Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not sit for the rest position?
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The questioner : Another question, may Allah reward you with good. If it is ... even for the one entering?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is no hadith stating that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not sit for the rest position. On the contrary, there is a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did sit for the rest position. This is in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith in Sahih al-Bukhari, and in the hadith of Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi in Abu Dawud, whose original source is also in al-Bukhari. Abu Dawud’s hadith is narrated by Abu Humayd in the presence of ten of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In it, Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi, who was among them, said to the Companions around him, “Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?” They said to him, “Why? You are not the most knowledgeable of us about his prayer.” He said to them, “Yes, I am the most knowledgeable.” They said to him, “Then show it to us.” He began to pray from the beginning of the prayer to the end. When he came to rising from the second prostration to the second rak'ah, he sat and then rose. This sitting is mentioned in the hadith of Abu Humayd, who demonstrated the description of the prayer to the Companions to show them how the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to pray. Although they were Companions like him who had witnessed the Messenger (peace be upon him) as he had, it appears that he had a special concern for observing the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, he said to them, “I will pray for you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” It seems they were reluctant to have a man like them, who did not distinguish himself from them by the seniority of his companionship, demonstrate it to them. Therefore, they said to him, “You are not the most knowledgeable of us about his prayer.” He said to them, “It is not as you say; rather, I am the most knowledgeable of you about his prayer.” When they saw his insistence on that, they said to him, “Then show it to us.” When he finished demonstrating the prayer of the Prophet, which included the rest position, they said to him, “You have spoken the truth. This was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”
This text, along with the previous text, which is the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, establishes that there was no disagreement among the Companions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he prayed, would sit for the rest position. From this, we say that the correct view is what Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Majmu', a commentary on al-Muhadhdhab, where he alerted readers to the necessity of maintaining the rest position because it was established in the narration of this group of Companions without any contradiction from other Companions. On this occasion, it is necessary to point out that one should not be deceived by what is mentioned in the book Zad al-Ma'ad in its discussion of this sunnah, which is the rest position. There, it is mentioned in a way that leads the reader to believe that Ibn al-Qayyim follows some of the Imams in holding that this rest position is not a devotional sunnah, but rather was part of his (peace be upon him) habit due to his age, meaning when he became old and advanced in years, he would sit for a rest position, not a position of worship. This is what Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions, relying on some opinions of some Imams, without any evidence that would compel one who reads his words to give it weight.
We say that interpreting this sitting as the Messenger (peace be upon him) doing it out of need and not as part of worship is ... a great error regarding the observation of the Companions’ agreement on mentioning this sitting in the description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer.
It is very far-fetched to think that the absent one sees what the present one does not see, because it is contrary to the Prophetic report first, and contrary to what every person of sound mind feels second. The Prophetic hadith saysMusnad Ahmad 628Hasan because of corroborating evidence and its isnad is interrupted] (Darussalam) and this is what sound reason requires. The claim that the rest position was done by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) out of need is contrary to the previous hadith Musnad Ahmad 628Hasan because of corroborating evidence and its isnad is interrupted] (Darussalam) How is this? Ibn al-Qayyim is the absent one, as are those who preceded him in saying the same as him, namely that the rest position was done by the Messenger out of a need in his body due to age or weakness. This is a statement issued by one who was absent from witnessing the action and prayer of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Meanwhile, Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi and with him ten of the Companions, and possibly including Malik ibn al-Huwayrith who narrated the hadith of the sitting independently of the group, all of them agreed on two things: first, that the Messenger (peace be upon him) sat for the rest position in the prayer, and second, that it is part of the completion of the description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer. If it were true, as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) held, that the Messenger did this sitting out of need, it would not have been hidden from those Companions. And if the matter were so, meaning if those Companions saw that the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting was done out of need, it would not have been permissible for them to include it in the chain of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer, because that would involve inserting what is not part of the worship into the worship, and what is not part of the prayer into the prayer. It is not conceivable that such an insertion could occur from a single Companion, let alone from a group, especially when one of them challenged them by saying that he knew the description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer better than they did, and therefore he offered to pray for them the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They said to him, “Show it to us.” When he demonstrated what he had, and in this demonstration it was included that the Messenger (peace be upon him) sat for the rest position, they believed him and said to him explicitly, “This was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”
Therefore, it is not permissible to attribute error to these Companions, meaning that they inserted into the prayer what is not part of it. This is the furthest thing from the truth. And thus it is established that the rest position is a confirmed sunnah, which the Messenger (peace be upon him) performed, without any other report clarifying that he left it, even occasionally.
