The Ruling on Placing the Right Hand over the Left After Rising from Bowing

The third and final question in the letter from our brother Haitham Salim Haydarah from Aden, Democratic Yemen, says: What is the ruling on the issue of placing the right hand over the left after rising from bowing? Because Shaykh Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani in his book: (The Description of the Prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)) says: that there is no doubt that it is a religious innovation. Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good?
Answer: Placing the right hand over the left after standing up from bowing is a recommended practice (sunnah), and he places his right hand over his left hand on his chest, just as he did before bowing. This is what is preserved from the authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Wa'il ibn Hujr narrated it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with a sound chain, and Sahl ibn Sa'd narrated what indicates its meaning from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , narrated by al-Bukhari in the Sahih.
So this is the correct and true position: that placing the right hand over the left, meaning placing the right hand over the left palm, wrist, and forearm, after bowing and before it while standing, is the recommended practice (sunnah). As for our noble brother, the distinguished scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, he mentioned what the questioner mentioned, that this is a religious innovation. He was mistaken in this, may Allah guide him. Every person has mistakes; every scholar has mistakes. And our brother, Shaykh Nasir al-Din, is among the best of the scholars of the Muslims. He is one of those we know and testify to his virtue and his care for the Sunnah and his zeal for it. He has authored what he has authored of good and beneficial works. However, like other scholars, he errs and hits the mark. So he has things in which he erred, may Allah forgive him, just as other great imams like Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and others have things in which they erred and the truth was hidden from them, either because they did not look at the hadith, or it did not reach them in a way that is sound, or for other reasons, as Abu al-Abbas Ibn Taymiyyah explained in his book: (Lifting the Blame from the Imams of Islam). So every scholar may miss something, and he has an excuse for it, may Allah be pleased with them and have mercy on them. So our distinguished scholar, Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani, is among those good people who have an excuse for what they erred in. And we have written a book on this matter explaining what is correct, and it was published a while ago, and it is available and distributed. The questioner should refer to it if he has it, or write to us and we will send it to him, if Allah wills.
So the summary is: that the recommended practice (sunnah) is to place his hands together after bowing, just as before bowing. This is the best: he places the right hand over the left palm, wrist, and forearm on his chest, just as he did before bowing. Based on the statement of Wa'il (may Allah be pleased with him) : , and his statement: includes this and that. And it is not preserved from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or from any of his Companions, as far as we know, that he let his hands hang down after bowing. So what the Shaykh mentioned here, the distinguished scholar Nasir al-Din: that it is a religious innovation, is a great mistake. We ask Allah to forgive him. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.