Raising the Gaze and Closing the Eyes
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The fourth question of Fatwa No. ( 6895 )
Q4: Does raising the gaze in prayer invalidate it, is it disliked, or is there no harm in it? Also, what is the ruling on movement in prayer, whether little or much, and what is the ruling on gesturing with the hand during prayer?
A4: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade raising the gaze to the sky in prayer and threatened those who do so. In (Sahih al-Bukhari) and others, it is narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 3:23 This is a severe threat that indicates prohibition, but it does not invalidate the prayer. As for movement in prayer, such as fiddling with one’s hand, leg, beard, garment, or anything else, it is forbidden, as narrated in (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man fiddling in his prayer and said: , and if the action
that is not of the nature of prayer by custom becomes frequent and continuous, it invalidates the prayer. Gesturing with the hand is permissible out of necessity; as in the hadith in the two Sahihs from Aisha and Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them sitting down due to his illness, they stood behind him, and he gestured to them to sit down. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q4: Does raising the gaze in prayer invalidate it, is it disliked, or is there no harm in it? Also, what is the ruling on movement in prayer, whether little or much, and what is the ruling on gesturing with the hand during prayer?
A4: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade raising the gaze to the sky in prayer and threatened those who do so. In (Sahih al-Bukhari) and others, it is narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:
What is the matter with a group of people who raise their gazes to the sky in their prayer? He became severe in his speech regarding this until he said: Let them stop, or their eyes will be plucked out.
ما بال أقوام يرفعون أبصارهم إلى السماء في صلاتهم فاشتد قوله في ذلك حتى قال: لينتهن أو لتخطفن أبصارهمIf the heart of this man were humble, his limbs would be humble.
لو خشع قلب هذا لخشعت جوارحهthat is not of the nature of prayer by custom becomes frequent and continuous, it invalidates the prayer. Gesturing with the hand is permissible out of necessity; as in the hadith in the two Sahihs from Aisha and Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them sitting down due to his illness, they stood behind him, and he gestured to them to sit down. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.