Indexed OCR Text

Raising the Hands for Ruku
One version of this narration adds: "only once" (i.e. he would raise
them only once), and another adds: "then he would not raise them
again until completing the prayer" (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 1:236,
Sunan Abi Dawud 1:109 U).
This further clarifies that the Messenger of Allah & only raised his
hands at the beginning of the salat. Like these narrations, there are
countless others which inform us that the hands were not regularly
raised beyond the first takbir. For those seeking further clarification,
additional narrations and commentary can be found in the following
books: Nasb al-raya of'Allama Zayla'i, 2:389-416, Awjaz al-masalik of
Shaykh Zakariyya Khandelwi 1:202-210, and I'la' al-sunan of Shaykh
Zafar 'Uthmani 3:43-72.
THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS ON THIS ISSUE
1. Aswad reports:
I performed prayer with 'Umar , and he raised his hands only when
beginning the prayer" (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 1:237).
2. "Abd al-Malik states:
I observed that Sha'bi, Ibrahim al-Nakh'ay, and Abu Ishaq did not raise
their hands except at the beginning of the prayer" (Musannaf Ibn Abi
Shayba 1:237).
3. 'Asim ibn Kulayb reports from his father, who was a companion
of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib 4%, that
'Ali « would raise his hands only at the initial takbir when beginning
his prayer; thereafter, he would not raise them again at any other place
in the prayer (Muwatta Imam Muhammad 94, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba
1:236).
4. Ibrahim al-Nakh'ay reports that
'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud de would raise his hands at the beginning of the
prayer, then would not raise them again (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba
1:236).
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FIQH AL-IMAM
5. Mujahid reports:
I did not see 'Umar 4% raise his hands except at the beginning of prayer
(Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 1:236).
The narrators of this hadith are those from whom Imam Bukhari has
related in his Kitab al-tafsir \see Sabih al-Bukhari 2:725].
6. Imam Malik reports that
Na'im ibn 'Abdillah al-Mujmir and Abu Ja'far al-Qari informed him that
Abu Hurayra 4 would lead them in prayer. He would say the takbir
every time he moved from one posture to another, and would raise his
hands when saying the takbir at the beginning of the prayer (Muwatta
Imam Muhammad 90).
7. Abu Ishaq reports that
the companions of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Ali & would not raise
their hands except at the beginning of prayer. Waki' confirms that they
[the companions] would not raise them thereafter (Musannaf Ibn Abi
Shayba 1:236).
8. Isma'il reports that
Qays would raise his hands when entering into prayer, after which he
would not raise them [again] (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 1:236).
The narrator Qays has the honor of transmitting from all ten of the
Companions who were given glad tidings of Paradise by the Messenger
of Allah 4 in one sitting [ 'ashara mubashshara].
9. It is reported from Aswad and 'Alqama that
they would raise their hands when beginning the prayer, after which they
would not raise them again (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 1:237).
10. Sufyan ibn Muslim al-Juhani reports that
Ibn Abi Layla would raise his hands at the beginning [of prayer] when
saying the takbir.
11. It is reported from Khaythama and Ibrahim al-Nakh'ay that they

Raising the Hands for Ruku
would only raise their hands at the beginning of prayer (Musannaf
Ibn Abi Shayba 1:236).
12. It is reported regarding Sha'bi that he would raise his hands at
the initial takbir [only], then would not do so again (Musannaf Ibn
Abi Shayba 1:236).
3. Abu Bakr ibn 'Ayash reports:
I have never seen a jurist do such a thing, l.e. raising the hands at any
point other than at the initial takbir (Sharh Ma'ani 'I-athar 1:228).
Here are the likes of Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn 'Umar,
Abu Hurayra, and many other Companions , followed by Sha'bi,
Ibrahim al-Nakh'ay, Abu Ishaq, Qays, Aswad, 'Alqama, and Ibn Abi
Layla, all from the Followers they were reported to have not raised
their hands except at the initial takbir. It is quite clear that they would
not have omitted the "raising of the hands" at the time of bowing,
had it been the regular practice of the Messenger of Allah ,
OTHER REASONS FOR NOT RAISING THE HANDS
(0) Not raising the hands beyond the opening takbir is most in con-
formance with the Holy Qur'an. Allah % says,
"Successful indeed are the believers, those who humble themselves
[khashi un] in their prayers" (al-Qur'an 23:2).
