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:

Assalam Aleykum ,

Dear brother burhan.I have a doubt regarding the raising of finger in atahyat & moving it.Then one day I got your reply on the same topic that I am concerned about. I refer to your question no 5248 attached below where u have mentioned " 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." But some days back I found something on the same topic which I would like to share with u.

(Nasai Hadith 890 Chapter As-Salat)

In the narration of Nasai " The messenger of Allah (SAWS) raised his finger & I saw him moving it & invoking with it."

(Abu Daud Hadith 991 chapter sign in Tashahhud)

Narrated by Nomair "I saw the prohet placing his right hand on his right thigh , raising his index finger & bending it a litte.

I have also found the hadiths as u have quoted in your reply attached below. Now my question is as per the narrations I have mentioned above , is it permissible to move your finger in athayat.I would like to make it clear to you that I am not trying to prove u wrong or prove myself better.The only thing is that I myself is not as much educated about islam as u r. I always look forward for your reply as u r a well known scholar. So plz clear my doubt regarding the above mentioned matter.Your early reply in this matter will be highly appreciated.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Raise and move index finger

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.

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.)

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. In another narration it states, "He would make a circle with his middle finger and thumb and point with his index finger. Then he would raise his finger, and (Wa'il) saw him moving it to make supplications." (Related by Ahmad.) Explaining the hadith, al-Baihaqi says, "The implication of 'he would move it' is that he would point with it, not that he would continue to move it." This would be in agreement with the narration of Ibn az-Zubair who reported, "The Prophet (saws) would point with his (index) finger while supplicating, and he would not move it." (Related by Abu Dawud.)

Respected brother in Islam, the scholars and jurists in Islam are unanimous in their opinion regarding the raising of one’s index finger during the ‘tashahud’ in prayer, but depending on which hadith one gives weight to, there is a slight difference of opinion amongst the scholars regarding its exact movements:

• Imam Shafei of the Shafei school of thought is of the opinion that one is to point with the finger only once, when saying "except Allah" in the statement bearing witness.
• Imam Abu Haneefah of the Hanafi school of thought is of the opinion that one is to raise the finger in the denial part of the statement (there is no god) and put it back down during the confirmation part (except Allah).
• Imam Maalik of the Maliki school of thought is of the opinion that one is to move the finger to the left and right until they finish the prayer.
• Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal of the Hanbali school of thought is of the opinion that one is to point with the index finger every time they mention Allah, as a reflection of the Oneness of Allah, and not move it.

Your Question: So plz clear my doubt regarding the above mentioned matter

Respected brother, in our humble opinion the strongest evidence suggests towards pointing one’s index finger in the ‘tashahud’ in prayer rather than constantly moving it…..but if one wishes to give weight to any of the other hadiths and move their index finger when sitting in the ‘tashahud’ in prayer, the other believers should not make an issue out of it, for there is evidence for both from the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Rest assured brother that as long as an act has evidence from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws), that act as worship would be acceptable to Allah Subhanah.

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