Is the sitting for rest during prayer permissible, is it part of the Prophetic Sunnah, and what is the ruling on one who does not do it?
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The questioner : Is the sitting for rest during prayer permissible, is it part of the Prophetic Sunnah, and what is the ruling on one who does not do it?
The Shaykh : The sitting for rest is when a person sits in his prayer when he stands up for the second rak'ah, and when he stands up for the fourth rak'ah in a four-rak'ah prayer. This is a matter in which the scholars disagreed, with three positions:
The first position is that it is not a recommended practice, but if a person is compelled, he sits out of necessity, not as an act of worship.
The second position is that it is a recommended practice in all cases, and that a person should sit for a short time and then stand up when he rises for the second or fourth rak'ah.
The third position is the middle one, which is that whoever needs it sits as an act of worship and following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and whoever does not need it stands up from prostration in one movement to standing. This is the most correct of the positions, and the evidence agrees with it.
However, if you are praying behind an imam who does not consider it a recommended practice and does not sit, do not sit, even if you consider it a recommended practice.
The Shaykh : The sitting for rest is when a person sits in his prayer when he stands up for the second rak'ah, and when he stands up for the fourth rak'ah in a four-rak'ah prayer. This is a matter in which the scholars disagreed, with three positions:
The first position is that it is not a recommended practice, but if a person is compelled, he sits out of necessity, not as an act of worship.
The second position is that it is a recommended practice in all cases, and that a person should sit for a short time and then stand up when he rises for the second or fourth rak'ah.
The third position is the middle one, which is that whoever needs it sits as an act of worship and following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and whoever does not need it stands up from prostration in one movement to standing. This is the most correct of the positions, and the evidence agrees with it.
However, if you are praying behind an imam who does not consider it a recommended practice and does not sit, do not sit, even if you consider it a recommended practice.