The ruling on raising the index finger between the two prostrations in prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Your Eminence! May Allah forgive you! What is your opinion on raising the index finger during the supplication recited in the sitting between the two prostrations in prayer?
What I see is that it is a recommended practice (sunnah),And I have a precedent in that, and they are the proofs: among the evidence: the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad,About whom al-Sa'ati said in al-Fath al-Rabbani: its chain of narration is good,And about whom al-Arna'ut said in Zad al-Ma'ad: it is authentic,And in it: the explicit statement that placing the right hand between the two prostrations is like placing it in the tashahhud, exactly the same.
And I have another precedent from the Salaf—and it is known that the first Salaf are the role models,And it is: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)—This precedent is: Ibn al-Qayyim in Zad al-Ma'ad, for he also explicitly stated that; that placing the hands between the two prostrations is like placing them in the tashahhud.
And the basis is also: It can be said: Bring a hadith, or a single word from a hadith, that indicates that the right hand is spread on the thigh just as the left hand is spread.
You will not find a way to that,Meaning: that there is not a single word in the hadith that says: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spread his right hand on his thigh.
As for the left hand, the recommended practice (sunnah) in this is explicit that it is spread on the thigh, or placed on the knee. All of this is permissible, and they are two descriptions.
But the consideration remains: When do we point with the index finger of the right hand? Do we keep it like this all the time, or what?! What I understood from the Sunnah: It is pointed with during supplication; a person moves it upward every time he supplicates, and the appropriateness in that is that the supplication is directed to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and pointing upward is a reference to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
This is what has become clear to me in this issue.
What I see is that it is a recommended practice (sunnah),And I have a precedent in that, and they are the proofs: among the evidence: the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad,About whom al-Sa'ati said in al-Fath al-Rabbani: its chain of narration is good,And about whom al-Arna'ut said in Zad al-Ma'ad: it is authentic,And in it: the explicit statement that placing the right hand between the two prostrations is like placing it in the tashahhud, exactly the same.
And I have another precedent from the Salaf—and it is known that the first Salaf are the role models,And it is: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)—This precedent is: Ibn al-Qayyim in Zad al-Ma'ad, for he also explicitly stated that; that placing the hands between the two prostrations is like placing them in the tashahhud.
And the basis is also: It can be said: Bring a hadith, or a single word from a hadith, that indicates that the right hand is spread on the thigh just as the left hand is spread.
You will not find a way to that,Meaning: that there is not a single word in the hadith that says: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spread his right hand on his thigh.
As for the left hand, the recommended practice (sunnah) in this is explicit that it is spread on the thigh, or placed on the knee. All of this is permissible, and they are two descriptions.
But the consideration remains: When do we point with the index finger of the right hand? Do we keep it like this all the time, or what?! What I understood from the Sunnah: It is pointed with during supplication; a person moves it upward every time he supplicates, and the appropriateness in that is that the supplication is directed to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and pointing upward is a reference to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
This is what has become clear to me in this issue.