Therefore, we are with the Shafi'is, and specifically with Imam al-Nawawi, who insisted that the one who prays should maintain this sunnah, at a time when the majority of the Shafi'is neglected it, although they find this sunnah in their books, and then they do not practice it, let alone the Hanafis and Malikis, who find explicit statements regarding the dislike of this sitting. This is contrary to the authentic sunnah, and this is what we have regarding this issue.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is no hadith stating that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not sit for the rest position. On the contrary, there is a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did sit for the rest position. This is in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith in Sahih al-Bukhari, and in the hadith of Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi in Abu Dawud, whose original source is also in al-Bukhari. Abu Dawud’s hadith is narrated by Abu Humayd in the presence of ten of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In it, Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi, who was among them, said to the Companions around him, “Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?” They said to him, “Why? You are not the most knowledgeable of us about his prayer.” He said to them, “Yes, I am the most knowledgeable.” They said to him, “Then show it to us.” He began to pray from the beginning of the prayer to the end. When he came to rising from the second prostration to the second rak'ah, he sat and then rose. This sitting is mentioned in the hadith of Abu Humayd, who demonstrated the description of the prayer to the Companions to show them how the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to pray. Although they were Companions like him who had witnessed the Messenger (peace be upon him) as he had, it appears that he had a special concern for observing the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, he said to them, “I will pray for you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” It seems they were reluctant to have a man like them, who did not distinguish himself from them by the seniority of his companionship, demonstrate it to them. Therefore, they said to him, “You are not the most knowledgeable of us about his prayer.” He said to them, “It is not as you say; rather, I am the most knowledgeable of you about his prayer.” When they saw his insistence on that, they said to him, “Then show it to us.” When he finished demonstrating the prayer of the Prophet, which included the rest position, they said to him, “You have spoken the truth. This was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”
This text, along with the previous text, which is the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, establishes that there was no disagreement among the Companions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he prayed, would sit for the rest position. From this, we say that the correct view is what Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Majmu', a commentary on al-Muhadhdhab, where he alerted readers to the necessity of maintaining the rest position because it was established in the narration of this group of Companions without any contradiction from other Companions. On this occasion, it is necessary to point out that one should not be deceived by what is mentioned in the book Zad al-Ma'ad in its discussion of this sunnah, which is the rest position. There, it is mentioned in a way that leads the reader to believe that Ibn al-Qayyim follows some of the Imams in holding that this rest position is not a devotional sunnah, but rather was part of his (peace be upon him) habit due to his age, meaning when he became old and advanced in years, he would sit for a rest position, not a position of worship. This is what Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions, relying on some opinions of some Imams, without any evidence that would compel one who reads his words to give it weight.
We say that interpreting this sitting as the Messenger (peace be upon him) doing it out of need and not as part of worship is ... a great error regarding the observation of the Companions’ agreement on mentioning this sitting in the description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer.
It is very far-fetched to think that the absent one sees what the present one does not see, because it is contrary to the Prophetic report first, and contrary to what every person of sound mind feels second. The Prophetic hadith says
witness and find out what someone who is not there cannot find out
الشاهد يرى ما لا يرى الغائبwitness and find out what someone who is not there cannot find out
الشاهد يرى ما لا يرى الغائبTherefore, it is not permissible to attribute error to these Companions, meaning that they inserted into the prayer what is not part of it. This is the furthest thing from the truth. And thus it is established that the rest position is a confirmed sunnah, which the Messenger (peace be upon him) performed, without any other report clarifying that he left it, even occasionally.
Therefore, we are with the Shafi'is, and specifically with Imam al-Nawawi, who insisted that the one who prays should maintain this sunnah, at a time when the majority of the Shafi'is neglected it, although they find this sunnah in their books, and then they do not practice it, let alone the Hanafis and Malikis, who find explicit statements regarding the dislike of this sitting. This is contrary to the authentic sunnah, and this is what we have regarding this issue.