The ruling on placing the right hand over the left after bowing
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
What is your opinion regarding Al-Albani's statement in his book "How the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Prayed" that placing the right hand over the left hand on the chest after bowing is a religious innovation? And what is your opinion regarding his statement about placing the hands before the knees during prostration?
Answer:
We have already pointed this out to him. His statement that placing the hands after bowing is a religious innovation is an error, and we have drawn his attention to it. We have written about this in the newspapers some time ago and clarified that placing the hands on the chest before bowing, or after bowing, is a recommended practice. His statement in the description of the Prophet's prayer that it is a religious innovation is an error on his part—may Allah pardon us and him—and perhaps he will review it, for he is a good, kind man, a student of knowledge, and has great activity in hadith—may Allah reward him with good—but he has errors and mistakes like others. I, he, and others, everyone has mistakes. But this is an error on his part—in any case—placing the hands after bowing while standing is a recommended practice, just like placing them before bowing; it is the same.
Wail ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was standing in prayer place his right hand over his left palm, wrist, and forearm. This is the recommended practice.
As for during prostration: the scholars differed on this. Some hold that the hands are placed first, and some hold that the knees are placed first.
And the stronger position is: The knees are placed first so that one does not resemble a camel in placing its hands, for the camel begins with its hands. So the recommended practice is to begin with your feet, not your hands, unlike the camel. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he prostrated, he would place his knees before his hands—(peace and blessings be upon him).
What is your opinion regarding Al-Albani's statement in his book "How the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Prayed" that placing the right hand over the left hand on the chest after bowing is a religious innovation? And what is your opinion regarding his statement about placing the hands before the knees during prostration?
Answer:
We have already pointed this out to him. His statement that placing the hands after bowing is a religious innovation is an error, and we have drawn his attention to it. We have written about this in the newspapers some time ago and clarified that placing the hands on the chest before bowing, or after bowing, is a recommended practice. His statement in the description of the Prophet's prayer that it is a religious innovation is an error on his part—may Allah pardon us and him—and perhaps he will review it, for he is a good, kind man, a student of knowledge, and has great activity in hadith—may Allah reward him with good—but he has errors and mistakes like others. I, he, and others, everyone has mistakes. But this is an error on his part—in any case—placing the hands after bowing while standing is a recommended practice, just like placing them before bowing; it is the same.
Wail ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was standing in prayer place his right hand over his left palm, wrist, and forearm. This is the recommended practice.
As for during prostration: the scholars differed on this. Some hold that the hands are placed first, and some hold that the knees are placed first.
And the stronger position is: The knees are placed first so that one does not resemble a camel in placing its hands, for the camel begins with its hands. So the recommended practice is to begin with your feet, not your hands, unlike the camel. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he prostrated, he would place his knees before his hands—(peace and blessings be upon him).
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.