360 – ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “I saw the Prophet ﷺ praying mutaribbiʿan (sitting cross-legged).” It was narrated by al-Nasāʾī and declared authentic by al-Ḥākim (1).
— Degree of the hadith:
The report is sound. It was authenticated by al-Ḥākim, Ibn Ḥibbān (6/257), and Ibn Khuzaymah (2/236). It was also recorded by al-Dāraqutnī (1/397) and by al-Nasāʾī, who remarked: “I know of no one who related it except Abū Dāwūd al-Ḥaffarī, and he is trustworthy, though I think he made a mistake.” Ibn Ḥajar responded: “Ibn Khuzaymah and al-Bayhaqī transmitted it through Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Aṣbahānī as a corroboration of Abū Dāwūd, which shows that there is no error in it.” Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī added: “Abū Dāwūd al-Ḥaffarī was corroborated by Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Aṣbahānī, and he is reliable.” The hadith also has supporting chains from Anas and ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, reported by al-Bayhaqī.
— Vocabulary:
mutaribbiʿan: a posture in which a person tucks both feet beneath the thighs, sitting cross-legged.
— Points derived from the hadith:
- Praying while seated is permissible. In obligatory prayers this is allowed only when one cannot stand or finds standing excessively hard. In supererogatory prayers it is permitted even for someone able to stand, though without an excuse the reward is half that of the standing worshipper, whereas with an excuse the reward is complete, God willing.
- One may adopt any of the legislated sitting postures during the prayer,