We will now take the new lesson. He said: "And from Wā'il ibn Ḥujr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The Shaykh : We will now take the new lesson. He said: "And from Wā'il ibn Ḥujr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

I prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) and he put his right hand on his left (and then placed them) on his chest.

صليت مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فوضع يده اليمنى على يده اليسرى على صدره

Bulugh al-Maram 2:158

."
The presence here implies companionship in place, companionship in place, meaning with him in the mosque or outside the mosque. The important thing is that the presence here is companionship in place.
And his saying: at what point in the prayer? We return to what is in al-Bukhari from the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd that people are commanded to place a man's right hand over his left palm or forearm in the prayer, and this is in the standing, in the standing before the bowing and the standing after it. But the difference between the hadith of Wā'il and the hadith of Sahl is that the hadith of Wā'il clarified where the position of the hands is, where is the position of the hands? And no authentic, explicit hadith has come regarding their position. The best of what is in this matter is this hadith, the hadith of Wā'il ibn Ḥujr, despite the criticism that it is placed on what? On his chest, like this, on his chest, like this. This is the best of what the Sunnah has brought. And it was said on the neck, like this, like this on the neck. And it was said on the navel, and it was said below. So the opinions are four, and the best and closest to the Sunnah is the hadith of Wā'il that they are on the chest. As for those who said they are on the neck, they argued with the saying of Allah the Exalted: And they said the meaning of the neck commanded is to place the right hand over the left on the neck. As for those who said on the chest, they argued with the hadith of Wā'il. As for those who said it is below the navel or on the navel, there is a hadith from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), but it is weak. So the best of what has come in this issue is the hadith of Wā'il.
We see some people, to the extent of the amazing, that he places his right hand over the left like this on the left side. And we asked them why? They said because the heart is on the left side, the heart is on the left side, so it is appropriate that the hands be on the heart. And this is an error. This is an innovation of a law for which the Sunnah has not come. And we can answer them and say also, understanding and perception are in the brain, so place them on this!
The student: Hehehe.

The Shaykh : Yes, if ... the analogy, so these issues are issues of worship that are entirely based on divine text.
Now, if someone asks, what is the wisdom of placing the right hand over the left in the prayer? We say it is an indication of the humility of the servant before his Lord, an indication of the humility of the servant before his Lord, because this is the attribute of the humble one, if he is like this, meaning he lowers his head to look at his place of prostration and places his right hand over the left. This is undoubtedly humble, so it is an indication of the humility of the servant before his Lord. This is from one aspect.
From another aspect, it is more perfect for humility, more perfect for humility, because it is as if, and Allah knows best, that the person gathers himself upon himself.
If someone asks, we find some people letting their hands hang, meaning releasing their hands, either in all the standing or in the standing after the bowing. We say, may Allah forgive them, they are not correct from the aspect of the Sunnah. Releasing the hands is not a Sunnah, neither before the bowing nor after the bowing. And Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said that if one stands up from the bowing, he is given the choice between clasping, meaning placing his right hand over the left, or releasing, meaning he specified the choice, may Allah have mercy on him. And it seems, and Allah knows best, that it did not become authentic to him, so he said if he wishes, he leaves the matter in its natural state and releases the hands, and if he wishes, he places the right over the left. But the stronger opinion is that he places his right hand over the left before the bowing and after the bowing.
If someone asks, if I am praying behind an imam who releases his hands, and I see the Sunnah is contrary to that, do I follow my imam or not? The answer is no, because placing my right hand over the left does not imply opposing the imam or falling behind him, because I follow him in the standing, the bowing, the prostration, and the sitting. The analogy of that is if the imam does not consider sitting cross-legged in the final tashahhud of the three- and four-rak'ah prayers, and I consider sitting cross-legged in the final tashahhud of the three- and four-rak'ah prayers, do I agree with the imam or not? I do not agree with him, because if I sit cross-legged, I do not differ from him; I am following him. And likewise the reverse, if the imam considers sitting cross-legged and I do not consider sitting cross-legged, it is not obligatory for me to follow him in this.
The issue of the sitting in the witr of the prayer, meaning if he wants to stand for the second or the fourth, the imam sees the sitting, so he sits, and the ma'mum does not see the sitting, does he sit or not? We say he sits to follow his imam, because if he did not follow him, he would stand up before him, and this is opposition. If the matter were the reverse, the imam does not see the sitting and the ma'mum sees the sitting, does he sit or not sit?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) says he does not sit, because if he sits, it necessitates that he falls behind, it necessitates that he falls behind him. And the sitting called the sitting of rest is not as some people do now; you find him sits for a moment then stands up, even though the hadith of Malik ibn Huwayris says: Then he described his standing and said he relies on his hands on the ground then stands up. And if you reflect on this description and this action, you know with certainty or near certainty that the correct view regarding the sitting of rest is only for need, for need only, meaning that he relies on his hands after he sits ... he is not able to stand up quickly. And this opinion is the middle in this issue, that it is a Sunnah for need and not for non-need, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) only did it when in need, as it appears, and this is what the meaning requires. And Malik ibn Huwayris was from the delegations, and the delegations were mostly in the ninth year after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) took the meat.