The word khushu' means humility and humbleness. Similarly, in
another verse Allah % says,
"Stand before Allah in a devout frame of mind [ganitin]" (al-Qur'an
2:238).
From these verses, it is understood that both humility and calmness
are required in salat. The Messenger # prohibited the raising of the
hands during prayer (as in hadith 8, p. 106) because it interfered with
the maintenance of humility and calmness in it. Not raising the hands
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FIQH AL-IMAM
so frequently will help achieve the peace, tranquillity, and devotion
encouraged by Allah de in the Qur'an.
Furthermore, according to the principles of hadith [usul al-hadith],
when some hadiths are in apparent conflict with others- as in this
case-those most in conformance with the Qur'an will be regarded
as more superior.
(2) Raising the hands at the opening takbir is a sunna by consensus,
and raising them before and after bowing is where the difference of
opinion lies. Raising the hands beyond these two instances is unani-
mously viewed as not being sunna. Now let us determine whether the
takbir at the time of descending into ruku and the tasmi [sami allahu
liman hamidah] when returning from it, are similar to the opening
takbir or to the takbirs at other instances in the prayer.
They are not similar to the opening takbir because the opening
takbir is an integral [rukn] of salat, whereas the takbir and the tasmi
for ruku' are sunna. The takbirs at all other instances in the prayer,
however, are also sunna and the hands are not raised when saying
them. Since the takbir and tasmi when bowing resemble these other
takbirs in their being sunna, it should follow that the hands should
not be raised at the time of bowing either, as they are not raised for
these other takbirs.
(3) Since there are two types of hadiths found-those which state the
hands were raised when bowing and those which stare on the con-
trary-it is important to find out which practice abrogated the other,
Whenever an abrogation [naskh] occurred regarding any particular
action of prayer, it was always regarding an action that was initially
commanded and practised. Nonexistent practices were not abrogated.
For instance, in the earlier period of Islam, it was permissible to talk
and move around during prayer. Both of these actions were later
prohibited and no longer remain valid. This is what abrogation is;
when a practice is cancelled after having been existent.
We cannot say that something which was never practised to begin
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Raising the Hands for Ruki
with, became abrogated by an injunction commanding its perfor-
mance. That would just be considered a new command. Similarly.
it should be understood here that raising the hands at the time of
bowing, while being initially allowed, was later abrogated, just as the
Hanafis have said.
(4) The narrations on this issue are of two types. There are those
which outline the method of the Messenger's # prayer and whether
he raised his hands or not. Many differences are found in these nar-
rations. Some state that the Messenger raised his hands at every
takbir, whereas others state that he raised them for the initial takbir
only and so forth.
The second type of narrations are those in which the Messenger
issues direct commands about raising the hands in prayer. Unlike the
first category, there is no confusion or inconsistency found in these
narrations. They all mention that the Messenger $ prohibited the
raising of the hands in prayer. For instance, hadith 8 above (p. 106)
clearly prohibits the raising of the hands while engrossed in prayer.
According to the principles of hadith [usul al-hadith], the narrations
which contradict each other will be rejected, and those which are
consistent will be accepted. Hence, since the hadiths of the second
category are very consistent in their prohibition of raising the hands,
they will be preferred over the first category, which are inconsistent.
(5) The narrators of the hadiths who, like 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ,
mention the Messenger is raising his hands at the time of bowing,
have themselves been reported to have not raised their hands. However,
the primary narrator of the hadiths which mention the Messenger
as having not raised his hands, is 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud +. He has
not been reported to have adopted any method besides what is men-
tioned in his narrations. This means that ibn Mas ud's hadiths hold
a stronger position in this issue, since, according to the principles of
hadith [usul al-hadith], the narrations of a narrator whose personal
practice contradicts his narrations are usually not accepted.
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FIQH AL-IMAM
(6) Those who narrated that the hands were not raised, were higher
ranking jurists (fugaha'] than those who narrated that it was a constant
practice, For instance, it is well known that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
was a greater jurist than 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ; and Ibn Mas'ud's
students, 'Algama and Aswad, were greater jurists than Nafi', who
reported from Ibn 'Umar $. Hence, according to the principles of
hadith [usul al-hadith], the narrations of Ibn Mas ud , Algama, and
Aswad on this issue are preferred over the narrations of Ibn 'Umar
and his students, due to their status in jurisprudence (fiqh].
