What is the ruling on placing the right hand over the left hand in prayer?

The questioner : Young people ask a question regarding placing the hand on the chest. The question was directed to them by their school teacher, the Shari'ah instructor. They do not want the evidence; they know the evidence, but they want the truth so they can respond to this man who tells them that placing the hand on the chest is for women only and not for men, and that it is a religious innovation. Please, the brother who wants to ask the question.

The Shaykh : All right, go ahead. Do you have something to say, or are you content with what Abu Jabir said? All right, if your question is this, then I see that before answering, I should draw your attention to the fact that it is not befitting for someone like you to contradict your teacher, because you are not in a position to contradict him. Even if you have listened to a lesson that is topical and precise to the end, it is sufficient for you to be convinced that there is no difference between men and women in that the Sunnah is to place the hands on the chest, and that there is no blame in placing them at the awrah (the part of the body that must be covered). It is sufficient for you to be convinced of this. But if you come and say to the teacher, "You are wrong, and the Sunnah is such and such," you have no weapon to fight with, even if that teacher is ignorant. Therefore, I see, and as I always say to our brothers with whom we live constantly and forever, and praise be to Allah, that whoever knows himself has known his Lord. Our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says in the Noble Qur'an: So the Islamic scholar divided the Muslim community into two groups: scholars and non-scholars, and he made obligatory upon each of the two groups a duty that he did not make obligatory upon the other. He made it obligatory upon the scholars that when they are asked, they should answer, and he made it obligatory upon the non-scholars that they should ask and not live in ignorance... Listen, our brothers, he made something obligatory upon each of the two types, scholars and non-scholars, that he did not make obligatory upon the other. He made it obligatory upon the scholars that when they are asked, they should answer with truth, and he made it obligatory upon those who do not know that they should ask so that they do not live in darkness and misguidance. But this ignorant person comes to discuss a matter he has just heard and has become convinced of, and he comes to discuss with someone older than him in age, more cultured than him, and perhaps even greater than him in the knowledge of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). He has no ability to discuss with him. But it is sufficient for him to be convinced that the correct position in this matter we are now discussing is that placing the hands on the chest is the correct Sunnah. If he is convinced of this, that is a great gain for him. But if he comes to challenge his teacher or his instructor, without a doubt, this instructor would not be an instructor and this student would not be a student except because this student needs his knowledge, or because that one is more knowledgeable than this student. These are self-evident matters that do not need discussion. Therefore, I say to you, my brother, now listen to the matter and understand it well, and do not discuss with your teacher or stand up against him, as Abu Jabir did that hour, just to convince him. No, be convinced yourself, and that is sufficient for you. So I say: First, there is a rule established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding prayer, first, and then regarding the rituals of Hajj (the major pilgrimage), second. Both of these fall under the generality of the saying of the Blessed and Exalted: What are the two rules, one related to prayer and the other to Hajj? As for the first, it is his saying (peace be upon him): And the other is: And it was so. This indicates that, as He said with truth about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the Farewell Hajj, then he passed away (peace and blessings be upon him) and moved to the Highest Companion, and he did not reach the Hajj that came after it, whose leader was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, then 'Umar, and so on. So his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): is similar in the indication of the generality of the text to His saying, the Exalted: "Establish prayer" — is this address for men only, or for women only, or for both? For both, without a doubt. "Establish prayer" means "pray." The same expression, the masculine plural form in the linguistic science in which the Noble Qur'an was revealed, includes women. It is a general address. If a claimant claims that women are not included in this address, he is one of two things: either he is ignorant of the Arabic language, in which case he is taught, or he is a stubborn denier, in which case he is disciplined. The details of the discipline are in the books of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and that is the duty of the judge who judges by what Allah has revealed. So