Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 212
212 into two categories. The first are those regarding which the Holy Prophet s as himself has directed that they be carried out in such and such a manner and forbade that they are done in any other way. In such instances, it is necessary to follow the way of the Holy Prophet s as. The second category is where we have two or more var - ying accounts of actions of the Holy Prophet s as , so that, from the very beginning, some Muslims have followed one way and others have followed the other. Regarding such matters, one should rest assured that both ways are correct and in keeping with the practi - cal example of the Holy Prophet s as. If this had not been so, some among his Companions would not have adopted one way and others another. The truth of the matter is that the Holy Prophet s as permitted certain duties to be carried out in different ways depending on the nature and ability of the questioner. In other cases, he himself adopted different ways of doing a thing so as to leave no doubt that both are acceptable. A case in point is the rais - ing of the hands at the time of takb i r during the Sal a t. The Holy Prophet s as sometimes did it and sometimes did not. Likewise, on occasions, people said a m i n aloud during congregational prayer and at times they did not, and the Holy Prophet s as did not object to either. He also showed that folding the arms while standing in prayer could be done in different ways. In such cases, anyone who prefers a certain way of doing these things is free to adopt it, but he has no right to criticise others who have chosen to adopt the other way because they too are following another example of the Holy Prophet s as. By laying down these principles, the Promised Messiah as at once resolved all of the conflicts related to fiqh that had arisen among the Muslims and revived memories of the time of the Companions of the Holy Prophet s as.