Explanation of the Book of the Adhan-10b

The reciter: Muhammad ibn Sinan narrated to us, saying: Falyah narrated to us, saying: Hilal ibn Ali narrated to us from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer, then he ascended the pulpit and gestured with his hands toward the qiblah of the mosque, then he said:

The Shaykh : This chapter was compiled by al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) to clarify where a person should direct his gaze while praying. We have the imam, the ma'mum, and the one praying alone. The imam and the one praying alone share the same ruling, while the ma'mum has a specific ruling distinct from them, because the ma'mum is commanded to follow the imam. This requires the ma'mum to raise his gaze to the imam to track his actions, just as he follows his words. As for the imam and the one praying alone, there is no need for them to raise their gaze. However, should they look naturally, meaning at the place of prostration and its surroundings, or is it better for them to look at their place of prostration? Most scholars say that one should look at the place of prostration, and they interpreted the saying of Allah the Exalted, , with this. It was also said that there is no stone; one looks at the places of prostration and their surroundings, except when sitting for the tashahhud or between the two prostrations, in which case one looks at the index finger, and the gaze does not go beyond the gesture. See al-Fath at the beginning of the chapter.