Reading a letter sent to the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding the matter of placing the hands on the thighs between the two prostrations and pointing with the index finger while making supplication with it
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The student: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Your noble letter, dated Ramadan of this year, reached me.
The Shaykh : It reached me.
The student: It reached me while I am speaking with you, and praise be to Allah for that. We send you our congratulations for the Festival of Breaking the Fast, and we ask Allah to accept from everyone. Do you remember that you reviewed a letter on ablution, the full ritual bath, and the prayer, and that the manner of placing the right hand between the two prostrations caught your attention? Your statement was that what is in the letter is in accordance with what the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, as narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat to make supplication, would place his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, and he would point with his index finger and place his thumb on his left index finger, and he would cup his left hand around his knee.” And in a narration: “When he sat in the prayer…”
The Shaykh : Congratulations to you.
The student: Congratulations to you on the festival of 'Id al-Fitr. We wish you the same, and we ask Allah to accept from everyone. Do you remember that you reviewed a treatise on wudu', ghusl, and salah, and that it caught your attention how the right hand is placed between the two prostrations? Your statement was that what is in the treatise is in accordance with what the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, as narrated by Muslim from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat, would place his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, point with his index finger, place his thumb on his left index finger, and cup his left hand around his knee." In another narration, it says: "When he sat in prayer..."
The Shaykh : …sat in the prayer…
The student: …and it was narrated from the hadith of Ibn Umar
The Shaykh : …and it was narrated…
The student: …and it was narrated, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat in the prayer, would place his right palm on his right thigh, clench all his fingers, and point with the finger next to the thumb, and place his left palm on his left thigh.” As far as I know, there is no distinction made between sitting in the tashahhud and sitting between the two prostrations. And what indicates that there is no difference between the two sittings is what Imam Ahmad narrated in the Musnad, page 317, volume four, from the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr, who said: “I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say takbir and raise his hands when he said takbir.” He mentioned the hadith, and in it: “And he prostrated and placed his hands level with…”
The Shaykh : …level with…
The student: …level with his ears. Then he sat and spread his left leg, then placed his left hand on his left thigh and his right forearm on his right thigh, then pointed with the index finger and placed the thumb on the middle finger and clench the rest of his fingers, then prostrated, and his hands were level with his ears.
The Shaykh : If this is explicit that it is between the two prostrations.
The student: And in his narration, he made thirty knots and one loop and pointed with the index finger.
The Shaykh : How many knots?
The student: And in a narration, he made thirty knots and one loop and pointed with the index finger. The hadith is in al-Fath al-Rabbani, the arrangement of the Musnad, page 147, volume three. And he said in its chain… And Abu Dawud narrated it in a similar manner and said in it: “And he clench two and made a loop, meaning he looped the thumb with the middle finger.” And with this, it becomes clear that there is no difference between the sitting of the tashahhud and the sitting between the two prostrations. As for restricting the sitting in some narrations of Ibn Umar to the sitting of the tashahhud, this does not contradict the general statement, because mentioning some instances of a general ruling in a legal context that matches the ruling of the general statement does not necessitate restricting it, even if it implies restriction if no evidence for the general statement is established.
In short, in the commentary
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What does he say?
The student: And in the end
The Shaykh : And in a narration, what is the end?
The student: And in a narration, he placed his hands on his knees and raised his right finger next to the thumb and made supplication with it, and his left hand was on his left thigh, spread over it. And its apparent meaning is that he raised it to make supplication with it, and that is a raising above the general pointing.
The Shaykh : That he raised it
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That he raised it, he lowered it
The student: And its apparent meaning is that he raised it to make supplication with it, and that is a raising above the general pointing that came in the first narration and in the hadith of Ibn al-Zubayr. And upon this, it would be raised, a raised pointing. So then, mentioning the supplication phrase, raising it is an addition to that, indicating the elevation of the One to whom he made supplication.
The Shaykh : The One to whom he made supplication
The student: And that is Allah the Exalted. And that is supported by the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr: “Then he raised it. I saw him moving it, making supplication with it.” And in the hadith of Ibn al-Zubayr in al-Darimi: “I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) making supplication like this,” and Ibn Uyaynah pointed with his finger. Al-Darimi narrated it.
The Shaykh : Keep this book with you and review the Musnad in al-Fath.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, it appears to be an error in the copy, because Abu Dawud said he clench two, and it appears to be like the narration of Abu Dawud: he clench two.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It appears there is no harm with it, until I have not seen anything from the men. Come, let us read, come, let us read, O Muhammad al-Barak.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : In the supplication in the Friday sermon, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would point when he made supplication, except in the prayer for rain, where he would raise his hands. And it was also reported that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed when he said, “O Allah, be a witness,” in the sermon at 'Arafah.
