By Maulana Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf
The
Position of Hands in Qiyaam
Upon entering a Masjid,
a person sees a
multitude of different people. Some of them he sees standing in prayer with
their hands clasped together on the chest. Others he sees with their hands
beneath the navel. Then as he proceeds further he observes one with his hands
held together just beneath the chest. Following that he catches sight of a
person who seems to be merely standing there. However, when he takes a closer
look, he finds that this person too is engrossed in prayer, but he has not
brought his hands together. instead he has left them at his sides.
It is from situations such as these, where the questions arise, ‘Where exactly
did Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) place his hands whilst standing in
prayer?’ The following discussion will seek to determine the exact
Sunnah method of
keeping the hands whilst in
Qiyaam.
However, before all else it
should be borne in mind that the debate is not
regarding one method being prohibited and another permissible
or Fardh
but, similarly to the issue of Aameen, this one is also
only concerning which is the more preferable method of holding the hands
together whilst in Salaah.
Now moving on to the difference of opinions, it
is worth knowing that there are really two different
disputes here. Firstly. lmaam Malik’s (RA) opinion that one should leave his hands
hanging at the sides of his body whilst in
Qiyaam
and he should not hold the hands together. As
opposed to this other scholars have reached a total agreement that the hands
must be held together and they should not be left loose on the sides.
Stemming from this, the second group then have a conflict of views between them
as to where exactly is the most preferable place for one to grasp his hands.
Should they be held below the navel, beneath the chest or directly upon the
chest? The problem is however, that there are very few
sahih ahadith concerning this
issue and most of the reports which express the different ways of keeping the
hands have all been classified as being either totally weak or with some degree
of defect in their authenticity. Due to the lack of authentic narration on this
subject, it makes the issue slightly more difficult than the other issues of
Salaah. Nonetheless, by
the end of the chapter after sound analysis and reasoning the most preferable
method which could also be designated as the sunnah
one, will become evident.
Opinions of the Ulama in Detail
The first
difference of opinion:
lmaam Malik’s (RA) more popular opinion which is related by
lbnul Qasim (RA) is that the hands should be left hanging at the sides. A secondary
view of his, this time via lbnul Munzir (RA) is that the hands will be joined
together and placed on the body instead. lmaam Abu Hanifah
(RA), Shafi’ee
(RA), Ahmad
(RA)
and
the majority of
Ulama
are of the opinion that the hands should be held together and not left to hang.
lbn Abdil Barr (RA) states.
"There is nothing reported
from
Rasoolullah
(Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam)
which is on the contrary to this
(opinion). and this view is a/so the unanimous one of all the Companions and Tabi’een. The second difference of opinion:
Following this dispute number two
is regarding the exact portion of the body upon which the hands should be
positioned after locking them together. lmaam Abu Hanifah
(RA) and Abu lshaaq Al
Marwazi (RA) from the Shafi’ees assert that to tie the hands together below the navel
is Sunnah. lrnaam
Shafi’ee’s (RA) view is to lock the hands together and
hold them beneath the chest according to the books,
Waseet
and
Kitabul-Umm (books on
Shafi’ee fiqh). This is also Imaam Shafi’ee’s (RA) most popular opinion and the one
followed by his school of thought. A second and more unusual view of his is that
the hands should be situated directly on the chest. This is mentioned in the
book Haawi. As for Imaam
Ahmad, he holds three different opinions: One is similar to that of lmaam Abu
Hanifah
(RA) – lbn Habeerah has said this to be his more popular opinion. The second
opinion is the same as lmaam Shafi’ee’s
(RA)
view and the third is, the
Musalli has a choice between
placing them beneath the navel or on the chest because both of these methods are
derived from ahadith.
The Differences
to be found in the Narrations and their
reasons Ulama state that there are no sahih ahadith which could substantiate lmaam Malik’s opinion of leaving the hands to remain at the sides. Some have stated the reason for him holding that opinion, to be absolute fear, awe and reverence of Almighty Allah; that once a person is stood before Him, he forgets to bring his hands together and they are left to hang at the sides. Whatever the case maybe, they do have a few reports which outline some Sahaahah leaving their hands hanging loose whilst in the standing posture of Salaah. Although these reports are not mentioned here, they can be found in the book Musannaf-Ibn-Abi-Shavbah.
As
opposed to this, there are a number of narrations which establish Rasoolullah
(Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) joining the hands together, although they then vary
as regards to where the hands were exactly placed. One very confused narration
is that of Wa’il Ibn Hujr (RA)
which is found in a number of books. He reports, “I performed Salaah with Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam), (in which) he placed his right hand on the left one. upon his chest.”
This particular report is from S’ahih-Ibn-Khuzamah.
