Tuesday, 26 May 2026 (10 Dhuʻl-Hijjah 1447 AH)
Question: What is the reason that the more an act of worship is repeated and practiced, the greater the disagreement concerning it becomes, whereas acts of worship that occur infrequently have less disagreement? For example: prayer is the most frequent and has the most disagreement; fasting occurs less frequently and has less disagreement; then pilgrimage; then almsgiving; then inheritance laws, transactions, and so on. Why is this so?
Answer: The reason behind the abundance of disagreement in frequently repeated acts of worship—such as prayer—and the lesser disagreement in those that are less frequent is that repetition itself leads to increased disagreement, proportionate to how often the act is performed. This is because frequent repetition encourages the narration of details, the transmission of descriptions, and the reporting of what people heard from the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and what they observed. Undoubtedly, the Prophet’s (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) frequent performance of prayer among the Companions led to a large number of transmitters describing the manner of his prayer (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace).
Furthermore, the frequent performance of prayer by worshippers after the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace)—together with the need for everyone to know how to perform it—resulted in abundant narrations describing the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace). This stems from the well-known immense importance of prayer among Muslims: it is the greatest of their deeds after faith and the most virtuous of them, and its obligation is general and restrictive, allowing no concession for anyone—neither traveler, nor sick person, nor one who is busy, not even in the midst of battle.
For all these reasons, there was strong motivation to transmit its details and to carefully narrate everything related to it, whether small or large. Each Companion narrated what he saw and heard, especially since they had ample opportunity to narrate due to their long companionship with the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and their frequent observation of his prayer.
Moreover, people of deviant inclinations found room for their falsehoods within this vast body of transmissions and numerous narrations, and they mixed their fabrications into this current, causing them to spread among the ignorant of the Muslims.
From what we have mentioned regarding the abundance of disagreement about prayer, you can understand the reason for its prevalence therein and its relative scarcity in other matters.
Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.3