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:

In prayer (salah), once the the first raka finishes & before coming back to the standing position for second rakah, do we have to sit in Athahayat position and get up to stand OR we can straight away get up from sujood (without sitting).

(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:

Sitting between first and second raka

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.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.645 Narrated by Ayyub

Abu Qilaba said, "Malik bin Huwairith came to this masjid of ours and said, 'I pray in front of you and my aim is not to lead the prayer but to show you the way in which the Prophet (saws) used to pray.' I asked Abu Qilaba, 'How did he use to pray?' He replied, '(The Prophet (saws) used to pray) like this Sheikh (Malik bin Huwairith) of ours, and the Sheikh used to sit for a while after the prostration, before getting up after the first (and third) Raka.' "

There is only one narration (as quoted above) from Malik bin Huwairith regarding the short sitting when standing up from prostration for the second rakah in prayer.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.156a (part)

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim says: "The jurists differ over this act. Is it a Sunnah of the prayer that one should perform, or is it only done due to some necessity? . Many of the companions and others who described the prayers of the Prophet (saws) did not mention this sitting, except in what is related by Malik ibn al-Huwairith. If it was part of the Prophet’s (saws) guidance, he (saws) would always do it, and those who described his (saws) prayers would have mentioned it.”

There is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars and jurists in Islam regarding the short rest when standing up from prostration for the second/fourth rakah in prayer. Although they acknowledge the above quoted hadith from Malik bin Huwairith as authentic, the absolute majority of the scholars are of the opinion that if this short-rest was the normal Sunnah of the Prophet (saws), the other companions would have mentioned it. They opine that this short-rest of the Prophet (saws) witnessed by Malik ibn Huwairith might have been an isolated incident whereby the Prophet (saws) would have taken this short-rest in one or more of his prayers due to some necessity…and Allah Alone Knows Best.

Because there is evidence in the Sunnah regarding this short-rest when standing up from prostration, if one followed it, one would be in accordance with the Sunnah; and if one abstains from it believing that the Messenger of Allah (saws) made this short rest only because of a necessity and it was not his normal practice in prayer, that too would be in accordance with the Sunnah and thus acceptable. Either way, taking this short-rest or abstaining from it would not affect the validity of one’s prayer. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

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