The one who caught up with the first takbīr of the prayer with him would intercede, so ʿUmar leapt toward him, seized him by his shoulder, shook him, and then said: "Sit down, for the people of the Book were only destroyed because there was no separation between their prayers." The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—then raised his gaze and said: "May Allah grant you success through this, O Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb."(1)

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(1) Sound due to corroborating evidence, though this chain is weak because of the weakness of al-Minhāl ibn Khalīfah. However, the ḥadīth is also narrated via another route from al-Azraq ibn Qays, similar to the author's narration, with a sound chain, as will follow.

It was also recorded by al-Ḥākim 1/270 and al-Bayhaqī 2/190 via two routes from ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Najdah, with this chain. Al-Ḥākim declared it sound, but al-Dhahabī followed up on him, saying: "Al-Minhāl was declared weak by Ibn Maʿīn, and Ashʿath has some leniency in him, and the ḥadīth is rejected (munkar)." We say: We do not know what aspect of the ḥadīth makes it rejected—perhaps it is in his statement "the people of the Book were only destroyed because there was no separation between their prayers"—but the ḥadīth is also narrated with another sound chain containing this very wording.

It was also recorded by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr 22/(728) via Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālid al-Miṣīṣī, from Ashʿath ibn Shuʿbah, from him.

It was also recorded by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ (2088) via ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn al-Nuʿmān, from al-Minhāl ibn Khalīfah, from him. He said: "This ḥadīth is not narrated from Abū Rimthah except through this chain; al-Minhāl alone narrated it."

It was also recorded by ʿAbd al-Razzāq (3973) from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd ibn Abī Hind, and Aḥmad (23121), and Abū Yaʿlā (7166) via Shuʿbah ibn al-Ḥajjāj—both of them from al-Azraq ibn Qays, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rabāḥ, from a man among the Companions of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prayed the ʿAṣr prayer, and a man stood up to pray, and ʿUmar saw him and said to him: "Sit down, for the people of the Book were only destroyed because there was no separation between their prayers." The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—then said: "Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb has done well." This is the wording of Aḥmad, and its chain is sound.

On the topic of forbidding connecting the obligatory prayer with voluntary prayer, there is a narration from Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān in Muslim (883) that he saw al-Sāʾib, the son of the sister of Namir, stand up after the imam's taslīm from the Friday prayer and pray, so he sent word to him saying: "Do not repeat what you have done. When you have prayed the Friday prayer, do not connect it with another prayer until you speak or leave, for the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—commanded us to do that: that we not connect one prayer with another prayer until we speak or leave."