(7) Since Ibn Mas'ud de was older than Ibn 'Umar A, he had more
opportunity to stand in the first row closer to the Messenger #8, giv-
ing him a closer view of the Messenger's prayer. Ibn 'Umar $, due
to his young age, would not stand in the front rows. Hence, Ibn
Mas ud's % narrations will be regarded as stronger than Ibn 'Umar's
in this issue.
Besides this, Ibn Mas'ud 46 enjoyed a very close relationship with
the Messenger . "Allama Dhahabi, describing the status of Ibn
Mas'ud , writes:
'Abdullah ibn Masud 40, the learned leader [al-imam al-rabbani], Abu
Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah ibn Ummi 'Abd al-Hudhali; Companion and
personal servant of the Messenger 5; among the first to embrace Islam;
among the veterans of the battle of Badr; among the expert jurists and
teachers of the Qur'an; among those who strove to convey [the words of
the Messenger a] very accurately; extremely scrupulous in [his] narra-
tions; and one who would admonish his students upon their negligence
in recording the exact words [of the Messenger @] .... [Due to extreme
caution] he would narrate very little [himself] .... His students would
not give preference to any Companion over him .... Surely he was from
among the leading Companions, the bearers of sacred knowledge, and
the exemplars [d'imma] of guidance (Tadhkirat al-huffaz).
Imam Tahawi relates a very interesting incident:
Mughira ibn Muqsim reports, "I mentioned to Ibrahim al-Nakh'ay the
hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr &s regarding the Messenger of Allah & raising
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Raising the Hands for Ruku'
his hands before and after bowing." Ibrahim said, "If Wa'il has seen the
Messenger a raising his hands once, then Ibn Mas'ud do has seen him
fifty times not raising them" (Sharh Ma'ani 'I-athar).
'Urwa ibn Murra stated:
When I entered the masjid [mosque] of Hadhramaut, I heard Algama
ibn Wa'il narrate from his father that the Messenger @ would raise his
hands before and after the bowing posture. I mentioned this to Ibrahim
al-Nakh'ay, who responded angrily, "Is Wa'il ibn Hujr the only one to
have seen the Messenger ? Did not Ibn Mas'ud de and his companions
also see him?" (Muwatta Imam Muhammad 92).
(8) One other reason for not raising the hands at the time of bowing
is that we find all of the various invocations of prayer accompanied
by a specific body motion. For instance, there is takbir before bowing
and tasmi when returning from it, and likewise, when descending
into the prostration there is a takbir. Since there was no accompany-
ing body motion for the beginning and ending of prayer, raising the
hands was allocated for the opening takbir, and the turning of the
head for taslim [salams]. Now, if the hands are also to be raised at
the time of bowing, then the takbir and tasmi' at that time will be
accompanied by two actions (i.e. bowing down and raising the hands)
and in turn contradict the standard of having only one motion for
every invocation.
CONCLUSION
The hadiths, which mention that the hands were raised at the time
of bowing, do not constitute sufficient evidence to establish that the
raising of the hands remained a permanent practice of the Messenger
bs. Therefore, raising the hands before and after bowing cannot be
called a sunna mustamirra, or "a permanent or continuous practice
of the Messenger $1," due to the many authentic narrations which
state that the hands were never raised after the opening takbir. The
practice of the rightly guided Caliphs [Khulafa' rashidun] and many
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FIQH AL-IMAM
of the prominent Companions was also to not raise them, and hadith
8 (p. 106) actually prohibits raising them. All of these points indicate
that raising the hands when bowing is a sunna matruka, or "an earlier
practice of Allah's Messenger # which he later abandoned;" hence,
it would be sunna and more preferable not to raise the hands before
and after bowing.
To expound further, the Hanafis do acknowledge that the
Messenger # raised his hands at the various instances in the salat that
are outlined in the hadiths; however, they recognize this as a temporary
practice. It was only at the time of the opening takbir that he raised
them regularly. Not a single narration is found from those presented
by group one which establishes that the hands were raised by the
Messenger 5 on a permanent basis before and after bowing.
