Q1/ do you place hands on chest? Q2/ do you raise hands to shoulder level before you go in to ruku and after it?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Asalaam
O Alaykum.
I have
questions regarding the actions during salah, i know what to recite but i am
not sure of the actions as ive always just followed what i was taught as a kid.
Q1/ do
you place hands on chest?
Q2/ do
you raise hands to shoulder level before you go in to ruku and after it?, if so
when do you say raba na wa lakul humd, whilst raising the hands up to your
shoulder or while they are by your side?
Q3/
when going to sajood what touches the floor first, knees or hands?
Q4/
before stadning up do you sit back down for 2 seconds and then get up using your
fists?
Q5/ in
tashud do you move your finger up and down and if so do you leave it straigtned
when reciting ashudanna li-illah..... or not?
please
can i have the answer quoted from hadeeth with volumes and page, etc if
possible.
I know
this will take very long to answer but JazakAlah Khair.
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Finger hands knees in prayer
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Q-1: do you place
hands on chest?
The act of offering prayers is something the Messenger of
Allah (saws) did in public for tens of thousands of times in front of tens of
thousands of his companions. There are
at least twenty authentic narrations from various witnesses who witnessed that
the Messenger of Allah (saws) would cross his right hand over his left while
standing in his prayers.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.131
Said Sahl ibn Sa'd, "The people were
ordered to place their right hand on their left forearm during
prayers." (Related by Bukhari and
Muslim)
Al-Hafez related that the Prophet (saws)
said, "All prophets have been ordered to hasten the breaking of the fast
and to delay the (pre-fast dawn) meal, and to place our right hands on our left
during prayer."
Jabir narrated that "The Prophet (saws) passed by a man
praying with his left hand over his right, and (the Prophet (saws)) pulled them
away and put his right over his left." (Related by Ahmad.)
Thus, in light of the above guidance what is absolutely
certain is that the Messenger of Allah (saws) would hold his hands while in the
state of ‘qiyaam’ in prayer.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.132
Sunnah acts of prayer, The Position of the
Hands
Al-Kamal ibn al-Hamam is of the opinion,
"There is no authentic hadith stating that one must place the hands under
the chest or below the navel. According to the Hanifiyyah school of thought,
the hands are to be placed below the navel, and according to the Shafiyyah
school of thought below the chest. Ahmad has two narrations corresponding to
these two opinions. The correct position is somewhere in the middle - to be
equal."
Observes at-Tirmidhi, "Knowledgeable
companions, their followers and those that came after them believed that one
should put his right hand over the left during prayer, while some say above the
navel and others say below the navel..." Nevertheless, there do exist
hadith that the Prophet (saws) placed his hands on his chest. Reported Hulb
at-Ta'i, "I saw the Prophet (saws) praying with his right hand over his
left upon his chest above the elbow." This is related by Ahmad and
at-Tirmidhi, who grades it as hassan.
Reported Wa'il ibn Hajr, "Once when I
prayed with the Prophet (saws) and he placed his right hand over his left upon
his chest." The report is recorded by Ibn Khuzaimah, who considers it as
sahih, and by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i with the wording, "Then he put his
right hand over the back of his left wrist and forearm."
In light of the above guidance and opinion of the eminent
scholars, if one holds ones hands anywhere between one’s navel and one’s chest,
it would be acceptable and in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah (saws).
Q-2: do you raise
hands to shoulder level before you go in to ruku and after it?,
Rafayadain literally means to lift or raise both hands
(unto the shoulder or ear).
All the scholars of Islam are absolutely unanimous in
their opinion, that one must practice Rafayadain or lift both his hands unto
his shoulders or ears when one starts his prayers by saying
‘Allah-o-Akbar’. This practice of
Rafayadain signaling the start of prayer is an obligatory part of prayer.
But practicing Rafayadain in the prayer when one goes into
‘ruku’, or when one stands up from
‘ruku’, or going from a ‘qiyam’
(standing) posititon to sajdah in prayer, etc.
does not constitute an obligatory part of the prayer. There
is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars in the practicing of
Rafayadain during the prayers because there are authentic narrations to both
arguments. Most companions of the
Prophet (saws) narrated that he (saws) used to practice Rafayadain in the
beginning as well as in between his prayers,
while some other state that he did it only once at the beginning of
prayers. Thus, both are part of the Sunnah or Way of the Prophet
(saws).
Reported Ibn 'Umar, "When the Prophet
(saws) stood to pray, he would raise his hands until they were the same height
as his shoulders and then he would make the takbir. When he wanted to bow, he would again raise his hands in a similar
fashion. When he raised his head from
the bowing, he did the same and said, 'Allah hears him who praises Him.'
(Related by al-Bukhari, Muslim and al-Baihaqi.)
Reported bn Mas'ud : "I prayed with the
Prophet (saws) and he raised his hands only once (at the beginning of
prayer)."
