Where should the worshiper look during his bowing, and is it obligatory for him to straighten his back while sitting between the two prostrations and during the tashahhud?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Where should the worshiper look during his bowing? And is it obligatory for him to straighten his back while sitting between the two prostrations and during the tashahhud?
The Shaykh : The majority of scholars hold that the worshiper looks at the place of his prostration while standing, while bowing, and while prostrating; it is well known that his gaze is directed toward the ground.
As for the tashahhud and the sitting between the two prostrations, he looks at the place of his pointing, that is, at his finger when he points with it. A person points with his finger in supplication whenever he makes a du'a' while sitting for the tashahhud or the sitting between the two prostrations; whenever he makes a du'a', he raises his finger, so he looks at the finger. Apart from that, he looks at the place of his prostration.
Some scholars said: he looks straight ahead. Others said: he looks straight ahead, and when bowing, he looks at his feet. All of these are juristic preferences (istihsan) for which I know no evidence, except looking at the place of prostration or the place of pointing during the tashahhud and the sitting between the two prostrations.
Some scholars mentioned that if one is in al-Masjid al-Haram, he looks at the Ka'bah. There is no evidence for this, nor is it correct, because there is no connection between the prayer and the Ka'bah. Furthermore, looking at the Ka'bah leads to the mind wandering; one might think about its covering and the writings on it, or look at the people performing tawaf, which disturbs the mind. For this reason, we say: there is no validity to the recommendation of looking at the Ka'bah during prayer.
The Shaykh : The majority of scholars hold that the worshiper looks at the place of his prostration while standing, while bowing, and while prostrating; it is well known that his gaze is directed toward the ground.
As for the tashahhud and the sitting between the two prostrations, he looks at the place of his pointing, that is, at his finger when he points with it. A person points with his finger in supplication whenever he makes a du'a' while sitting for the tashahhud or the sitting between the two prostrations; whenever he makes a du'a', he raises his finger, so he looks at the finger. Apart from that, he looks at the place of his prostration.
Some scholars said: he looks straight ahead. Others said: he looks straight ahead, and when bowing, he looks at his feet. All of these are juristic preferences (istihsan) for which I know no evidence, except looking at the place of prostration or the place of pointing during the tashahhud and the sitting between the two prostrations.
Some scholars mentioned that if one is in al-Masjid al-Haram, he looks at the Ka'bah. There is no evidence for this, nor is it correct, because there is no connection between the prayer and the Ka'bah. Furthermore, looking at the Ka'bah leads to the mind wandering; one might think about its covering and the writings on it, or look at the people performing tawaf, which disturbs the mind. For this reason, we say: there is no validity to the recommendation of looking at the Ka'bah during prayer.