Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When the woman prays, let her maintain a compact posture (ihtafiz), and let her draw her thighs together." It is also narrated from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both, that he used to command women to sit cross-legged in prayer.
183 - Issue: He said: (And the follower, when he hears the Imam's recitation, shall not recite al-Fatiha, nor anything else, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy." And because of what Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, that the Prophet -peace be upon him- said: "Why am I being disputed with regarding the Qur'an?" He said: So the people refrained from reciting in what the Prophet -peace be upon him- recited aloud.)
The sum of this matter is that when the follower hears the Imam's recitation, recitation is not obligatory for him, nor is it recommended [according to our Imam, al-Zuhri, al-Thawri, Malik, Ibn Uyaynah], Ibn al-Mubarak, Ishaq, [and the scholars of opinion]. [This is one of] the two opinions of al-Shafi'i, [and a similar view is held by Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, and a group of the predecessors]. The other opinion of al-Shafi'i is that he said: He recites
(4) In M: "fal-tahtafiz". "Ihtafaza" means to draw oneself together in prostration and sitting, and to sit firmly on one's buttocks. (1) Surah al-A'raf, 204. (2) Narrated by Abu Dawud, in: Chapter on those who disliked reciting the Opening of the Book (al-Fatiha) when the Imam recites it aloud, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/190. And al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter on what has been said regarding refraining from reciting behind the Imam when he recites aloud, from the Chapters on Prayer. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/107, 108. And al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter on refraining from recitation behind the Imam in what he recites aloud, from the Book of Opening the Prayer. Al-Mujtaba 2/108, 109. And Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on: When the Imam recites, then pay attention, from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/276. And Imam Malik, in: Chapter on refraining from recitation behind the Imam in what he recites aloud, from the Book of Prayer. Al-Muwatta 1/86, 87. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/240, 284, 285, 302, 487. (3) In the original: "for him, and to this held Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Urwah, Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Zuhri, and many of the predecessors. And to this held Ibn Uyaynah and Malik." And look at what follows. (4) Omitted from: M. (5) In M: "and one of". (6) Omitted from: The original. (7) Omitted from: M.