One narration of Ibn 'Umar , which is sometimes mentioned,
ends with the words, "Thus, this remained the practice of Allah's
Messenger # in prayer until he met with Allah ." This narration
however is either extremely weak or fabricated due to it containing
'Isma ibn Muhammad in its chain of narrators. This narrator has been
described as follows: (a) Yahya ibn Ma'in calls him a "flagrant liar
[kadbdhab] who fabricates hadiths;" (b) 'Uqayli states, "He narrates
nonsense from reliable narrators" (Mizan al-i'tidal 3:68); (c) Ibn 'Adi
states, "None of his narrations are free from defect" (Mizan al-i'tidal
2:582).
It also contains another narrator, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Quraysh,
who has also been criticized and called a fabricator (Mizan al-i'tidal
2:582).
Hence, all the hadiths which have been brought forth as evidence
by group one, only mention that the Messenger # raised his hands
at the time of bowing, just as some hadiths also explain that he raised
them at various other instances as well. None of these hadiths, however,
state that these additional raises were a constant and lifelong practice
of the Messenger 8.
II6

6
Sitting in Prayer: Tawarruk or Iftirash?
ONE OTHER ISSUE that has become quite popular today is that of deter-
mining the exact way one should sit in the qa'da or "sitting posture"
of prayer. The abundant treasures of hadiths outline two different
methods the Messenger of Allah # used for his sitting posture. Some
hadiths indicate that the Messenger # sat in the tawarruk position,
and other hadiths indicate that he sat in the iftirash position. Hence,
we could gauge from this that the Messenger of Allah # at one time
or another during his blessed life sat in both of these positions.
The tawarruk position is when a person sits with the left posterior
on the ground; his right foot placed vertically with toes pointing
towards the gibla; and the left foot on its side emerging from under
the right foot.
Slightly different is the iftirash position, which is to place the left
foot on its side and to sit on it; and to keep the right foot vertical, while
resting on the bottom of the toes, turning them toward the qibla.
THE VARIOUS OPINIONS
According to the Hanafis, the more superior and preferred method
is that a person use the iftirash position in all sittings of the prayer.
However, though it is not the preferred method, it would be

FIQH AL-IMAM
permissible, in light of rigorously authenticated [sabib] hadiths, to
sit in the tawarruk position as well.
Another group of scholars states that it is more preferable for a
person to use the tawarruk position in all the sittings of the prayer. A
third group states it is more preferable to use the iftirash position in
the first sitting and tawarruk in the "final" one. This means that while
performing a two rak'a salat with one sitting at the end, a person will
use the tawarruk position in that sitting, since it is the "final" one.
"The view of the fourth group is slightly different from this, in that a
person will use the iftirash position in the "first" sitting of every prayer
and tawarruk in the second. This means that a person performing a
two rak'a prayer with only one sitting, will sit in the iftirash position
for that sitting, since it is the "first" one; and if the salat is a three
or four rak'a one, then he will sit in the iftirash position for the first
sitting and tawarrak in the second sitting.
The difference of opinion on this issue, however, is not a very serious
one, as it is about determining which of the two valid and permis-
sible actions is more preferable. The following section will outline
the reasons why the Hanafi school has given preference to the iftirash
position, and it will also seek to clarify precisely when and why the
Messenger # used tawarruk.
THE HADITHS ON IFTIRASH
The Hanafis state that the Messenger , for the greater part of his
life, sat in the iftirash position for all sittings of his prayer, and Imam
Tirmidhi has stated it to be the practice of the majority of scholars.
As for the few times the Messenger a did do tawarruk-as some
narrations state- it was either due to his weakness and not being
able to sit in iftirash in the latter part of his life, or it was merely to
inform the Companions of its permissibility [bayanan li 'l-jawaz], The
following hadiths mention the Messenger's # use of iftirash while
sitting in the salat.
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Tawarruk or Iftirash
I. 'A'isha % said,
The Messenger of Allah @s would spread his left foot and keep the right
one standing (Sabih Muslim 1:195).
2. 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar & states in his narration:
It is a sunna of prayer that you keep your right foot standing and fold
the left one (Sahih al-Bukhari 1:114).
The following hadiths will further clarify the posture illustrated in
the above two narrations.
3. Ibn 'Umar + narrates that
among the sunnats of prayer is that you keep the right foot standing with
the toes pointed towards the gibla, and [that you] sit on the left foot
(Sunan al-Nasa'i 1:173).
