Discussion of the evidence regarding the issue of placing the hands on the chest after rising from bowing.
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The Shaykh : Now, whether you say or they say that it is a confirmed sunnah, or a recommended practice, what is the evidence?! You say: Wail ibn Hujr. Fine, the hadith of Wail, my brother, does not state: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to place [his hands] when he raised his head from bowing, do you not know this?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, so what is the point of this argument?
The questioner : The point is: the narrator mentioned the state of standing...
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : And after rising from bowing, the one praying is standing...
The Shaykh : This is correct, but was the Messenger (peace be upon him) seen in this standing placing his hands?
The questioner : We do not know.
The Shaykh : So, if we do not know, do we act upon what we do not know and what we do know?
The questioner : We act upon what we know.
The Shaykh : Good, now the knowledge shared by everyone is that he used to place [his hands] before bowing, correct?
The questioner : Yes, in the state of standing, these two are linked, O Shaykh!
The Shaykh : One by one!
The questioner: All right.
Another questioner : Do not rush, O Abu!
The Shaykh : One by one, we all know that he used to place [his hands] before bowing, meaning in the standing before bowing.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : We know this.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, so we do it, but your answer regarding the placement after raising the head from bowing was: we do not know. So they differ. I want you to stop here for a moment and think with me. You will reach the conclusion that there is a difference between the two standings. In the first standing, you know with certainty that the Messenger used to place [his hands], and there is absolutely no disagreement among the people of the Sunnah about this. In the second standing, you admitted, and this is the truth: you do not know.
The questioner : Because there is no text stating: that he used to place [his hands] after rising.
The Shaykh : That is it.
The questioner : But it is a general evidence!
The Shaykh : So, a general evidence, but you are still with me, and I hope you do not forget, that after this simple discussion, you have become convinced that there is a difference between the two standings. In the first standing, you know with certainty that he used to place [his hands]. In the second standing, you do not know that he used to place [his hands]. But you are clinging to the general wording, correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : Fine, first: did this general wording come from the Infallible or from other than the Infallible?! From one who speaks well and places every word in its proper place, or from other than the Infallible who may not place the word in its proper place, who may be distracted, who may rush, and so on? From whom did this general text come?!
The questioner : From the lesser, the lower.
The Shaykh : From a Companion, meaning?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Good, and then, in the phrase of investigation and precision: is it not possible that this general text did not come from the Companion, but from one below him, from one below him, correct?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is this possible or not?
The questioner : Of course, it is possible.
The Shaykh : Fine, so if such possibilities arise regarding this text which you say is a general text, how did we move from what we do not know to what we know?! Is this question clear?
The questioner: It is not clear.
The Shaykh : It is far away, we are not keeping in mind that our answer regarding the placement in the second standing is: we do not know.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So, this is in our minds, with these possibilities arising regarding the general text, how did we move from what we were saying: we do not know, to what we know, with all these possibilities?! The possibility arose regarding the argument, regarding the evidence being used for argumentation, so it is supposed that the argumentation falls with it. We said: this general text is not from the Messenger of Allah!
The questioner : (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : But rather: either from the Companion, or the narrator from the Companion, or, and so on.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, so what is the point of this argument?
The questioner : The point is: the narrator mentioned the state of standing...
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : And after rising from bowing, the one praying is standing...
The Shaykh : This is correct, but was the Messenger (peace be upon him) seen in this standing placing his hands?
The questioner : We do not know.
The Shaykh : So, if we do not know, do we act upon what we do not know and what we do know?
The questioner : We act upon what we know.
The Shaykh : Good, now the knowledge shared by everyone is that he used to place [his hands] before bowing, correct?
The questioner : Yes, in the state of standing, these two are linked, O Shaykh!
The Shaykh : One by one!
The questioner: All right.
Another questioner : Do not rush, O Abu!
The Shaykh : One by one, we all know that he used to place [his hands] before bowing, meaning in the standing before bowing.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : We know this.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, so we do it, but your answer regarding the placement after raising the head from bowing was: we do not know. So they differ. I want you to stop here for a moment and think with me. You will reach the conclusion that there is a difference between the two standings. In the first standing, you know with certainty that the Messenger used to place [his hands], and there is absolutely no disagreement among the people of the Sunnah about this. In the second standing, you admitted, and this is the truth: you do not know.
The questioner : Because there is no text stating: that he used to place [his hands] after rising.
The Shaykh : That is it.
The questioner : But it is a general evidence!
The Shaykh : So, a general evidence, but you are still with me, and I hope you do not forget, that after this simple discussion, you have become convinced that there is a difference between the two standings. In the first standing, you know with certainty that he used to place [his hands]. In the second standing, you do not know that he used to place [his hands]. But you are clinging to the general wording, correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : Fine, first: did this general wording come from the Infallible or from other than the Infallible?! From one who speaks well and places every word in its proper place, or from other than the Infallible who may not place the word in its proper place, who may be distracted, who may rush, and so on? From whom did this general text come?!
The questioner : From the lesser, the lower.
The Shaykh : From a Companion, meaning?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Good, and then, in the phrase of investigation and precision: is it not possible that this general text did not come from the Companion, but from one below him, from one below him, correct?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is this possible or not?
The questioner : Of course, it is possible.
The Shaykh : Fine, so if such possibilities arise regarding this text which you say is a general text, how did we move from what we do not know to what we know?! Is this question clear?
The questioner: It is not clear.
The Shaykh : It is far away, we are not keeping in mind that our answer regarding the placement in the second standing is: we do not know.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So, this is in our minds, with these possibilities arising regarding the general text, how did we move from what we were saying: we do not know, to what we know, with all these possibilities?! The possibility arose regarding the argument, regarding the evidence being used for argumentation, so it is supposed that the argumentation falls with it. We said: this general text is not from the Messenger of Allah!
The questioner : (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : But rather: either from the Companion, or the narrator from the Companion, or, and so on.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.