the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): is a general text that includes both women and men. So if it is established that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said a word, and he is a man by nature, or did an action, it cannot be said that this word or this action is specific to men, because we said that the rule is that when an address is directed in the masculine plural form, it includes women as well. This has a specific and very long discussion, so we will not go into it now. If the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: We are first men. Men today differ; some place their hands on the chest, some do not, some place them exactly at the navel, and some below the navel. And so I hinted, or I made a note, when I said that some place their hands in prayer at the awrah. If you pay attention, you will see that, unfortunately, this is a real fact. Many people stand upright and do this, as if they are not wearing clothing that covers their awrah. Is this the Sunnah? First, there is no basis for this in any book of hadith, nor in any book of fiqh. The books of fiqh that narrate whatever they find of hadiths, because every knowledge has its specialists. The later books of fiqh narrate hadiths as the scholars say, "without a camel or a bridle" (meaning without proper verification). Even this is not found. What is found? It is found in some books of hadith and some books of fiqh that the Sunnah is to place the right hand over the left hand below the navel in prayer. Placing the right hand over the left hand like this, not like that. This is the position of one of the four schools of jurisprudence followed by the people of the Sunnah and the community, and it is the Hanafi school. The Shafi'i school says the Sunnah is to place them above the navel. "Above the navel" can be interpreted in two ways: above meaning level with or higher than it, and this interpretation is the closest. And this first hadith: This hadith is narrated by Abu Dawud in his Sunan, which is the third of the six famous books among the scholars of the people of the Sunnah. The first book is Sahih al-Bukhari, the second is Sahih Muslim, the third is Sunan Abu Dawud, the fourth is Sunan al-Tirmidhi, the fifth is Sunan al-Nasa'i, and the sixth is Sunan Ibn Majah. This hadith came in the third of the six Sunans, or the six books, and in the first of the four Sunans, Sunan Abu Dawud. But the books of Sunan are not like the books of Sahih, not like Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim. Imam al-Bukhari and Muslim intended to include only authentic hadiths in these two books, whereas Abu Dawud and the other authors of the Sunans did not intend to include only authentic ones, as al-Suyuti said in his poem on hadith terminology: "Abu Dawud narrates the strongest he finds, then the weak if no other is found." "Abu Dawud narrates the strongest he finds, then the weak if no other [i.e., authentic] is found." Meaning, he did not find it. This is a fact known by every one who works in the science of hadith. In Abu Dawud, there are many weak hadiths, including this one. The Sunnah is to place the right hand over the left hand below the navel in prayer. What is the 'illah (the operative cause of a ruling) of this hadith? It is narrated by 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq al-Wasiti. This 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq al-Wasiti is weak, indeed very weak according to Imam al-Nawawi, as he explicitly stated in his book al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, and al-Hafiz al-Zayla'i, who is considered one of the rare scholars of hadith in the Hanafi school, transmitted it. The four schools today in fiqh: the Hanafi school is the most famous, followed by the Shafi'i school, followed by the Maliki school, followed by the Hanbali school. This is in fiqh. But in hadith, among the four schools, the situation is reversed: the Hanbali school, then the Shafi'i school, then the Maliki school, and finally the school of Abu Hanifah. This has many reasons, one of the results of which is that the Hanafi scholars who worked in hadith were very few, unlike the Shafi'i and Hanbali scholars who worked in hadith, among whom there are many and there is blessing. One of the rare Hanafi scholars is Imam Jamal al-Din al-Zayla'i al-Misri. He is one of the great scholars of hadith in the Hanafi school, and he authored a very valuable book called Nasb al-Ra'yah li-Ahadith al-Hidayah. The book al-Hidayah is by Imam al-Marghinani, one of the great Hanafi scholars, known by his kunyah. Al-Hidayah in Hanafi fiqh brings the evidence of the Hanafi school, and in it are many hadiths. But these hadiths were not traced to their sources nor verified. Imam al-Zayla'i took special care with the hadiths of al-Hidayah and authored this book, Nasb al-Ra'yah li-Ahadith al-Hidayah. So he traces every hadith mentioned by al-Marghinani in al-Hidayah. When he came to this hadith, the hadith of , he said: "Imam al-Nawawi said: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq al-Wasiti is very weak." So this hadith, if it were not contradicted by a more authentic hadith, would not establish a Sunnah. How so, when there are hadiths contradicting