The version mentioned
in Musnad-ul-Bazzar instead of the term. ‘upon his
chest’ has the words. ‘near his chest’ and the one found in
Musannaf-Ibn-Abi-Shavbah
contains the statement. ‘beneath the navel’. The first two reports, apparently
establish the Shafi’ee’s point of view and the third one is in favour of the
Hanafi’s opinion. It should be remembered, however, that all three reports do
contain some type of a weakness or another, therefore, they will all have to
individually undergo an analysis in order to deduce the reasons for the
weaknesses and their levels. Furthermore, can any of the three stand as evidence
or not, will also be determined. Analysis of the First Contradictory Version:
The report of
Wa’il Ibn Hujr (RA)
to be found in
S’ahih-Ibn-Khuzamah which
has these extra words. ‘on his chest’ is probably the weakest of them all. This
is stated due to a number of reasons:
1. Muaminil lbn Ismail reports the extra statement and he is known to be a weak
narrator. He is said to have made a great deal of mistakes in the later part of
his life when he was forced to resort to narrating from his memory due to his
books becoming buried. lmaam Dhahabi (RA) states in
Al-Mizan (on the Authority of Imam Bukhari (RA)). “His hadith are disowned.”
Abu Hatim (RA) informs,
‘He made a
great deal of mistakes.” Abu Zur’ah
(RA) states. “His narrations contain a lot of mistakes.” (ii) This same hadiih. although mentioned in many other books of ahadith, through various chains of narrations does not contain these extra words (on the chest) in any other one of the transmissions. This indicates that the narrations which contain that statement are only narrated through Muammil Ibn Ismail, who has been proven to be dha ‘eef.
Adding to
this. Allamah Nimwi presents the same narration in his book through Abu Daud.
Nasai and lbn Majah. It is also found in the Musnad of Abu Daud At Tayalisi. but
none of them have any transmission which contains these extra words. ‘On the
chest’. (iii) Hafiz Ibn Hajar has confirmed in Fathul-Baari that the link of Muammil Ibn Ismail from Sufvan Thawri is weak. (1)
(iv)
Sufyan Thawri
(who is mentioned in the chain of transmission) held the opinion of placing the
hands beneath the navel thus, when his narration is found to be on the contrary,
it will not be accepted. according to the rules of jurisprudence. (v) All the ahadith of S’ahih-Ibn-Khuzamah are asserted by some to be sahih. but this claim is not entirely true. Allamah Suyuti (RA) has stated in his book, Tadreebur-Rawi, that S’ahih-Ibn-Khuzamah also contains weak and munkar (disowned) reports. Furthermore, lbn Khuzaymah similar to Imaam Tirmizi routine comments on every hadih, designating their level of authenticity but, following this hadith, he does not make any statement whatsoever. Therefore, because lbn Khuzaymah has remained silent regarding this hadith, it will not be classified as sahih due to it merely being part of his book. It is also evident that if it has been sahih it would surely have been designated as such.
(vi) Even if this hadith
be accepted for a moment then we could say, the reason for
Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam)
placing
his hands on his chest was merely to inform the Companions that this method is
also permissible (Bavaanan-lil-Jawaaz).
In no way can one prove from this
hadith that this was also done
by Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) on a permanent basis.
Analysis of the Second Contradictory Version: 2. The second narration which is found in Musnad-ul-Bazzar containing the words. ‘near the chest’ is also weak. This is because it has Muhammad lbn Hajar (2) in its chain of transmission regarding who lmaam Bukhari (RA) says. ‘His matter is unsettled'. lmaam Zahabi (RA) states, 'He has some disowned narrations'. Thus, this version will also be rejected due to being da’eef.
Along with the above hadith.
lmaam Shafi’ee’s opinion is sometimes strengthened by the
narration of Halab which is found in
Musnad-ul-Ahmad,
"Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam)
would turn
towards his right and left side and would place this hand upon his chest." (3)
Allamah Nimwi (RA) has proven with strong evidence that this
hadith contains a written
error. In place of the words ‘on the other hand’, somebody by mistake inserted
the statement. ‘on his chest. Thus, this hadith
will also cease to stand as evidence for them.
Another weak attempt is made to strengthen the Shafi’ee’s point of view, by a hadith mentioned in Bayhaqi. It states that Hadhrat Ali (RA) explaining the meaning of the following verse of the Holy Qur ‘an, “Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and Sacrifice (to Him only) (4), placed his right hand on the middle of his left one then placed them on his chest, as though indicating that the tafseer of the verse was to locate the hands in this manner. (5)“
However. Allamah Maardini
(RA) in his book
Al-.Jawharun-Naqi, establishes that the transmission
and of the narration text are inconsistent. Imaam
Bayhaqi (RA)
narrates the same
hadith from lbn Abbas
(RA) as
well and in that chain there is Rawh lbnul Musayyib
regarding who lbn Hibban (RA) says,
“He narrates fabrications, it is not
permissible to narrate from him“. Allamah Sa’aati
(RA) writes. “It is not correct to link this tafseer to
Ali (RA) or lbn Abbas (RA) but as Ibn Kathir has stated, ‘The correct tafseer of
the verse is that it is regarding the Sacrifice (Ourhani).“ (6)
Up until now two narrations have been analyzed and they have both been found to
be defective. Besides these, there are also others which contradict the Hanafi
‘s point of view. Thus, a general answer and reason for any apparently
contradicting ahadith is
that it is acceptable that Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam)
did
one at time or another place his hands on his chest or below it. However, the
Hanafis assert that the hands were only placed in that manner to announce that
methods permissibility (Bavaanan-lil-Jawaaz).
