'Ata', Tawus, al-Zuhri, Bakr al-Muzani (31), al-Nakha'i, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Ya'qub [Abu Yusuf], and Muhammad [al-Shaybani]. This is also narrated from Ibn Umar, while al-Hakam disliked it. Abu Hanifah said: When the Imam exits, speech is forbidden. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: 'Umar and Ibn 'Abbas used to dislike speech and prayer after the Imam had exited, and there is no one among the Companions who disagreed with them.' Our argument is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'If you say to your companion while the Imam is delivering the khutbah, "Listen," then you have engaged in idle talk' (32). He restricted it to the time of the khutbah. Tha'labah ibn Abi Malik said: In the time of 'Umar, when 'Umar would come out and sit on the minbar, and the mu'adhdhin would call the adhan, they would sit and talk until the mu'adhdhin finished and 'Umar stood up, then they would fall silent and no one would speak (33), and this indicates how well-known this matter was among them. Furthermore, because speech was only forbidden for the sake of listening to the khutbah, there is no basis for forbidding it when the khutbah is not being delivered. As for their statement that 'there is no one among the Companions who disagreed with them,' we have already mentioned a narration from the generality of them that contradicts this opinion.

Section: As for speaking during the pause between the two khutbahs, it is possible that it is permissible because the Imam is neither delivering the khutbah nor speaking, so it resembles what is before it and after it. This is the opinion of al-Hasan. It is also possible that it is forbidden, which is the opinion of Malik, al-Shafi'i, al-Awza'i, and Ishaq, because it is a brief silence in the midst of the two khutbahs, similar to the silence for breathing.

Section: If the khatib (orator) reaches the supplication (du'a), is speech permissible? There are two views regarding this: First, it is permissible because he has finished the khutbah and has begun something else, so it resembles the situation if he had descended [from the minbar].