4. Wa'il ibn Hujr 46 said,
I came to Madina to observe the Messenger of Allah's 2% prayer. When he
sat for tashabbud, he spread his left foot and kept the right one standing
(Sunan al-Tirmidbi 1:65).
Imam Tirmidhi reports this to be a rigorously authenticated [sahib]
hadith, and then states that this was the practice of the majority of the
learned scholars and is the view of Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mubarak,
and the people of Kufa.
All of these hadiths speak of the iftirash position being generally
used by the Messenger #8, and do not imply that he sat in any other
position. This means it was a common practice for him to sit in the
iftirash position. One objection raised here by the second group
(mentioned above) is that these hadiths only refer to the sitting
posture of the first sitting and not the second. Hence, according to
them, a person should only sit in iftirash in the first sitting and use
mwarrak in the second sitting. This objection however is not a valid
one, because of Wa'il ibn Hujr's % above statement:
I came to Madina [especially] to observe the Messenger's prayer.
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FIQH AL-IMAM
This means that his main purpose of visiting the Messenger of Allah
was to observe how he prayed. So, for Wa'il ibn Hujr 4% to specifically
mention iftirash as the only sitting posture used by the Messenger
, and not mention any other sitting method, informs us that this
Companion only observed the Messenger 36 using iftirash in all the
sittings of the prayer.
5. Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi said,
1 ... ] then, when he [the Messenger @] sat for rashabbud, he spread his
left foot and raised the right one on its toes, and recited the tashabhud
(Sharh Ma'ani 'I-athar 1:260).
Abu Humayd has related this hadith in a totally general context as
well, and does not mention whether or not this posture is restricted
to the first sitting only:
6. One narration of Abu Wa'il states:
When he [the Messenger >] sat for tashabbud, he spread his left foot
and sat on it, then began to supplicate raising his index finger (Sharh
Ma'ani 'l-atbar 1:259).
This hadith describes the Messenger # to be sitting in iftirash while
making the supplication after tashahhud. Therefore, since it is quite
obvious that the supplication [du'a'] is usually made in the final sit-
ting of the prayer, it has also been concluded from this hadith that
the Messenger @ used iftirash in the final sitting.
7. Ibrahim narrates that
when the Messenger # would sit during his prayer, he would spread his
left foot, until the above surface of the foot had become dark [through
sitting constantly in this position] (Sunan Abi Dawud).
8. Samura said,
The Messenger a forbade sitting on the ground with the knees drawn
up [iq 'a'] and tawarruk (Sunan al-Bayhagi, al-Mustadrak).
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Tawarruk or Iftirash
From all of the above hadiths, we can infer that the Messenger of
Allah ss mostly sat in the iftirash position, which clearly indicates that
it is sunna and therefore the preferred posture for sitting.
Some scholars have stated one other reason for the preference of
iftirash over tawarruk. They say iftirash is slightly more difficult than
tawarruk, and the more difficult a form of worship is the more reward
it entails. 'A'isha & relates that the Messenger of Allah 4% said,
The reward is in proportion to the hardship [you undertake] (Sahih al-
Bukhari, Muslim).
It was mentioned at the beginning of this chapter that accord-
ing to some narrations, the Messenger # also sat in tawarruk. The
following section deals with the hadiths on tawarruk and provides
insight into the reasons why the Messenger $ sometimes sat in this
position, even though his usual practice was of iftirash. The Hanafi
scholars have offered many explanations as to why he sometimes sat
in tawarruk.
THE HADITHS ON TAWARRUK
1. It is narrated from Yahya ibn Sa'id that
Qasim ibn Muhammad demonstrated for them the method of sitting [in
prayer]. He raised the right foot and spread the left one, then sat with his
left posterior [on the ground] and did not sit on his foot. He then said,
"Abdullah, son of Abdullah ibn 'Umar &, demonstrated it this way for
me and informed me that his father, Ibn "Umar &, would [also] sit in
this fashion" (Sharb Ma'ani 'I-athar 257).
