Sol 6.1

  1. I say, after praise

    to God beyond all counting,

  2. offering salutations and blessings

    upon the chief of the prophets,

  3. and his family and companions,

    through the passing of the ages:

  4. In this question there is no

    difficulty, my friend.

  5. And if you imagine a conflict

    that has concealed the cogent proof from you,

  6. then take these words;

    through them you will attain your wish.

  7. For I have related therein

    enough for the discerning.

  8. This, though my armspan

    is shorter than my forearm.

  9. Had there been no reliance,

    I would not have made this statement.

  10. The evidence of those who deny it

    is the report of trustworthy transmitters.

  11. Proofs have been established for them

    with no defect in them.

  12. So listen: you will see what is right

    and lift the veil.

  13. For Anas ibn Malik

    informed us of the one who omitted it.

  14. He said that the Chosen One

    and his two companions omitted it,

  15. and began with 'Praise,'

    making the boundary clear.

  16. The Six transmitted it from him,

    and reliable authorities commended it.

  17. And Muslim recorded

    their omission explicitly.

  18. Likewise, al-Mughaffal

    related to us what they transmitted.

  19. Al-Tirmidhi transmitted from him

    his report, as did al-Nasa'i.

  20. And from Abu Hurayrah

    comes a well-known report,

  21. transmitted by the honored

    full moon of learning, Muslim.

  22. Those who affirm it supplied transmission chains

    for proofs, and strengthened them

  23. through numerous routes,

    clear and instructive.

  24. Among them is a report from the imam

    and master scholar of Islam,

  25. the father of al-Husayn and al-Hasan,

    reviver of the obligations and traditions.

  26. And from Abu Hurayrah

    comes an illuminating report.

  27. Al-Nasa'i transmitted it

    from him—a report without obscurity [reading uncertain].

  28. And al-Daraqutni transmitted

    from him a plainly clear report.

  29. And Ibn Khuraymah related

    from him the same as these two.

  30. And the scholar Abd Allah,

    the devout, the sighing supplicant,

  31. related to us a report

    in which he affirmed the verse.

  32. And that report is with al-Tirmidhi,

    ascribed through a transmission chain to the Prophet.

  33. And the virtuous, most righteous scholar,

    the pride of learning, Ibn Umar,

  34. said that the Chosen One

    and his two companions, the caliphs,

  35. persisted in its observance

    and encouraged it.

  36. And al-Daraqutni supplied a transmission chain,

    and encouraged it.

  37. And al-Daraqutni supplied a transmission chain

    from him for what he had recorded.

  38. And likewise, from Maysarah,

    comes a widely known report.

  39. Al-Bayhaqi transmitted it,

    and al-Wahidi conveyed it.

  40. And from Buraydah came

    an instructive report;

  41. it was attested in al-Daraqutni,

    and appeared in al-Tabarani.

  42. And Umm Salamah related

    its affirmation, as did Ikrimah.

  43. And from Ubayy came

    a saying from the Prophet.

  44. And these reports

    were authenticated by the pure:

  45. ships of salvation

    and stars of the guides.

  46. The stronger view is affirmation,

    as the reliable authorities reported:

  47. like the other verses,

    in its basis and attributes,

  48. in its audible and silent recitation,

    and in its omission and recitation.

  49. And subtraction and addition

    both contravene customary practice.

  50. Whoever claims the contrary,

    turning away from fairness,

  51. we refute him with the written text,

    for it is a proof yielding certain knowledge.

  52. Al-Adud related this,

    and his statement is well formulated.

  53. The books of the imams

    deal with such matters.

  54. They agreed unanimously on its affirmation

    and judged decisively by the written texts.

  55. They made the path clear—

    and what a proof that is!

  56. He even reported in al-Ghayah

    the report's mass transmission.

  57. Those who affirm it have the stronger claim;

    and consult the foundational principles.

  58. And among them is a ground of preference,

    one validating their view:

  59. their well-known superiority

    over those who denied it.

  60. And such a quality

    earns precedence in the prayer row,

  61. because of that master's saying:

    'Those of understanding first' [text reads 'or not'; reading uncertain].

  62. And Anas was young;

    the latter described him so.

  63. And at this point they will know

    the greater weight of what they transmitted.

  64. And the din of the takbir

    is an illuminating indication

  65. that the audible recitation was hidden

    from those farther back.

  66. Affirmation is also supported—

    if you seek affirmation—

  67. by the positions of the reciters

    on it at the beginning,

  68. in the Opening of the Book;

    so consider what is right.

  69. The Seven held that view,

    as their followers reported.

  70. And Ibn Kathir the reciter,

    and likewise al-Kisa'i,

  71. then the Medinan Qalun,

    and trustworthy Asim,

  72. made it general, without dispute,

    following the majority.

  73. And grant blessings, O Possessor of Bounty,

    upon the Prophet and his family.

Sol 6.1