Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: “There is no contradiction between this report and the report of al-Halabi which we previously presented, wherein the first group is led by the imam (of prayer) in one rak‘ah, while in this narration he leads them in two rak‘ahs because both reports indicate that the person has a choice between them, and whichever of the two he acts upon, it suffices him. There is no contradiction or opposition between them, especially since Zurarah, the narrator of this hadith, also narrated a report similar to that of al-Halabi. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: “There is no contradiction between this report and the report of al-Halabi which we presented earlier, wherein the first group is led by the imam (of prayer) in one rak‘ah, and in this narration he leads them in two rak‘ahs. This is because in both reports the individual is given a choice, so whichever of the two is acted upon, it is sufficient. And there is no contradiction or conflict between them. Moreover, Zurarah, the narrator of this hadith, also narrated a version similar to the report of al-Halabi.”
Commentary #1