from one’s sides. It will then become unmistakably clear that, in actual practice, this can only be achieved by receiving the ground with the hands, not the knees. In this lies another proof for the weakness of the ḥadith of Wāʾil… and Allah alone is the Guide.

He says: “As for the manner of rising from prostration when standing for the second rakʿah, this too is a point of disagreement. The majority hold that the worshipper should first lift his hands and then his knees, while others begin by lifting the knees before the hands.”

I say: the correct position is the second. It rests on the ḥadith of Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith, who used to say, “Shall I not relate to you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ?” He would then pray outside its appointed time; when he raised his head from the second prostration of the first rakʿah he sat upright, then rose, supporting himself on the ground.

Al-Bukhārī and al-Shāfiʿī in al-Umm recorded it—the wording is that of al-Shāfiʿī. The report states explicitly that the Prophet, ﷺ, supported himself on the ground with his hands, and this is also the view of al-Shāfiʿī. Al-Bayhaqī said:

“We have likewise transmitted from Ibn ʿUmar that he would lean on his hands when rising, and the same was done by al-Ḥasan and several other Successors.”

I add: al-Bayhaqī related the ḥadith of Ibn ʿUmar with a good chain, both mawqūf and marfūʿ, as I clarified in al-Daʿīfa under ḥadith 967 and in Ṣifat al-Ṣalāh; its wording will appear shortly, if Allah wills.

Abū Isḥāq al-Ḥarbī also transmitted it with a sound chain, traced back to the Prophet, through al-Azraq ibn Qays: “I saw Ibn ʿUmar kneading in the prayer—that is, pressing on his hands when he stood up. I asked him about it, and he replied, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, doing it.’” This is a rare report, as I mentioned there; none of the early or later compilers cited it until the annotator of al-Zād plagiarized it, reproducing it word for word from al-Ṣifah, puffed up with knowledge he had not earned—and he has many such instances in