and that we place our right hands upon our left hands during the prayer. Talha is weak; he is Talha ibn Amr al-Hadrami. Nevertheless, he is followed by Amr ibn al-Harith in Sahih Ibn Hibban and elsewhere, as will be shown below. In short, the report that affirms wadh (laying one hand on the other) is sound, and the report that affirms qabdh (grasping) is likewise established. Whoever prays using either form has acted in accordance with the sunnah; it is preferable to practise this form at times and the other form at other times. As for combining wadh and qabdh in the single posture commended by some later Hanafi scholars, that is an innovation. Its description—as they put it—is to place the right hand on the left, seize the left wrist with the little finger and thumb, and extend the other three fingers; see Hashiyat Ibn Abidin ‘ala al-Durr (1/454). Do not be misled by the endorsement of certain late scholars. (1) His phrase “upon the chest” is what is authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ, and nothing else is proven. There are several hadiths: The first: from Wail ibn Hujr, who saw the Prophet ﷺ place his right hand on his left, then rest them both upon his chest. It was narrated by Abu Shaykh in Tarikh Isbahan (p. 125) and by al-Bayhaqi through Muammal ibn Ismail—al-Thawri—from Asim ibn Kulayb—from his father—from Wail. All the narrators are trustworthy, except that Muammal ibn Ismail is criticised for poor memory; al-Taqrib describes him as “truthful but of weak retention.” Al-Bayhaqi also transmitted it through another chain from Wail. (1) See Ahkam al-Janayiz, p. 118.