What is the ruling on extra movements in prayer, such as relying on some of his fingers when going down for prostration as if he is kneading, or relying on his hands when rising from the sitting?

The questioner : Your Eminence! A new movement has appeared among some of the worshippers in prayer that was not done before. When some of the elderly go down for prostration, they rely on their hands first, but with the backs of their fingers, as if they are kneading—meaning: on the backs of three of the fingers—and likewise when they rise from the second prostration. As for some of the other worshippers, when they rise from the middle sitting or from the sitting of rest, they also place the backs of their fingers and rely on their hands, then they raise their hands and place them on their knees and rely on their knees when standing up. What is the ruling on these extra movements in prayer?

The Shaykh : It is prescribed for a person to pray as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed, due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And Malik ibn Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned: meaning: he sits in the first rak'ah, then stands for the second, and sits in the third rak'ah, then stands for the fourth.
And this sitting is called the sitting of rest by the scholars, and Malik ibn Huwayrith also mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) But is it like the manner of the kneader or not? This depends on the authenticity of the hadith reported regarding that. Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) denied the authenticity of this hadith in al-Majmu', meaning: that he stands up like a kneader, and some of the later scholars authenticated it.
In any case, what appears from the state of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is that he would sit, because he had grown old and his flesh had increased, so he could not stand up completely from prostration to standing. So he would sit, and then when he wanted to rise and stand, he would rely on his hands to make it easier for him. This is what appears from the state of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). For this reason, the stronger opinion regarding this sitting—I mean: the sitting of rest—which the scholars call the sitting of rest—is that if he needs it due to old age, heaviness, illness, pain in his knees, or something similar, let him sit. Then, if he needs to rely on his hands when standing up, let him rely on whatever manner it is, whether he relies on the backs of his fingers, meaning: he gathers his fingers like this and relies on them, or on his palm, or otherwise. The important thing is that if he needs to rely on something, let him rely on it, and if he does not need it, he does not rely on it.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : As for going down for prostration, the correct view is that a person begins with his knees before his hands, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade a person from placing his hands before his knees, where he said: And we observe the camel when it kneels, it puts its hands forward, and this is clear. Some scholars understood that the intended meaning is that one does not put his knees forward, and he said: the camel's knees are in its hands, so if he puts his knees forward during prostration, he has knelt like the camel kneels. And there is a point of consideration in this understanding. The point of consideration is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not say: "So do not kneel on what the camel kneels on." If he had said: "on what it kneels on," we would say do not kneel on the knees. Rather, he said: So the prohibition is regarding the manner and the form, and accordingly, if a man puts his hands forward before his knees, he has knelt like the camel kneels.
If someone says: The first understanding is supported by the fact that in this hadith .
The answer to this is that this phrase is not authentic, because it does not fit with the beginning of the hadith. Rather, it is inverted upon the narrator, as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) established in Zad al-Ma'ad. And on this basis, prostration is done on the knees. If a person needs to place his hands before his knees, as if it is difficult for him, there is no harm in placing the hands before the knees.

The questioner : O Shaykh, now the hand movement... he is sitting like this

The Shaykh : Yes

The questioner : Also, he stands up and places his hands like this

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, it is like this

The questioner : Then

The Shaykh : Then he stood up

The questioner : No, no, he does not stand up by raising his hands

The Shaykh : He raises them a second time on his thighs

The questioner : Yes

The Shaykh : No, this has no basis. This has no basis, meaning: that when he wants to rise from the first tashahhud, he places his hands on the ground and relies on them, then when he places his hands, he raises them and then relies on his knees. This has no basis, and I do not know it to be reported in the hadith.