What is the ruling on pointing with the index finger during the tashahhud, and what is its method?

The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : Regarding pointing with the index finger in the tashahhud, we see people doing it in three forms: pointing without moving it, pointing and moving it throughout the tashahhud, or pointing and moving it in certain places. We ask for details and for the evidence for the correct opinion.

The Shaykh : We have spoken about this issue many times, so I will summarize the answer by saying:
Raising the finger in the tashahhud is a recommended practice (sunnah) established in many hadiths, but none of them contain a negation of moving it. In fact, moving it is established in an authentic hadith, which was authenticated by a group of early and later imams. That is the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him), in which he described for us the sitting of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the tashahhud as part of his description of his prayer (peace be upon him). He mentioned that he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raise his index finger when he sat for the tashahhud. He said: . His statement (may Allah be pleased with him): is an explicit text that the movement began from the moment he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat for the tashahhud, continuing the movement until the supplication; because he said: . As for regulating the movement with the Name of Allah, this is merely an opinion with no basis in any text from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or any report from a Companion. Therefore, the correct opinion is what came in the authentic hadith of Wa'il, that he (peace and blessings be upon him): , continuing to move it until the end of the tashahhud; that is, until the taslim.
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It was not accompanied by an action; is it not said: ?! For example, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It was not reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to make this supplication, but as you hear, he encouraged his Ummah that whoever says this supplication after hearing the call to prayer, his special intercession from him (peace and blessings be upon him) for that supplicant will be granted on the Day of Resurrection.
Does not the one who commits to this supplication fall under the generality of His statement (Exalted is He) regarding His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ? Is it not that the one who says this supplication has followed him (peace and blessings be upon him)—that is, his saying? Just as following his action is valid, following his saying and his teaching (peace and blessings be upon him) is valid. Therefore, using the previous verse as an objection and criticism of what came in some books of the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) that if his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) conflicts with his action, his saying is preferred over his action, it was not appropriate for the questioner to bring in the previous verse to prefer taking the action over the saying. Rather, the correct thing is what he mentioned, that the scholars say: "If his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) conflicts with his action, his saying is preferred over the action."
The reason for this is that the saying issued from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is legislation from Allah on his tongue (peace and blessings be upon him) for the entire Ummah, whereas his action (peace and blessings be upon him) may be surrounded by some possibilities that make his action specific to him (peace be upon him). And this must be noted: this last statement is only in the case where his action contradicts his saying (peace and blessings be upon him). In this case, the scholars say: If his action (peace be upon him) contradicts his saying, and reconciliation between his action and his saying is not possible, and there is no choice but to contradict either the action or the saying, then at that time, following the saying and contradicting the action is what is fitting for the Ummah. That is because the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this case—I emphasize in this case only; that is, the case where his action contradicts his saying—in this case only, it is said: his action (peace be upon him) is left to him, and we take his saying, as mentioned earlier, that his saying is general legislation for the Ummah, whereas his action is surrounded by possibilities; his action may have been before he legislated for people what was legislated by revelation from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for his Ummah, so the action was before the saying, or his action (peace and blessings be upon him) may have been for an excuse that we do not know what it is, or it may ultimately be a specific matter, a specific legislation for him (peace and blessings be upon him) in which no one from the Muslims shares.
An example of this: For example, it is certain that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married more than four women, and indeed he (peace and blessings be upon him) died with nine women under his protection, and this is contrary to the apparent meaning of His statement (Exalted is He): . The meaning of the apparent sense of this verse was confirmed by the hadith that came in the Sunan that a man embraced Islam and had nine women under his protection, so when he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned that to him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: , . This is his saying (peace be upon him) and that is his action; so what is the position of thatThe questioner : who brought in the noble verse in an attempt to prefer the action over the saying?
He finds no way except to follow the majority of Muslims, scholars and non-scholars, that the marriage of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to nine women—and indeed more than that—is a specificity by which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) distinguished him; so we leave his action to him (peace be upon him), and we take his saying as in the verse and the hadith mentioned earlier.