It was reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to support himself with his hands when rising for prayer. So, do we place the hands or the knees first when rising in
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The questioner : It was reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to support himself with his hands when rising in prayer. So, do we place the hands or the knees first when rising in prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes. This supporting that was reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) when he rose from prostration is accompanied by the sitting that occurs after rising, as in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith:.
And does he support himself in a normal way, for example on the palms, or does he support himself by clasping his hand like a kneader?
There is a hadith with this wording, "like a kneader," but al-Nawawi weakened it.
And the original issue is: is it prescribed for the one praying to sit when he rises to the second unit or when he rises to the fourth unit, or is it not to sit?
In this issue, the scholars have three opinions:
The well-known opinion from the school of Imam Ahmad is that he does not sit at all.
The well-known opinion from the school of al-Shafi'i is the opposite, that he sits in every case.
Some scholars took a middle position in this issue, such as al-Muqaddim in al-Mughni, and he said: "If the need calls for this sitting, he sits; otherwise, he does not".
So, how many opinions are there?
Three: he sits at all times, he does not sit at all times, he sits when the need calls for it.
And in my view, this detailed opinion is closer, closer than the absolute negation or the absolute affirmation.
And with that, this preference in my view is not a strong preference, but it is closer than the last two opinions, the opinion of absolute negation or absolute affirmation.
And what indicates this is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he rose, would support himself, and the general rule is that supporting does not occur except when there is a need and difficulty in rising.
And upon this, this middle opinion is the closest of the three opinions in my view, and knowledge is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but a person speaks to the extent of his ability.
And the thing I want to say in this aspect is: it is not befitting for us, when we see someone who sits, to disapprove of him, and when we see someone who does not sit, to disapprove of him.
Because some people, when they see someone who does not sit, disapprove of him and say: "You are contradicting the Sunnah."
And another, when he sees someone who sits, disapproves of him and says: "You are adding to your prayer."
And what is befitting for us, as long as the texts are not explicit in this matter, is that we do not disapprove of one another, as we mentioned at the beginning of the discussion.
Also, another thing in this issue is that those who sit and consider sitting a recommended practice, if they pray alone or lead as imams, the matter in this is clear.
But if they pray behind the imam and the imam does not sit,
what is the Sunnah for them?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: "The Sunnah is to leave off sitting in order to realize following the imam" — pay attention, my son — in order to realize following the imam, for part of completing the following is to hasten to move after your imam, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):.
The condition and the conditioned, I think, are consecutive, or not?
Yes. If the condition comes, the conditioned follows it.
So, what is prescribed for the one praying behind the imam is to hasten to follow his imam,
and upon this, if the imam does not sit, do not sit; rise with him.
Just as if the imam sits and you do not consider sitting recommended, what is prescribed for you is to sit in order to follow the imam.
It remains that someone might say: if you encourage following the imam to this extent, what is your opinion if the imam does not consider raising the hands when bowing, nor when rising from it, nor when rising from the first tashahhud?
Do you tell the one praying behind the imam not to raise?
And what is your opinion if the imam considers raising and the one praying behind the imam does not consider raising? Do you tell the one praying behind the imam to raise?
Is the scenario clear or not?
The students: Yes.
The Shaykh : Clear? Is the question clear? Good.
This is a man praying behind the imam; the imam does not consider raising the hands in the takbir except in the takbirat al-ihram only, and does not consider raising the hands when bowing, nor when rising from it, nor when rising from the first tashahhud.
So, do we tell the one praying behind the imam: part of completing the following is that you do not raise your hands when bowing, nor when rising from it, nor when rising from the first tashahhud?
Someone might say: Yes.
And another might say: No.
And the correct view is with the one who says: No.
Why? Because if I raise my hand and he did not raise, am I contradicting him?
I did not lag behind in reality.
I am now following him; he bowed and I bowed, he prostrated and I prostrated, he rose and I rose, and no contradiction occurred from me. The most that is there is that I differed from him in an action that is not considered a contradiction, as evidenced by the fact that if the imam considers what is prescribed in the sitting of tashahhud to be tawruk at all times.
And you do not consider tawruk except in the final tashahhud in the three-unit and four-unit prayers, do you agree with him?
We say: You are not obligated to agree with him.
And the opposite is the opposite: if he considers iftirash in all sittings, and you do tawruk in the final tashahhud in the three-unit and four-unit prayers, we say: you have the right to do tawruk, and this is not a contradiction, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 414a. — may Allah have mercy on you — so he clarified the difference regarding him.
I hope, my brothers, that you pay attention to such precise matters that may be hidden from some people.