Related by At-Tirmidhi.
Thus if a believer today gives weight to the narration
reported by Hadrat Ibn Umar (r.a.) and prays and practices Rafayadain in the
beginning of prayer as well in his movements,
his intention being to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws), it is fine.
And if a believer giving weight to the narration reported by Hadrat Ibn
Masud (r.a.), prays by practicing
Rafayadain only at the beginning of prayer, his intention also being to follow
the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws), that
too is fine. What is extremely important
is that every believer does an act or a deed with the intention to follow the
Sunnah or Way of the Prophet (saws).
Your Question: ….if
so when do you say raba na wa lakul humd, whilst raising the hands up to your
shoulder or while they are by your side?
If one wishes to give weight to the above quoted opinion
of Hadrat Abdullah ibn Umar (r.a.) and practice the raising of one’s hands
during the prayers, then one may raise their hands at the declaration of
‘Allah-o-Akbar’ to initiate the movements in prayer:
- When
going from a ‘qiyaam’ (standing position) to the ‘ruku’ position.
- When
going from the ‘ruku’ to the standing position.
- When
going from the standing position towards the ‘sajdah’.
The declaration of ‘rabbana lakal hamd’ is best said with
the hands by one’s side, but if one were to declare it during the movement,
there is no harm and does not effect the validity of one’s prayer in the least.
Q-3: when going to
sajood what touches the floor first, knees or hands?
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.151
Topic: Sunnah acts of prayer, How To
Prostrate
Most scholars prefer that one place his knees
on the floor before his hands. Ibn al-Mundhir related this from 'Umar
an-Nakha'i, Muslim ibn Yasar, Sufyan al-Thauri, Ahmad, Ishaq and other jurists
including Ibn al-Mundhir himself.
Ibn al-Qayyim said, "When the Prophet
(saws) prayed, he would place his knees (on the floor) before his hands, then
his hands, then his forehead and nose.’
Narrated Shuraik from 'Asim ibn Kaleeb on the
authority of his father from Wa'il ibn Hajr who said, 'I saw the Messenger of
Allah (saws) while prostrating, placing his knees (on the floor) before his
hands. Upon getting up, he would raise his hands before his knees. I never saw
him do otherwise."
Although it is preferred to place one knees before one’s
hands on the ground when approaching the ‘sujood’ in prayer, the scholars and
jurists in Islam are unanimous in their opinion that if one due to old age, or
lack of agility, or any reason whatsoever happens to place one’s hands before
one’s knees there is no harm and it does not effect the validity of one’s
prayers in the least.
Q-4: before stadning
up do you sit back down for 2 seconds and then get up using your fists?
Firstly, there is no specific mention of using the fists
when getting up from the ‘sajdah’ position; thus it would be safe to assume
that the weight be placed on the palms on one’s hand when getting up from the
‘sajdah’ position in prayer.
The scholars and jurists in Islam have differed in their
opinion regarding the brief-sitting after the two prostrations in the first and
the third rakah of prayer, and both have quoted their evidence from the
practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
Thus regardless of whether one observes the brief-sitting after the two
prostrations of the first and the third rakah before standing, or one chooses
to abstain….there is evidence for both in the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger
of Allah (saws).
Q-5: in tashud do
you move your finger up and down and if so do you leave it straigtned when
reciting ashudanna li-illah..... or not?
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.157
Ibn 'Umar reported that when the Prophet (saws)
sat for the tashahud, he (saws) would place his left hand on his left knee and
his right hand upon his right knee, and he would form a ring like (fifty-three)
and point with his index finger. In another narration it is reported, "He
would close his hand and point with his index finger." (Related by
Muslim.)
Wa'il ibn Hajr reported that the Prophet (saws)
would place his left palm on his left thigh and knee. He would place the end of
his right elbow upon his right thigh and would then close his right hand,
forming a circle. When reciting the ‘shahaadah’, he (saws) would make a circle
with his middle finger and thumb and point with his index finger.
(Related by Ahmad.)
Reported az-Zubair, "When the Prophet
(saws) sat for tashahud, he would place his right hand on his right thigh and
his left hand on his left thigh. He would point with his index finger, and
would not look beyond his pointing."
(Related by Ahmad, Muslim and anNasa'i.)
In light of the above evidence from the authentic
traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws), all the major schools of thought
in Islam are unanimous in their opinion that it is a Sunnah to raise one’s
index finger erect when reciting only the first part of the ‘Shahaadah’ (Ash
hado an-laa ilaaha illalaah) during the recitation of tashahud in prayer.
To the best of our knowledge, there is no strong evidence
in the authentic and established Sunnah either to raise the index finger
continuously during the whole recitation of the tashahud, nor to keep moving
the finger from the beginning of the recitation to its end.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan