The state of the feet in prostration in prayer.
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The Shaykh : The state of the feet in prostration is that one prostrates on the tips of the toes, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Bulugh al-Maram 2:183 Do you understand?
The student: Are they brought together?
The Shaykh : He also says: Are they brought together or separated? They are brought together; this is how the Sunnah came, meaning one next to the other. As for those among the scholars who said they are separated by the width of a hand, this has no basis.
Now, we should also ask: Do we sit when we stand up for the second unit, or when we stand up for the fourth? Yes, this is what is known as the sitting of rest. This is also one of the issues in which the scholars disagreed, with three opinions:
The first: Sitting absolutely.
The second: Not sitting absolutely.
The third: Sitting out of need, and not sitting if there is no need.
The last one is that which the evidence agrees upon. It is that if a person needs to sit, such as an elderly person, a sick person, or one suffering from pain in the knees or otherwise, he sits to be gentle with himself. And if one is energetic, he does not sit. This is because it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) both this and that. Those who narrated the sitting from him did so at the end of his life. Malik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the delegations that came in the ninth year of the Hijrah, after the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) age had advanced. The most balanced opinion in this issue is that if a person needs it, he should be gentle with himself and sit until he relaxes a little, then stand up. But if he is energetic, it is better for him to remain energetic in his state and stand up without sitting.
I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones; on the forehead - and he pointed at his nose, the hands (the palms), the knees and the tips (toes) of the feet.
أمرنا أن نسجد على سبعة أعظم على الجبهة وأشار بيده إلى أنفه والكفين والركبتين وأطراف القدمينThe student: Are they brought together?
The Shaykh : He also says: Are they brought together or separated? They are brought together; this is how the Sunnah came, meaning one next to the other. As for those among the scholars who said they are separated by the width of a hand, this has no basis.
Now, we should also ask: Do we sit when we stand up for the second unit, or when we stand up for the fourth? Yes, this is what is known as the sitting of rest. This is also one of the issues in which the scholars disagreed, with three opinions:
The first: Sitting absolutely.
The second: Not sitting absolutely.
The third: Sitting out of need, and not sitting if there is no need.
The last one is that which the evidence agrees upon. It is that if a person needs to sit, such as an elderly person, a sick person, or one suffering from pain in the knees or otherwise, he sits to be gentle with himself. And if one is energetic, he does not sit. This is because it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) both this and that. Those who narrated the sitting from him did so at the end of his life. Malik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the delegations that came in the ninth year of the Hijrah, after the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) age had advanced. The most balanced opinion in this issue is that if a person needs it, he should be gentle with himself and sit until he relaxes a little, then stand up. But if he is energetic, it is better for him to remain energetic in his state and stand up without sitting.