The Shaykh : Yes. This supporting that was reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) when he rose from prostration is accompanied by the sitting that occurs after rising, as in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith:
He sits, then supports himself on the ground and rises
يجلس ثم يعتمد على الأرض ويقومAnd does he support himself in a normal way, for example on the palms, or does he support himself by clasping his hand like a kneader?
There is a hadith with this wording, "like a kneader," but al-Nawawi weakened it.
And the original issue is: is it prescribed for the one praying to sit when he rises to the second unit or when he rises to the fourth unit, or is it not to sit?
In this issue, the scholars have three opinions:
The well-known opinion from the school of Imam Ahmad is that he does not sit at all.
The well-known opinion from the school of al-Shafi'i is the opposite, that he sits in every case.
Some scholars took a middle position in this issue, such as al-Muqaddim in al-Mughni, and he said: "If the need calls for this sitting, he sits; otherwise, he does not".
So, how many opinions are there?
Three: he sits at all times, he does not sit at all times, he sits when the need calls for it.
And in my view, this detailed opinion is closer, closer than the absolute negation or the absolute affirmation.
And with that, this preference in my view is not a strong preference, but it is closer than the last two opinions, the opinion of absolute negation or absolute affirmation.
And what indicates this is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he rose, would support himself, and the general rule is that supporting does not occur except when there is a need and difficulty in rising.
And upon this, this middle opinion is the closest of the three opinions in my view, and knowledge is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but a person speaks to the extent of his ability.
And the thing I want to say in this aspect is: it is not befitting for us, when we see someone who sits, to disapprove of him, and when we see someone who does not sit, to disapprove of him.
Because some people, when they see someone who does not sit, disapprove of him and say: "You are contradicting the Sunnah."
And another, when he sees someone who sits, disapproves of him and says: "You are adding to your prayer."
And what is befitting for us, as long as the texts are not explicit in this matter, is that we do not disapprove of one another, as we mentioned at the beginning of the discussion.
Also, another thing in this issue is that those who sit and consider sitting a recommended practice, if they pray alone or lead as imams, the matter in this is clear.
But if they pray behind the imam and the imam does not sit,
what is the Sunnah for them?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: "The Sunnah is to leave off sitting in order to realize following the imam" — pay attention, my son — in order to realize following the imam, for part of completing the following is to hasten to move after your imam, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
When he says takbir, say takbir; when he bows, bow; when he prostrates, prostrate
إذا كبر فكبر ، إذا ركع فاركعوا، إذا سجد فاسجدواThe condition and the conditioned, I think, are consecutive, or not?
Yes. If the condition comes, the conditioned follows it.
So, what is prescribed for the one praying behind the imam is to hasten to follow his imam,
and upon this, if the imam does not sit, do not sit; rise with him.
Just as if the imam sits and you do not consider sitting recommended, what is prescribed for you is to sit in order to follow the imam.
It remains that someone might say: if you encourage following the imam to this extent, what is your opinion if the imam does not consider raising the hands when bowing, nor when rising from it, nor when rising from the first tashahhud?
Do you tell the one praying behind the imam not to raise?
And what is your opinion if the imam considers raising and the one praying behind the imam does not consider raising? Do you tell the one praying behind the imam to raise?
Is the scenario clear or not?
The students: Yes.
The Shaykh : Clear? Is the question clear? Good.
This is a man praying behind the imam; the imam does not consider raising the hands in the takbir except in the takbirat al-ihram only, and does not consider raising the hands when bowing, nor when rising from it, nor when rising from the first tashahhud.
So, do we tell the one praying behind the imam: part of completing the following is that you do not raise your hands when bowing, nor when rising from it, nor when rising from the first tashahhud?
Someone might say: Yes.
And another might say: No.
And the correct view is with the one who says: No.
Why? Because if I raise my hand and he did not raise, am I contradicting him?
I did not lag behind in reality.
I am now following him; he bowed and I bowed, he prostrated and I prostrated, he rose and I rose, and no contradiction occurred from me. The most that is there is that I differed from him in an action that is not considered a contradiction, as evidenced by the fact that if the imam considers what is prescribed in the sitting of tashahhud to be tawruk at all times.
And you do not consider tawruk except in the final tashahhud in the three-unit and four-unit prayers, do you agree with him?
We say: You are not obligated to agree with him.
And the opposite is the opposite: if he considers iftirash in all sittings, and you do tawruk in the final tashahhud in the three-unit and four-unit prayers, we say: you have the right to do tawruk, and this is not a contradiction, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
so don't be at variance with him. Recite takbir when he recites it
لاتختلفوا عليه، فإذا كبر فكبرواI hope, my brothers, that you pay attention to such precise matters that may be hidden from some people.