and Sallām ibn Sulaym, as recorded by al-Ṭayālisī (1020). Following his citation of the aforementioned report of Abū al-Aḥwaṣ, al-Ṭaḥāwī said: “This indicates that it was at the end of the prayer.”

I say: This is stated explicitly in the report of Abū ʿAwānah mentioned earlier, for he said: “Then he prostrated, placing his head between his palms; then he prayed another rakʿah; then he sat, placing his left foot flat, then supplicated, placing his left palm upon his left knee and his right palm upon his right knee, and supplicated with his index finger.” Its chain of transmission is authentic.

Similar is the report of Sufyān—namely Ibn ʿUyaynah—with the wording: “When he sat in the two rakʿahs, he laid his left foot flat and kept his right foot upright, placed his right hand upon his right thigh, and raised his finger for supplication; and he placed his left hand upon his left leg.” Al-Nasāʾī recorded it (1/173) with an authentic chain of transmission, and al-Ḥumaydī (885) recorded a similar version.

I say: Thus, this authentic report makes clear that moving, or gesturing with, the finger is only during the tashahhud sitting, and that the unrestricted reference to sitting in some reports is restricted to the tashahhud sitting. This is what reconciling the reports requires, as does the rule—established in the principles of jurisprudence—of construing the unrestricted wording in light of the restricted. Therefore, as far as I know, none of the early generations held that one should gesture unrestrictedly during the prayer, or during every sitting within it. The same may be said of placing the hands upon the chest: it is only done during the standing before bowing, in application of the aforementioned rule.

If someone were to say: ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated from al-Thawrī, from ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb, through his aforementioned chain from Wāʾil ... and mentioned the hadith and the placing of the left foot flat in his sitting, saying: “Then he gestured with his index finger, placed his thumb upon his middle finger, forming a circle with it, and folded his remaining fingers; then...”