This hadith is used as evidence by those who claim that the Messenger
generally sat in the tawarruk position, and by it they also attempt
to prove the superiority of this position. However, we will discover
that their claim is weak for a number of reasons:
() Ibn 'Umar & sat in tawarruk (as in the above hadith) only because
he was experiencing some weakness in his legs and was unable to sit
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FIQH AL-IMAM
in iftirash. It is reported that he would sometimes sit in the tarabbu,
or cross-legged, posture as well, but would forbid others from doing
so. The following narration of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar & explains this
in more detail:
Abdullah, son of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar &, would observe his father sitting
cross-legged in prayer, He states, "I also [once] sat in that position while I
was still young, but my father forbade me saying, 'It is a sunna of prayer
that you raise your right foot and spread the left one.' I remarked to him,
'You sir in that position [i.e. cross-legged],' so he replied, 'My legs do not
support me"" (Sharb Ma'ani 'I-athar 257-258, Sabih al-Bukhari).
This hadith clearly establishes that according to Ibn 'Umar , the
sunna and preferred way of sitting is in the iftirash position. It was only
due to weakness in his legs that Ibn "Umar & could not sit that way
and eventually resorted to sitting in tawarruk and, at times, in tarabby'
[cross-legged]. We can conclude from this that both the tarabbi and
tawarruk positions are secondary and alternative positions that are
used only when there is difficulty with sitting in iftirash.
(b) One other reason why this hadith is unable to stand as evidence
against the narrations presented by the Hanafis, is because it is a mere
description of somebody's action [hadith fili]. The Hanafis, on the
other hand, have narrations containing verbal commands [ahadith
qawliyya] for iftirash [see hadith 2 and 3 above]; and a verbal command,
according to one of the principles of hadith [usul al-hadith], takes
precedence over a narration which describes only an action.
2. Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi $ said,
When the Messenger # reached the final sitting [raka], in which the
prayer was to be completed, he spread his left foot and sat [leaning] on
one side, in tawarruk (Sunan al-Tirmidbi 1:67).
This is another hadith used by those who claim that tawarrak should
be used in the final sitting. The Hanafis have explained the implica-
tions of this hadith as follows:
I22

Tawarruk or Iftirash
(a) This was the posture adopted by the Messenger # in his final days
when it became too difficult for him to sit in iftirash. The Messenger
himself mentioned in some narrations that he "had become heavy"
due to advanced age.
(b) Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi, the narrator of the hadith, has also nar-
rated on another occasion that the Messenger of Allah # sat in iftirash
only (see hadith 5 above]. Hence, both of his narrations could be rec-
onciled by stating that his first narration describes the Messenger's
regular posture, while this one highlights the Messenger's @ practice
in his final years.
(c) Another reason why the Messenger # occasionally sat in the
tawarruk posture could have been to display the permissibility of
ir [bayanan li 'l-jawaz], i.e. that it was not unlawful to sit that way.
This means that the Messenger # used the tawarruk posture on a
few occasions to teach the Companions that it was a permissible and
alternate way of sitting if the need arose.
From the above points, we gather that the tawarruk posture was
used by the Messenger of Allah &s mostly in his final years, due to
weakness in his legs which prevented him from sitting in the iftirash
position. If any hadith describes the Messenger as having used
tawarruk prior to that, then it was simply to indicate the permissibil-
ity of it and not to indicate its preference over iftirash or of it being
his permanent practice.
CONCLUSION
Both types of hadiths are to be found in the books of hadith, i.e. those
of iftirash and those of tawarruk, The Hanafis after studying them
carefully have concluded that the Messenger # sat in both of these
positions at one time or another. They are both permissible and a
person has the choice of sitting in either of the two positions during
his prayer. However, since the Messenger & used the iftirash position
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FIQH AL-IMAM
for most of his life, and it was his continuous practice (as the hadiths
of Ibn 'Umar & confirm), it would be more virtuous and rewarding
to do the same and sit in the iftirash position. In the event of inability,
the recourse would be to sit in tawarruk.
The narrations that mention tawarruk do not describe it as being
a permanent practice of the Messenger # but rather only mention
it as being a practice of his which he did to display its permissibility
[bayanan li I-jawaz]; or that he resorted to it in the latter part of his
life due to his weakness and inability to sit in iftirash. In this way, the
Hanafis have managed to reconcile between the various narrations
and provided suitable interpretations for them all.
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7
The Sunna Prayer of Fajr
THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH # laid great emphasis on the sunna prayer
of Fajr, saying, "It is more superior than the world and everything
within it" (Sahih Muslim 1:251). Likewise, there are a number of
narrations from which the importance of this sunna prayer can be
understood. This means that a person should ensure that it is per-
formed prior to the fard prayer, since no sunna prayer is permissible
until after sunrise, once the fard prayer of Fajr is performed.
