What is the evidence for raising the finger between the two prostrations?

The questioner : What are the proofs for raising the finger between the two prostrations?

The Shaykh : Which finger?

Another questioner : That is enough.

The Shaykh : The middle finger.

Another questioner : Oh, peace be upon you, oh, peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : First, we will discuss...

Another questioner : In the name of Allah.

The Shaykh : The question is vague. The question is vague.

Another questioner : It has become, it has become, it has become.

The Shaykh : Well, which finger? Which finger? That is why I prefer the question to be clear. Suppose we do not know which finger it is; the answer remains that the question is vague. But in my opinion, the questioner means the index finger. So we say that raising the index finger between the two prostrations is recommended (mustahabb), and it is the Sunnah. The evidence for this is the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in some of its wordings, where he said: and mentioned gripping the little finger, the ring finger, the middle finger, and the thumb, and raising the index finger. This is general. As for the mention of the tashahhud in some wordings of the hadith, this does not necessitate specification; it does not necessitate specification. Because the scholars of usul al-fiqh have an important rule, which is that mentioning some individuals of a general ruling with a ruling that does not contradict the general does not necessitate specification, but rather necessitates specifying this individual among the individuals of the general. So it is a requirement for specification, not for restriction. I do not know if this is understood or not? Mentioning some individuals of a general with a ruling that agrees with the general does not necessitate specification, but rather necessitates specifying this thing among the other individuals, meaning that he specified it, but it does not necessitate restriction. Let us give an example: If I said, "Honor the students," is this formulation general or specific? It is general. Then I said, "Honor 'Abdullah," and he is one of the students. Does that necessitate that the honor is restricted to 'Abdullah? People, I said "Honor the students," then I said "Honor 'Abdullah," and he is one of the students. Does that necessitate that the rest of the students, by virtue of "Honor 'Abdullah," are not honored? They are honored, but I added for 'Abdullah that I specified him by name. Do you understand? Well.
And from here we say that the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) includes dirhams and other than dirhams, because specifying dirhams in some wordings does not necessitate that there is no zakah in what is other than them. But if I said, "Honor the students," then I said, "Do not honor 'Abdullah," did he exit the ruling or not? He exited the ruling, because I specified 'Abdullah with a ruling that contradicts the ruling. I greet you, people. People, so the hadith of Ibn 'Umar: "When he sat in prayer, he did such and such" does not necessitate that his saying "when he sat in the tashahhud" is a specification for this generality, because he mentioned this particular with a ruling that agrees with the general. And supporting this is the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr with Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), which is an explicit text that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrated, then sat, and mentioned gripping the fingers, and said, "Then he prostrated." And it was said. The editor of al-Musnad al-Murtab, al-Sa'ati, said that its chain is good. And the commentator on Zad al-Ma'ad said that its chain is authentic. And Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) followed that in Zad al-Ma'ad, and mentioned that between two prostrations he grips as he grips in the tashahhud. Then we also say, thirdly, that it has not come in the Sunnah that the right hand is spread on the thigh always. And whoever finds in the Sunnah that the right hand is spread on the thigh between the two prostrations or in the tashahhud, let him provide us with it, and let him act upon it before it reaches us. But he must convey it to us, because we believe now that there is nothing in the Sunnah indicating that the right hand is spread on the right thigh, neither in the tashahhud nor between two prostrations. And if there is no evidence that it is spread, it remains in the described state, which is that it is gripped.