The
normal and routine method of Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) however, was
to place them below the navel (as will be understood in due course). Evidence from Ahadith:
After analyzing and thoroughly answering the contradictory
ahadith, those
narrations are reviewed which are in harmony to the view of the Hanafis
1.
Wa’il Ibn Hujr (RA) narrates.
“I saw
Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam)
placing
his right hand in the left one below the navel, in prayer” (7)
However. it is stated in Fathul-Mulhim
which quotes from
Aatharus-Sunan that Allamah Qasirn lbn Qutlubgah
(RA) has
established that this particular version has a good transmission. Allamah
Muhammad Abut Tayvib Al-Madani (RA) writes in his commentary of
Tirmizi, that this
hadith is strong as regards to
its transmission and Sheikh Abid Sindhi (RA) confirms.
”Its narrators are trustworthy”. Whatever the case
may be the weaknesses of the hadith
will not render it totally unacceptable because there are
many other reports which supplement and strengthen
it as will follow.
2. Hadhrat Ali (RA) states,
”To place
one palm over the other beneath the navel is from the sunnah of salaah.“8
It is a known fact that whenever a
Sahaahi utters the words. ‘It is from the
sunnah.’ They mean it is being
directly reported from
Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) himself. However, the
hadith does contain Abdur
Rahman lbn Ishaaq in its chain of transmission who is classified as weak but the
narration will be still accepted as supplementary evidence, because there are
also other reports which reinforce it.
3. Hajjaj lbn Hassan informs,
“Either I heard Abu
Mijlaz saying or 1 asked him, ‘How should one place his hands (‘during salaah)?’
He replied, ‘He should place the inner portion of his right palm on the back of’
the left hand beneath the navel. (9)
The
transmission of the
hadith
is
hasan
as Allamah Al
Maardini
(RA)
states in his book
Al-.Jawharun-Naqi.
4.
Ibraheem Nakh’ay
(RA)
informs,
“One will
place his right hand on the left beneath the navel, whilst in salaah. (10)
The
transmission of this
hadith
is also
hasan.
5. Abu
Hurayrah
(RA)
narrates,
“The placing of
one hand over the other in salaah is beneath the navel“ (11)
6. Anas
(RA)
reports that there are three actions from the good qualities
of Nubuwwah:
to open
fast early, to delay the
Sahri
and to place
the right hand over the left beneath the navel whilst in
salaah.(12) The Concept Explained Through Other Reasons:
Ulama
have
given various reasons as to
why
the hands are best placed beneath the navel and why this method is
classified as
sunnah and
the most preferable. They are as follows:
1. Although the
ahadith
of all parties
involved in the dispute detailed above,
have
some amount of weakness. the narrations used by the
Hanafis have relatively received a lesser amount of criticism from the rest due
to this reason, they will acquire greater approval.
2. lbn Humaam states in his book
Futhul-Qadeer. “Due to the inconsistency and contradictions found between the
various narrations, It is best to resort to analogy
and
reasoning. Standing before the Lord demands a pose which is filled with respect
and reverence. To locate the hands beneath the navel is probably the most
respectful form of standing, hence the placing of the hands beneath the navel
will be deemed superior. On the other hand, the reason for women being advised
to place their hands on their chest, is due to the greater adherence of purdah
achieved by it.
3. It
states in the book
Avni. ‘‘To
join
the hands’ beneath the navel has great benefits: it is a posture which signifies
a greater amount of respect, it holds a greater contrast to the postures of
the
disbelievers. He also says, “This is the exact posture in which one stands
before the rulers (‘of this world).
“He then
further states, By placing the hands on the
chest, it creates a similarity with women, thus, that cannot be classified as
being the sunnah for men.’
(13)
Conclusion:
1.
Fathul Baari
206 *
2.
Majma-uz-Zawaa’id 135:2
3.
Aathaar-us-Sunan
87
4.
Al-Qaur’aan
2:108
5.
Bayhaqi 30:2
6.
Al Fathur
Rabbani 174:3
7.
Aathaar-us-Sunan
90
8.
Bayhaqi 312
Ibn Abi Shayhbah 391:1
9.
Al Jawahurun
Naqi 31:2
10.
Ibn Abi
Shayhbah 390:1
11.
Al Jawaharun
Naqi 31:2
12.
Al Jawaharun
Naqi 31:2
13.
Ayni 16:3
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