The Description of Sitting Between the Two Prostrations
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Fatwa No. ( 3985 )
Q: Is it permissible for a person to pray on his feet and place his buttocks on his heels during the prayer because a dispute arose regarding this issue, so we ask your Eminence to issue a ruling on this matter.
A: The Sunnah contains reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicating the manner of his sitting between the two prostrations, in the first and second tashahhud, and in the turuk and iqa'ah. It is narrated from Wā'il ibn Ḥujr (may Allah be pleased with him) , narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i , and in a wording by Sa'id ibn Mansur he said: .
And from Rafi'ah ibn Rafi' that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Bedouin: narrated by Ahmad, and in the hadith of Abu Humaid in al-Bukhari : , and in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in Ahmad and Muslim and Abu Dawud : Sunan Abi Dawud 783Sahih (Al-Albani) , and in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): Sunan Ibn Majah 1429Hasan (Darussalam) ... the hadith, narrated by Ahmad, so in these hadiths it is explained that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would sit between the two prostrations in the iftirash position, spreading his left leg and sitting on it and erecting his right leg, and likewise in the first tashahhud, and that he would sit in the final tashahhud by advancing his left leg and erecting his right leg and sitting on his buttocks, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the 'uqab of Satan, and its interpretation came in another hadith as iqa'ah like the iqa'ah of a dog. Al-Shawkani said: And Abu 'Ubayd and others interpreted it as the forbidden iqa'ah, which is to stick one's buttocks to the ground and erect one's legs and place one's hands on
the ground like the iqa'ah of a dog, and Ibn Ruslan said in (Sharh al-Sunan): It is to spread one's feet and sit on one's heels, and Al-Nawawi said: The correct view, from which there is no deviation, is that iqa'ah is of two types: The first: is to stick one's buttocks to the ground and erect one's legs and place one's hands on the ground like the iqa'ah of a dog, this is how Abu 'Ubayd and Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna and his companion Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam and others from the people of language interpreted it, and this type is the disliked one about which the prohibition came, and the second type: is to place one's buttocks on the heels between the two prostrations, end of quote, and Al-Shawkani said in (Al-Nihayah): And the first is more correct. The second type is what is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas in (Sahih Muslim) and others, and he said: It is the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and by this it is known that the forbidden iqa'ah is for the one praying to erect his thighs and legs while sitting and rely on his hands on the ground, as for the iqa'ah mentioned by Ibn 'Abbas as being a Sunnah, it was interpreted in two states: One of them: is to spread one's feet and sit on them, and the second: is to erect one's feet and sit on one's heels, and the best of that is iftirash between the two prostrations and in the first tashahhud; because it is what is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in many authentic hadiths, as for turuk, it is a Sunnah in the final tashahhud of the three and four rak'ah prayers. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: Is it permissible for a person to pray on his feet and place his buttocks on his heels during the prayer because a dispute arose regarding this issue, so we ask your Eminence to issue a ruling on this matter.
A: The Sunnah contains reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicating the manner of his sitting between the two prostrations, in the first and second tashahhud, and in the turuk and iqa'ah. It is narrated from Wā'il ibn Ḥujr (may Allah be pleased with him)
That he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praying, so he prostrated, then he sat and spread his left leg
أنه رأى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي فسجد ثم قعد فافترش رجله اليسرىI prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so when he sat and recited the tashahhud, he spread his left foot on the ground and sat on it
صليت خلف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فلما قعد وتشهد فرش قدمه اليسرى على الأرض وجلس عليهاAnd from Rafi'ah ibn Rafi' that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Bedouin:
When you prostrate, settle your prostration, and when you sit, sit on your left foot
إذا سجدت فمكن لسجودك فإذا جلست فاجلس على رجلك اليسرىAnd when he sat in the two rak'ahs, he would sit on his left leg and erect his right leg, and when he sat in the final rak'ah, he would advance his left leg and erect the other and sit on his buttocks
فإذا جلس في الركعتين جلس على رجله اليسرى ونصب اليمنى فإذا جلس في الركعة الأخيرة قدم رجله اليسرى ونصب الأخرى وقعد على مقعدتهhe spread out his left foot and raised his right. He forbade to sit like the sitting of the devil
كان يفرش رجله اليسرى وينصب رجله اليمنى وكان ينهى عن عقب الشيطانThe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade three things:
نهاني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن ثلاث: عن نقرة كنقرة الغراب وإقعاء كإقعاء الكلبthe ground like the iqa'ah of a dog, and Ibn Ruslan said in (Sharh al-Sunan): It is to spread one's feet and sit on one's heels, and Al-Nawawi said: The correct view, from which there is no deviation, is that iqa'ah is of two types: The first: is to stick one's buttocks to the ground and erect one's legs and place one's hands on the ground like the iqa'ah of a dog, this is how Abu 'Ubayd and Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna and his companion Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam and others from the people of language interpreted it, and this type is the disliked one about which the prohibition came, and the second type: is to place one's buttocks on the heels between the two prostrations, end of quote, and Al-Shawkani said in (Al-Nihayah): And the first is more correct. The second type is what is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas in (Sahih Muslim) and others, and he said: It is the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and by this it is known that the forbidden iqa'ah is for the one praying to erect his thighs and legs while sitting and rely on his hands on the ground, as for the iqa'ah mentioned by Ibn 'Abbas as being a Sunnah, it was interpreted in two states: One of them: is to spread one's feet and sit on them, and the second: is to erect one's feet and sit on one's heels, and the best of that is iftirash between the two prostrations and in the first tashahhud; because it is what is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in many authentic hadiths, as for turuk, it is a Sunnah in the final tashahhud of the three and four rak'ah prayers. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.