It is narrated about Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he entered the mosque while the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in the state of bowing (ruku‘). The narrator states: I went into ruku‘ behind the row (and then joined the row). So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: May Allah increase your eagerness, but do not do this again. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) This narration belongs to the category about which I have mentioned in the book Usul al-Sunan that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sometimes forbade a specific act in relation to a particular matter. And the person who commits this forbidden act, if he is aware of the prohibition of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), is considered sinful for doing it. However, the act itself is valid. Just as the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade that a person should send a marriage proposal over his brother’s proposal, or bid over his brother’s bid. So, whoever, despite knowing the prohibition of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this regard, sends a marriage proposal over his brother’s proposal, he is sinful. But the marriage (resulting from this proposal) will be considered valid. Similarly, the statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him):“May Allah increase your eagerness, but do not do this again”—if someone commits this forbidden act again and is aware of its prohibition, he will be considered sinful for committing it. But his prayer will be valid. The reason is that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made this much permissible for Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) so that it would be excluded from the general ruling from which the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had forbidden. This is mentioned in the narration transmitted by Sayyiduna Wabisah (may Allah be pleased with him). Its example is like that of muzabanah and ‘ariyyah. If it were not permissible for Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) to perform the prayer in this manner, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have ordered him to repeat the prayer. However, the command of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),“Do not do this again,”means that you should not hurry again when coming for prayer. It does not mean that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intended to say that after saying the takbir, you should not join the row.