The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace upon the noblest of the messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: And from Ibn Umar, he said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat in the prayer, would place his hands on his knees…”
The Shaykh : It reached me.
The student: It reached me while I am speaking with you, and praise be to Allah for that. We send you our congratulations for the Festival of Breaking the Fast, and we ask Allah to accept from everyone. Do you remember that you reviewed a letter on ablution, the full ritual bath, and the prayer, and that the manner of placing the right hand between the two prostrations caught your attention? Your statement was that what is in the letter is in accordance with what the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, as narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat to make supplication, would place his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, and he would point with his index finger and place his thumb on his left index finger, and he would cup his left hand around his knee.” And in a narration: “When he sat in the prayer…”
The Shaykh : Congratulations to you.
The student: Congratulations to you on the festival of 'Id al-Fitr. We wish you the same, and we ask Allah to accept from everyone. Do you remember that you reviewed a treatise on wudu', ghusl, and salah, and that it caught your attention how the right hand is placed between the two prostrations? Your statement was that what is in the treatise is in accordance with what the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, as narrated by Muslim from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat, would place his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, point with his index finger, place his thumb on his left index finger, and cup his left hand around his knee." In another narration, it says: "When he sat in prayer..."
The Shaykh : …sat in the prayer…
The student: …and it was narrated from the hadith of Ibn Umar
The Shaykh : …and it was narrated…
The student: …and it was narrated, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat in the prayer, would place his right palm on his right thigh, clench all his fingers, and point with the finger next to the thumb, and place his left palm on his left thigh.” As far as I know, there is no distinction made between sitting in the tashahhud and sitting between the two prostrations. And what indicates that there is no difference between the two sittings is what Imam Ahmad narrated in the Musnad, page 317, volume four, from the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr, who said: “I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say takbir and raise his hands when he said takbir.” He mentioned the hadith, and in it: “And he prostrated and placed his hands level with…”
The Shaykh : …level with…
The student: …level with his ears. Then he sat and spread his left leg, then placed his left hand on his left thigh and his right forearm on his right thigh, then pointed with the index finger and placed the thumb on the middle finger and clench the rest of his fingers, then prostrated, and his hands were level with his ears.
The Shaykh : If this is explicit that it is between the two prostrations.
The student: And in his narration, he made thirty knots and one loop and pointed with the index finger.
The Shaykh : How many knots?
The student: And in a narration, he made thirty knots and one loop and pointed with the index finger. The hadith is in al-Fath al-Rabbani, the arrangement of the Musnad, page 147, volume three. And he said in its chain… And Abu Dawud narrated it in a similar manner and said in it: “And he clench two and made a loop, meaning he looped the thumb with the middle finger.” And with this, it becomes clear that there is no difference between the sitting of the tashahhud and the sitting between the two prostrations. As for restricting the sitting in some narrations of Ibn Umar to the sitting of the tashahhud, this does not contradict the general statement, because mentioning some instances of a general ruling in a legal context that matches the ruling of the general statement does not necessitate restricting it, even if it implies restriction if no evidence for the general statement is established.
In short, in the commentary
The student: ...
The Shaykh : What does he say?
The student: And in the end
The Shaykh : And in a narration, what is the end?
The student: And in a narration, he placed his hands on his knees and raised his right finger next to the thumb and made supplication with it, and his left hand was on his left thigh, spread over it. And its apparent meaning is that he raised it to make supplication with it, and that is a raising above the general pointing.
The Shaykh : That he raised it
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That he raised it, he lowered it
The student: And its apparent meaning is that he raised it to make supplication with it, and that is a raising above the general pointing that came in the first narration and in the hadith of Ibn al-Zubayr. And upon this, it would be raised, a raised pointing. So then, mentioning the supplication phrase, raising it is an addition to that, indicating the elevation of the One to whom he made supplication.
The Shaykh : The One to whom he made supplication
The student: And that is Allah the Exalted. And that is supported by the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr: “Then he raised it. I saw him moving it, making supplication with it.” And in the hadith of Ibn al-Zubayr in al-Darimi: “I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) making supplication like this,” and Ibn Uyaynah pointed with his finger. Al-Darimi narrated it.
The Shaykh : Keep this book with you and review the Musnad in al-Fath.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, it appears to be an error in the copy, because Abu Dawud said he clench two, and it appears to be like the narration of Abu Dawud: he clench two.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It appears there is no harm with it, until I have not seen anything from the men. Come, let us read, come, let us read, O Muhammad al-Barak.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : In the supplication in the Friday sermon, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would point when he made supplication, except in the prayer for rain, where he would raise his hands. And it was also reported that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed when he said, “O Allah, be a witness,” in the sermon at 'Arafah.
The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace upon the noblest of the messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: And from Ibn Umar, he said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he sat in the prayer, would place his hands on his knees…”