i said: And there is no doubt that the first matter is very far from the ḥadīth—despite its brevity—because it does not include: "and I was praying in front of him"; which contradicts what is known from other authentic ḥadīths that a woman stands behind the imam even if she is alone, unlike a man. Among the chapters of al-Bukhārī in his "Ṣaḥīḥ" is: "Chapter on a woman being a row by herself." Then he included under it (727) the ḥadīth of Anas ibn Mālik (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) who said: I prayed, along with an orphan, in our house behind the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), and my mother—Umm Sulaym—was behind us. Muslim also narrated it, as did the authors of the "Sunan" and others, and it is referenced in "al-Irwāʾ" (2/329-330). As for the ḥadīth: "A woman alone is a row"; it is fabricated, as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said, and the ḥāfiẓ attributed it to him (2/212) without mentioning the place! And he remained silent about it as well! See "al-Ḍaʿīfah" (6628). I say: To resolve that confusion and answer that questioner; I gathered the parts of the ḥadīth and its additions, and presented it in a single, clear, and easy context; to eliminate the confusion, and to clarify that she was not sitting, but rather sleeping, and not praying but was menstruating! Her bed was merely opposite his mosque (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), meaning: his prayer place. And by Allāh is success. *

- (That is Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhi al-salām). Meaning: he is the best of creation). It was narrated by Muslim (7/97), Abū Dāwūd (4672), al-Tirmidhī (3349), al-Nasāʾī in "al-Sunan al-Kubrā" (6/520/11692), Ibn Abī Shaybah in "al-Muṣannaf" (11/518/11865), and al-Ṭaḥāwī in "Mushkil al-Āthār" (3/48-49- al-Muʾassasah),