Defining the elbow on which the palm is placed in prayer

Question:
The first message in this episode is from one of our female listeners. She says: “Our father, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah forgive us and his parents. First, I tell you—and Allah is a witness to this—that I love you, Your Eminence. My question is: It has been mentioned regarding how to place the hands in prayer that the worshiper places his right palm on his left elbow. What is the elbow referred to?”

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
I say: First, may Allah love you as you have loved us for His sake. I ask Allah to make us all among those who love one another in His majesty, to rectify our hearts and our deeds, and to keep us firm upon His religion. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near.
Yes, the Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that when standing, he places his right palm on his left palm, wrist, and forearm. In some reports, it is on his elbow. The elbow is the part of the arm next to the thumb, and the part next to the little finger is called the *karsu‘*. The meaning is that he places his hand on the joint of the palm from the arm, so that the right hand is placed on the left palm, its wrist, and its forearm. This is the Sunnah when standing in prayer, and it applies to both men and women. There is no evidence for specifying something for the woman; rather, the Sunnah is general.
If the one praying is standing, he places his right hand over his left palm, wrist, and forearm, as established in the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) from him from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It was also reported in the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd that a man was ordered in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to place his right hand over his left forearm in prayer. This may mean that at times he placed it over the forearm, or it may be that he intended what Wa'il intended, because if he placed his hand over the wrist and forearm, he had placed his hand over the forearm; for the forearm is the arm. Thus, his palm would be over the wrist joint and the tips of his fingers over the forearm, so the two hadiths would agree and there would be no contradiction between them.
In any case, the Sunnah is to place the right hand when standing for prayer, whether this is before bowing or after bowing, with the right palm on the left palm, its wrist, and its forearm in prayer. This is the Sunnah. When he bows, he places his hands on his knees, spreads his fingers, and straightens his back until he rises. When he rises, he returns his hands as they were before bowing, placing his right palm on his left palm, its wrist, and its forearm, until he prostrates. This is the relied-upon position, and this is what is indicated by the hadith of Wa’il, the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa‘d, and the hadith of Qabisah ibn Khawlad from his father.
It is also indicated by what is established from Tawus, as a mursal report, of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placing his right hand on his left palm when standing.
As for the one who says that he lets his hands hang down when standing, he has no evidence for that; rather, it is contrary to the Sunnah. The same applies to the one who says he lets them hang down when standing after bowing. He has no evidence for that. The original state is that they remain as they were before bowing. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he raised his head from bowing, would straighten himself until every vertebra returned to its place (peace and blessings be upon him). He would stand for a long time until the one saying: “He has forgotten.” This indicates that when he rises from bowing, he returns his hands as they were, returning them as they were, placing the right on the left on his chest (peace and blessings be upon him) as they were before, before bowing. Upon the one who claims otherwise is to bring evidence, otherwise the original state is that what is after bowing in the standing position is like what is before bowing. This is the original state, and this is the apparent meaning of the established Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.