Some of the worshippers sit for a short period after rising from the second prostration and before standing for the next rak'ah. What is the ruling on this, and is it a Sunnah?
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The questioner : Some of the worshippers sit for a short period after rising from the second prostration and before standing for the next rak'ah. What is the ruling on this? And is it a Sunnah? Please inform us, may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This sitting that the worshipper performs when he stands for the second and fourth rak'ahs in a four-rak'ah prayer is referred to by the scholars as the sitting of rest. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was in an odd number of his prayer, would not stand up until he was sitting firmly.
The scholars differed on this matter with three opinions, and the most balanced opinion in my view is what the author of "al-Mughni" held: that if a person is advanced in age, heavy-bodied, or has pain in his knees, such that he needs to settle first and then stand, it is prescribed for him. And if he does not have a cause that necessitates it, the best is to rise from prostration to standing without sitting. This is the closest of the opinions to me in this matter, although it is not the strongest or best, because in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, it is mentioned that when he sat and wanted to stand, he would support himself with his hands, and supporting oneself with the hands is generally not needed except for the difficulty of rising directly from prostration to standing.
And whatever the case may be, if a person sits for it, he is not to be criticized, and if he leaves it, he is not to be criticized, because the utmost in this matter is that it is a Sunnah and not obligatory. Indeed, some people have taken these Sunnahs and similar matters as a cause for dispute and a reason for division. You find that if someone differs with him in this, he considers it a major transgression and causes damage to the reputation of his believing brother. There is no doubt that this is injustice and oppression. For a person to want people to adhere to his opinion and follow him is injustice and oppression, because we say to him: why do you not adhere to their opinions and follow them if there is no clear, explicit text in the matter that must be followed? So issues of independent legal reasoning like this should not be taken by a person as a cause for enmity, hatred, and division. If a person exercises independent legal reasoning and his reasoning leads him to believe that this act is prescribed, and he does it, he is not to be criticized. And if a person exercises independent legal reasoning and his reasoning leads him to believe that this act is not prescribed, and he leaves it, he is not to be criticized, except in the case of contradicting an explicit text where independent legal reasoning is not permissible due to its clarity and explicitness, in which case the one who contradicts it is to be criticized. Yes.
The questioner : Also, the listener Faisal M.A. from Kuwait asks.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This sitting that the worshipper performs when he stands for the second and fourth rak'ahs in a four-rak'ah prayer is referred to by the scholars as the sitting of rest. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was in an odd number of his prayer, would not stand up until he was sitting firmly.
The scholars differed on this matter with three opinions, and the most balanced opinion in my view is what the author of "al-Mughni" held: that if a person is advanced in age, heavy-bodied, or has pain in his knees, such that he needs to settle first and then stand, it is prescribed for him. And if he does not have a cause that necessitates it, the best is to rise from prostration to standing without sitting. This is the closest of the opinions to me in this matter, although it is not the strongest or best, because in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, it is mentioned that when he sat and wanted to stand, he would support himself with his hands, and supporting oneself with the hands is generally not needed except for the difficulty of rising directly from prostration to standing.
And whatever the case may be, if a person sits for it, he is not to be criticized, and if he leaves it, he is not to be criticized, because the utmost in this matter is that it is a Sunnah and not obligatory. Indeed, some people have taken these Sunnahs and similar matters as a cause for dispute and a reason for division. You find that if someone differs with him in this, he considers it a major transgression and causes damage to the reputation of his believing brother. There is no doubt that this is injustice and oppression. For a person to want people to adhere to his opinion and follow him is injustice and oppression, because we say to him: why do you not adhere to their opinions and follow them if there is no clear, explicit text in the matter that must be followed? So issues of independent legal reasoning like this should not be taken by a person as a cause for enmity, hatred, and division. If a person exercises independent legal reasoning and his reasoning leads him to believe that this act is prescribed, and he does it, he is not to be criticized. And if a person exercises independent legal reasoning and his reasoning leads him to believe that this act is not prescribed, and he leaves it, he is not to be criticized, except in the case of contradicting an explicit text where independent legal reasoning is not permissible due to its clarity and explicitness, in which case the one who contradicts it is to be criticized. Yes.
The questioner : Also, the listener Faisal M.A. from Kuwait asks.