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124 1 Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi There were some scholars who were of the opinion that if a person does not mention Allah's name, either intentionally or out of forgetfulness, the animal is not permissible to be eaten. These scholars included Muhammad ibn Seereen, Abdullah ibn Umar, al-Shabi, Abu Thaur and Dawood ibn Ali. They base their opinion on the express meaning of the verse, .!!. / :;i / / ,J J ಥ ,,.,, ., ,,. ., j.  .;1 J;_;1j ¦ Alli ´1 _?¨ _:_i l!... lpbU -j ,,,,  ,,. / ,,.. / "And do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for it is indeed grave disobedience" (al-Anaam 121). They also support their opinion by stating that under such circumstances, there is no call for a person to forget to mention the name of Allah. However, this argument can be answered that if the person is not an experienced butcher, the nervousness and excitement of the situation may cause him to forget to mention the name of Allah. After discussing five different opinions on this question (the above three as well as two other minor opinions), al-Jaboori concludes that if an inexperienced person slaughters an animal and forgets to mention the name of Allah, it is permissible to eat that meat. However, if an experienced butcher forgets to mention the name of Allah, it is not allowed to eat such an animal. 1 It could also be argued that a butcher slaughters a large number of animals on a regular basis. Therefore, it should not be surprising if he occasionally forgets to mention Allah's name. Hence, one could argue, his forgetting to mention Allah's name should be excused. However, it seems that the strongest view would be that, if the mentioning of Allah's name is a condition for the permissibility of the meat slaughtered, the slaughtered animal is permissible to be eaten if the person, an experienced butcher or otherwise, simply forgot to mention Allah's name upon slaughtering the animal. This conclusion is not based on this hadith, "Allah has pardoned for my Nation . . .," since that hadith is only in relation to any sin in the Hereafter. Instead, it is based on the Quranic verse above, A. / - ,,.. / ,J , ,J ,,,. ., ,,. ., j.  ൄ J;_;1j ¦ Alli ´1 _? ¨ _:_i l!... lpbU -j ,,,  ,,,. ,,,. ,,.. ,,,. "And do not eat of that which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience" (al-Anaam 121), as an act done out of forgetfulness is never termed "grave disobedience". Hence, the verse is not referring to such a case. 2 Allah knows best. 1 See al-Jaboori, pp. 2 1 4-216. 2 Cf., al-Tiraiqi, Ahkaam, p. 227. Hadith #39: "Allah has pardoned . . . " Speaking During the Prayer Out of Forgetfulness The scholars are agreed that it is not allowed to speak during the prayer except for the words of the prayer or to correct the Imam when he makes a mistake. However, the scholars differ concerning one who speaks out of forgetfulness or due to ignorance of its prohibition. According to the Hanafis, speech is forbidden during the prayer in all of its forms, intentional or unintentional. Their view is based on the clear hadith recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim stating that the Companions used to speak during the prayer until verse 238 of surah al-Baqara1 was revealed. After that time, no form of non-prayer speaking was allowed. As for this hadith, "Allah has pardoned for my Nation [what is done] by mistake, out of forgetfulness or under duress," they argue that it only removes the sin of the act and not the ruling of it invalidating the prayer. 2. According to the Shafi'ees3 and Malikis, talking during the prayer out of forgetfulness does not invalidate the prayer. Inadvertent or unintentional speech is not what is forbidden by the above mentioned verse. (It should be noted that they do distinguish between a lot of speech and a little bit of speech.) Both of the above views have been narrated from Ahmad. According to ali-Bisaam, the evidence for the opinion that speech does not invalidate the prayer is strong. Muslim records a hadith in which one of the Companions said, "May Allah have mercy on you" to another person who sneezed during the prayer. After the prayer, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that it is not proper to have any worldly or mundane speech in the prayer. However, he did not order him to repeat the prayer.4 Another proof for this view is the "hadith of Dhu-1-Yadain," recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed only two rakats of a four rakat prayer. Dhu-1-Yadain informed the Prophet (peace be upon him) of that happening. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked the people whether or not Dhu-1-Yadain was correct.