this hadith that are authentic? Among them is the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr, who was one of the kings of Yemen before the mission of the Messenger (peace be upon him). When he heard of the mission of the Messenger, he came to him as a delegate, heard from him, and believed in him. He was one of the chiefs of Yemen, from the kings of Yemen. He had a special concern for observing the prayer of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Therefore, his hadiths fill a gap in this topic regarding the description of the prayer of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He says that he "saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) placing his right hand over the palm, wrist, and forearm of his left hand." If one of you wanted to apply this description, he could not do so except by placing them above the navel, because the right hand is over the palm, wrist, and forearm like this. So this is an authentic hadith, agreed upon by the scholars of hadith, which contradicts that hadith, so it has no weight because it is weak in its chain. Then al-Hafiz al-Suyuti mentioned in his book al-Durr al-Manthur a narration that seems strange at first glance, but there is no strangeness as long as it is a Companion of the Messenger (peace be upon him) who interpreted the verse as you will hear. Al-Suyuti mentioned in al-Durr al-Manthur, in the section on the authentic interpretation, which is a book specifically interpreting verses, not as the later scholars do, whether they are right or wrong with their opinions, but with narrations from the Messenger (peace be upon him), from the Companions, from the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), and so on. When he came to the chapter of al-Nahr (Sacrifice) , he narrated with a strong chain from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Pray to your Lord and sacrifice." "Pray" means the customary prayer, and in some narrations, the prayer of the festival, by the context of "and sacrifice." But 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) interpreted "and sacrifice" as "place your hands in prayer at your nakhir (neck/throat area)." Here is the strangeness, because this meaning is not immediately suggested. But as long as 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction) interpreted this verse, and he is more knowledgeable than others, this hadith is added to the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr. And there are other hadiths. So it is established from the total of the hadiths that came regarding the placement of the hands in prayer while standing that the correct and established thing from the Messenger (peace be upon him) is the placement on the chest. As for the placement below the navel, its hadith is weak. I said earlier that this is his action (peace be upon him). So what do women do? It is obligatory for women to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and there is no difference in that. Oh, the glory of Allah, they have now reversed it. Some people said, "No, this is specific to women." Well, where is the hadith specific to women? The Master of men and women legislated for all of them the placement on the chest. Finally, and in conclusion to this matter, I say: Oh, the glory of Allah, which of the two positions is more befitting the etiquette of standing before Allah, Mighty and Majestic? Is it this one who stands as if he is standing in the stance of the indifferent, the lazy one, or this one who stands in submission to the Lord of all beings, as if he is bound? But this binding is not of a slave to a slave, but rather submission from the slave to the Lord. I said a word, I said a word in your absence, meaning you should hear it well: that I do not see it befitting for this brother to take the matter. He may take the conclusion from it, he may take with the conclusion some of the details. We do not advise him to stand before his teacher and argue with him, no, because this requires scientific ability on one hand, and it requires some compatibility between the arguer and the one he is arguing with. And so we said, it is sufficient for him to know the Sunnah and act upon it, and then convey it to those around him to the extent he is able. And so the Sunnah spreads and the bid'ah (religious innovation) dies, if Allah wills.

Another questioner : Some people traveled from one town to another, and when they reached the town they intended to visit, the time for prayer arrived. Some of them intended that they were still traveling, while others were ignorant of this matter and knew nothing about it. Some of them prayed with the intention that it was a travel prayer and shortened it, while the others prayed without knowing, out of ignorance or following custom, or they said, "We will pray as the resident prays." What is the validity of the prayers of these two groups?

The Shaykh : This has already been answered previously.

The questioner : But, may Allah reward you, even though the matter is clear, some of the brothers did not fully understand it, to the point that they asked, "Is our prayer valid, or do we have to repeat it?"

The Shaykh : All of this has already been answered.