying Subhanallah] to remind the Imam, and for him to act upon their statement. Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prayed and either added or omitted [a portion of the prayer], until he said: "I am only a human being; I forget as you forget. So if I forget, then remind me" (31), meaning by saying Subhanallah, as he clarified (32) in the other hadith. Likewise, we say regarding the judge: that he returns to the statement of two witnesses. If the Imam is certain of his correctness and the mistake of the followers, it is not permissible for him to follow them. Abu al-Khattab said: He is obligated to return to their statement, like a judge who rules based on two witnesses while abandoning his own certainty. This is not correct, for he knows they are mistaken, so he should not follow them into error. We say the same regarding the two witnesses: whenever the judge knows they are lying, it is not permissible for him to rule based on their statement because he knows they are false witnesses; thus, it is not lawful for him to rule based on false testimony. Justice is only considered in testimony [because it makes it more likely] (33) to believe the truthfulness of the witnesses, and the testimony of others is rejected because their truthfulness is not known; therefore, with certain knowledge of the lie, it is even more imperative not to accept it. Once this is established, if the followers (34) glorify Allah [to alert him of a mistake] and he does not return, in a situation where he is obligated to return, his prayer becomes void. Ahmad stated this. It is not for the followers to follow him; if they do follow him, they are either knowledgeable of the prohibition of doing so, or they are ignorant of it. If they are knowledgeable, their prayer becomes void because they intentionally abandoned a required act. Al-Qadi said: There are three reports regarding this: First, that it is not permissible for them to follow him, and