The Shaykh’s Warning Regarding the Obligation to Follow the Description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Prayer as Established in the Books of the Sunnah and to Avoid Taqlid
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The Shaykh: [Ali 'Imran 3:102] , [An-Nisa 4:1] , [Al-Ahzab 33:70-71] , As for what follows:
Before proceeding to answer the remaining questions, and perhaps other added questions, it occurred to me to warn about two matters related to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as in "Sahih al-Bukhari" in the famous hadith known to you all:Sahih al-Bukhari 6008 . And were it not that I feel I am among people who meet with us out of a desire to follow the Book and the Sunnah, and to avoid taqlid and rigidity in adhering to what we found our fathers and grandfathers upon, I would not have ventured to warn about the following two matters. But since I found, and praise be to Allah, a community like this, eager to follow the Sunnah, especially in what concerns the second pillar of Islam, which is prayer, I was moved to warn you about two matters:
The first matter: I have seen many of our brothers when they pray a two-rak'ah prayer, whether it is obligatory or a recommended practice, sit in the tawruk position in the tashahhud. What I want to remind you of is that tawruk in a two-rak'ah prayer, whether obligatory or a recommended practice, has not come in any of the hadiths describing the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer scattered throughout the books of the Sunnah, whether printed or manuscript. In fact, tawruk in a two-rak'ah prayer contradicts a correct text narrated by Imam Malik in "al-Muwatta" and others with a correct chain from Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: "The Sunnah of prayer is to place the right foot upright and to spread the left foot." The Sunnah of prayer, this hadith, according to the scholars of hadith, is considered marfu' (traced to the Prophet); because when a Companion says "The Sunnah is such and such," it is as if he said "The Messenger of Allah did such and such," or "Commanded such and such," or "Prohibited such and such." This is different if a Tabi'i (successor) says "The Sunnah is such and such"; that is not considered marfu'. This is established in the science of hadith terminology. Accordingly, the statement of Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), "The Sunnah of prayer," is considered marfu'. The Sunnah of prayer, as a rule, they say is a restrictive tool: "The Sunnah of prayer is to place the right foot upright and to spread the left foot." This is the rule. And thus, it must be applied and used always and forever, except where specific evidence arises that scientifically obliges us to exclude from this rule what the specific evidence indicates. As for tawruk, the evidence came that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat in tawruk in the second tashahhud, and tawruk did not come from him or about him (peace and blessings be upon him) in anything other than the second tashahhud which is followed by the taslim. So if we assume a man stands to pray at night two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, and makes tashahhud at the end of every two rak'ahs, whether he prays four, six, or eight; in all these tashahhuds, the Sunnah of prayer is to place the right foot upright and to spread the left foot. As for the last rak'ah or the last tashahhud, here tawruk comes, were it not for this hadith that came from the hadith of Abu Humaid al-Sa'idi, which I mentioned to you on another occasion, in which it says: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat in tawruk in the last tashahhud." Tawruk only came in the last tashahhud, meaning: the one preceded by a tashahhud before it. We must apply all the hadiths and not strike some with others. The rule, as you heard from the words of Ibn Umar, which is as I explained to you considered marfu', is iftirash (spreading the feet), except in the last tashahhud preceded by a tashahhud before it, and as came in the hadith of Abu Humaid and others that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat in tawruk. This is what concerns the tashahhud.
There is another Sunnah between the two prostrations, applying the hadith of Ibn Umar. Here, too, comes placing the right foot upright and spreading the left foot. But it is established in "Sahih Muslim" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to sit in the i'qa' position between the two prostrations. What do we do with this hadith? Do we reject it with the previous hadith of Ibn Umar? Because the rule is not i'qa', but iftirash. So we say, as many of our early imams from the people of hadith said: that i'qa' between the two prostrations is done sometimes, while adhering to the rule of the hadith of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).
The second warning regarding tawruk: I have noticed here and in other places that those who sit in tawruk and implement this Sunnah miss another Sunnah concerning the manner of tawruk. This Sunnah is that one does not place his right palm on his left thigh in a placed manner, but rather he inserts his knee into his palm in an inserting manner like this, then he straightens his hand. He does not place it like this in a gentle manner as we sit in iftirash, we place it like this. In tawruk, it is not like that, but rather like this: the knee is made a morsel for the left palm, then we straighten the forearm and rely on it. This is part of the complete wisdom of the complete legislation; because the one who sits in tawruk, especially if he is new to tawruk or is thin in body like me, leans on the one on his right side and bothers him. So this Sunnah came to straighten this worshipper and to make him upright in his sitting due to his reliance on his right forearm and inserting the knee with his left palm.
This is what I wanted to remind you of, and the reminder benefits the believers by the permission of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: This is a type of tawruk.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: ... Yes, the intended part is the end of the thigh, it does not mean pressing the shin between the thigh near the knee, but rather at the end.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: It is necessary, yes, this is maintained in the last tashahhud as we mentioned earlier. This tawruk, the issue was that tawruk is not prescribed in a two-rak'ah prayer, but rather it is iftirash.
