The scholarly disagreement:
The majority of scholars regard it as recommended to place the right hand over the left, positioning them either on the chest or below the navel, as mentioned earlier. They disagreed, however, about maintaining this clasp after rising from rukuʿ and standing upright.
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Some held that it is recommended to clasp the hands and rest them on the chest after rising, just as one does while standing before rukuʿ.
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The larger body of scholars—including the four Imams and their followers—state that the hands should be allowed to hang at the sides; clasping them on the chest or below the navel at that point is not sunnah, for this posture pertains only to the standing that precedes rukuʿ.
Evidence cited by the first group:
• Al-Bukhari recorded (707) from Sahl ibn Saʿd: “People used to be instructed that a man should place his right hand on his left forearm during the prayer.”
• Abu Dawud, al-Nasaʾi, and Ibn Khuzaymah—who authenticated it—narrated from Waʾil ibn Hujr: “I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, and he placed his right hand over his left on his chest.” The version in Muslim omits the words “on his chest.”
Both authentic hadiths, they argue, apply to the standing posture in general—whether before or after rukuʿ—so whoever differentiates between the two standings must bring proof.
Furthermore, this posture reflects the attitude of a humble, imploring servant standing before Allah Most High, and it is fitting to exhibit it in prayer.
The majority, who do not consider this posture recommended after rising from rukuʿ, reply that the two hadiths concern only the standing that comes before rukuʿ. As for the standing that follows rukuʿ, nothing at all has been reported; had there been any basis for it, it would have been transmitted to us—if only through a single chain. The silence of those who described the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer indicates that placing one hand over the other on the chest after rukuʿ is supported by no report, whether sound or weak.