and of the lowly, self-effacing servant standing before his Lord, exalted be He. The worshiper should keep these meanings present within himself.
- The hadith under discussion is sound. It was transmitted by Imām Aḥmad and declared authentic by al-Nawawī and Ibn al-Qayyim. In a wording recorded by Aḥmad (22342) and al-Bukhārī (707), Sahl ibn Saʿd said: “People used to be instructed that a man should place his right hand on his left forearm during the prayer.”
Abū Ḥātim remarked, “I know of no source for this except that it is ultimately attributed to the Prophet ﷺ.”
Ibn Ḥajar said, “The report of Sahl carries the ruling of a marfūʿ narration, for it is assumed that the one who commanded them to do so was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
- This is countered by what was narrated by Aḥmad (877) and Abū Dāwūd (756) from ʿAlī, who said: “Part of the sunnah is to place one palm over the other beneath the navel.” The scholars, however, have judged this report weak, for all of its transmission routes revolve around ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Wāsiṭī.
Aḥmad said, “His ḥadith is munkar.” Ibn Ḥuṣayn said, “It is nothing.” Ibn Maʿīn said, “It is nothing.” Al-Bukhārī commented, “Questionable.” Al-Bayhaqī declared, “Abandoned,” and al-Nawawī stated, “It is weak by unanimous agreement.”
They concluded, “The most authentic report in this chapter is the ḥadith of Waʾil ibn Ḥujr.”
Even though that ḥadith is weak, it is nevertheless the practice of the Ḥanafīs and Ḥanbalīs. As for the Shāfiʿīs, al-Nawawī said: “He places the hands below the chest and above the navel; this is our well-known position, and it is held by the majority.”
I say: The stronger view, based on the evidence, is to place the hands on the chest, for its reports are authentic, and this is the practice adopted by the scholars of ḥadith.