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتّقوا الله حقّ تقاته ولا تموتنّ إلا وأنتم مسلمونO mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.
يا أيها الناس اتّقوا ربكم الذي خلقكم من نفس واحدة وخلق منها زوجها وبث منهما رجالًا كثيرًا ونساء واتقوا الله الذي تساءلون به والأرحام إن الله كان عليكم رقيبًا(70) O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. (71) He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتّقوا الله وقولوا قولًا سديدًا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزًا عظيمًاBefore proceeding to answer the remaining questions, and perhaps other added questions, it occurred to me to warn about two matters related to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as in "Sahih al-Bukhari" in the famous hadith known to you all:
offer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayers
صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلِّيThe first matter: I have seen many of our brothers when they pray a two-rak'ah prayer, whether it is obligatory or a recommended practice, sit in the tawruk position in the tashahhud. What I want to remind you of is that tawruk in a two-rak'ah prayer, whether obligatory or a recommended practice, has not come in any of the hadiths describing the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer scattered throughout the books of the Sunnah, whether printed or manuscript. In fact, tawruk in a two-rak'ah prayer contradicts a correct text narrated by Imam Malik in "al-Muwatta" and others with a correct chain from Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: "The Sunnah of prayer is to place the right foot upright and to spread the left foot." The Sunnah of prayer, this hadith, according to the scholars of hadith, is considered marfu' (traced to the Prophet); because when a Companion says "The Sunnah is such and such," it is as if he said "The Messenger of Allah did such and such," or "Commanded such and such," or "Prohibited such and such." This is different if a Tabi'i (successor) says "The Sunnah is such and such"; that is not considered marfu'. This is established in the science of hadith terminology. Accordingly, the statement of Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), "The Sunnah of prayer," is considered marfu'. The Sunnah of prayer, as a rule, they say is a restrictive tool: "The Sunnah of prayer is to place the right foot upright and to spread the left foot." This is the rule. And thus, it must be applied and used always and forever, except where specific evidence arises that scientifically obliges us to exclude from this rule what the specific evidence indicates. As for tawruk, the evidence came that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat in tawruk in the second tashahhud, and tawruk did not come from him or about him (peace and blessings be upon him) in anything other than the second tashahhud which is followed by the taslim. So if we assume a man stands to pray at night two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, and makes tashahhud at the end of every two rak'ahs, whether he prays four, six, or eight; in all these tashahhuds, the Sunnah of prayer is to place the right foot upright and to spread the left foot. As for the last rak'ah or the last tashahhud, here tawruk comes, were it not for this hadith that came from the hadith of Abu Humaid al-Sa'idi, which I mentioned to you on another occasion, in which it says: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat in tawruk in the last tashahhud." Tawruk only came in the last tashahhud, meaning: the one preceded by a tashahhud before it. We must apply all the hadiths and not strike some with others. The rule, as you heard from the words of Ibn Umar, which is as I explained to you considered marfu', is iftirash (spreading the feet), except in the last tashahhud preceded by a tashahhud before it, and as came in the hadith of Abu Humaid and others that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat in tawruk. This is what concerns the tashahhud.
There is another Sunnah between the two prostrations, applying the hadith of Ibn Umar. Here, too, comes placing the right foot upright and spreading the left foot. But it is established in "Sahih Muslim" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to sit in the i'qa' position between the two prostrations. What do we do with this hadith? Do we reject it with the previous hadith of Ibn Umar? Because the rule is not i'qa', but iftirash. So we say, as many of our early imams from the people of hadith said: that i'qa' between the two prostrations is done sometimes, while adhering to the rule of the hadith of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).
The second warning regarding tawruk: I have noticed here and in other places that those who sit in tawruk and implement this Sunnah miss another Sunnah concerning the manner of tawruk. This Sunnah is that one does not place his right palm on his left thigh in a placed manner, but rather he inserts his knee into his palm in an inserting manner like this, then he straightens his hand. He does not place it like this in a gentle manner as we sit in iftirash, we place it like this. In tawruk, it is not like that, but rather like this: the knee is made a morsel for the left palm, then we straighten the forearm and rely on it. This is part of the complete wisdom of the complete legislation; because the one who sits in tawruk, especially if he is new to tawruk or is thin in body like me, leans on the one on his right side and bothers him. So this Sunnah came to straighten this worshipper and to make him upright in his sitting due to his reliance on his right forearm and inserting the knee with his left palm.
This is what I wanted to remind you of, and the reminder benefits the believers by the permission of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: This is a type of tawruk.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: ... Yes, the intended part is the end of the thigh, it does not mean pressing the shin between the thigh near the knee, but rather at the end.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: It is necessary, yes, this is maintained in the last tashahhud as we mentioned earlier. This tawruk, the issue was that tawruk is not prescribed in a two-rak'ah prayer, but rather it is iftirash.
Source
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