What is the evidence for letting the hands hang down after rising from bowing?

The questioner : What is your evidence for letting the hands hang down, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Since holding the hands is not a recommended practice, what is the evidence for letting them hang down? There must be evidence for it.

The Shaykh : You are the one who was asked to speak.

The questioner : I did not speak...

The Shaykh : Ah, no, I heard your silence. May Allah reward you. This question is not valid; this question is not valid, because we are returning with it to the Meccan period, when there was no prayer, and then prayer was legislated. If prayer had been legislated, it was not legislated in its complete form as it has come to us today, but rather, like the entire Shari'ah, it was introduced gradually. I want to draw attention to the fact that, for example, in the early days when prayer was legislated, it was permissible to speak during the prayer; one could speak and there was no blame on him for it. Part of this is that a latecomer would come to the mosque, stand beside someone who was praying, and ask him, "Is this the first rak'ah or the second?" They would say, "No, this is the second." He would say, "Allahu Akbar," make up the rak'ah, catch up with the imam, and say the closing salam with the imam. He would say the closing salam with the imam. He had made up a rak'ah for himself because he knew what? That he had not missed it. Until Mu'adh ibn Jabal established a recommended practice for the Companions, a practice that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of. "One day he came and found the people praying, so he said, 'Allahu Akbar,' and followed them. He did not ask this question. Then, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said the closing salam, he stood up and made up what he had missed. When Mu'adh said the closing salam, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. Likewise, one of them would enter upon a person praying and say, 'Peace be upon you,' and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would return the greeting in the prayer, until the word of the Exalted came down: This ruling occurred after the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him) migrated to Abyssinia. Among those who were present... Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who was one of the great jurists of the Companions and one of the migrants from Abyssinia, was among those who returned the greeting verbally. So, when he first came from Abyssinia, he found the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) praying and said, 'Peace be upon you.' He said, 'Peace be upon you.' He did not return the greeting verbally, but rather returned the greeting with a gesture of his hand. 'Ibn Mas'ud said: I was overcome by what was near and what was far,' meaning his thoughts were disturbed... I wonder what is wrong? What did I do? And so on. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) said the closing salam, he clarified to him the matter he had been thinking about a great deal. He said, 'Indeed, Allah brings about in His affairs what He wills, and among what He has brought about is that there is no speech in the prayer.' Thus... if the Wise Lawgiver had not legislated for the Muslims, through the explanation of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), holding the hands in the first standing, what would we have done?

The questioner : We would let them hang down.

The Shaykh : We would let them hang down. That is the answer. Why do you ask for evidence for letting the hands hang down when the evidence is in your hand? That is, the original ruling for acts of worship is that they are not legislated, as Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in a word of utmost precision and wisdom: "The original ruling for acts of worship is prohibition except for a text, and the original ruling for permissible matters or customs is permissibility except for a text." Thus, for example, why do we not hold our hands between the two prostrations? Why do we not raise our finger? Why do we not move? And so on. All of this can be asked, and the answer, as I said, is that we have not been taught that. So, we place our hands as the matter is very natural. If the placement had not been legislated for us in the first standing, it would be permissible for a person to place them naturally. Natural placement means holding them is not there; it is like this, it is like this, any form that pleases the one standing in prayer. So, this is the original ruling. Why do we forget it when we enter into a matter of scholarly disagreement and point out that there is no authentic, explicit hadith that the Prophet (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him) held his hands in the standing after bowing? Well, where is the evidence that he did not hold them? This is a question that has no place in grammar, as the grammarians say.