The Ruling on Sitting Cross-Legged in Prayer

Answer : The answer to this comes from two angles. The first is that it was an action of a Companion that was contradicted by the action of someone more knowledgeable than him, namely his father, 'Umar. The second is that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) was heavy in his later years; in fact, even when sitting in prayer, he would sit cross-legged and not sit with his legs spread out. One of his sons asked him why he did that, since the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to sit with his legs spread out. He replied, "My legs do not support me." A man in this condition who reaches this state undoubtedly needs to sit on his hands, as that is easier for him.