So what is one to do if he arrives late to the masjid for Fajr, and
finds the congregational prayer about to begin or already in progress?
On the one hand, he remembers the emphasis regarding the sunna
prayer of Fajt, yer on the other, he knows the hadith of the Messenger
stating that once the call to commence [iqama] has been made,
only the fard prayer should be performed. The Messenger of Allah
45 said:
Once the call to commence [iqama] is made for the prayer, there is no
prayer except the fard prayer (maktuba) (Sahih Muslim 1:247).
The worshipper [musalli] is unsure of what to do in this situation.
Should he hurry and perform the sunna prayer, then catch up with
the imam for the fard prayer, or should he abandon the sunna prayer
altogether and join in the congregation? There is a difference of
opinion among the scholars on this issue.
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FIQH AL-IMAM
THE VARIOUS OPINIONS
One opinion is that it is necessary for this person to immediately join
the congregation for the fard prayer, and that it is no longer permis-
sible for him to perform the sunna prayer during the congregational
fard prayer, just as is the ruling for other prayers.
Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik are of the opinion that the
person should attempt to perform his sunna prayer, as long as he
thinks he can complete it quickly and join in the fard prayer before
it ends, i.e. even if he catches only the last sitting. This means that
he must be confident of not missing the congregation completely,
otherwise he should leave performing the sunna and join the congre-
gation; because, technically speaking, the congregational fard prayer
is more important.
One point to remember, however, is that once the congregational
fard prayer begins, the sunna prayer should not be performed where
the main congregation is in progress. It should be performed outside
the main prayer-hall (masjid) area.
Another view of some Hanafi scholars is that a person should only
attempt to perform the sunna prayer if he feels confident of acquir-
ing at least one rak'a behind the imam. This means that he must be
certain of catching up with the imam before he stands up from the
bowing (ruku ] of the second rak'a of the fard.
This difference of opinion is only concerning the two-rak ats sunna
of Fajr, and there is no controversy regarding the sunna in other
prayers. All the scholars are unanimous that once the congregation
for those prayers commences, no other sunna prayer is permissible,
because although the sunna prayers in them are important, they are
not as emphasized as the sunna of Fajr. Also, if a person happens to
miss the sunna prayer of Zuhr for instance, he can make it up after
the fard, since it is not a prohibited time for it.
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The Sunna Prayer of Fajr
IMPORTANCE OF THE SUNNA PRAYER OF FAJR
1. 'A'isha $ said,
The Messenger of Allah # was not as regular in any supererogatory [nafl)
prayer as he was in the two rak'ars before Fajr (Sahih Muslim 1:251).
2. 'A'isha % said,
I did not observe the Messenger of Allah es hasten towards any supereroga-
tory [naff) prayer as fast as he would to perform the two rak ats before
Fajr (Sabib Muslim 1:251).
3. 'A'isha & reports that the Messenger of Allah #s said,
"The two [sunna] rak ats of Fajr are more superior than the world and
everything within it (Sahil Muslim 1:251).
4. 'A'isha & reports that the Messenger of Allah I said regarding the
two [sunna] rak ats at the break of dawn;
They are more beloved to me than the entire world (Sahib Muslim
[:251).
5. Abu Hurayra % narrates that the Messenger of Allah 4% said,
Do not abandon the sunna rak ats of Fajr, even if horses trample over you
(Sunan Abi Daud 1:186, Athar al-sunan 1:224).
All the above hadiths explain the significance of and emphasis placed
on the sunna prayer of Fajr. Since the sunna rak'ats of other prayers
are not as greatly emphasized as the sunna of Fajr, they are treated
differently.
THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS ON THIS ISSUE
There are also many other rigorously authenticated hadiths which
confirm that the Companions of the Messenger # would attempt
to complete their sunna prayer prior to joining the congregational
fard prayer of Fajr if it had already commenced.
127

FIQH AL-IMAM
I. Imam Tahawi reports from Nafi':
I wakened Ibn 'Umar & for the Fajr prayer, while the prayer had already
commenced. He arose and performed the two rak ats [sunna first] (Sharh
Ma'ani 'I-athar 1:375).
2. Abu Ishaq says,
'Abdullah ibn Abi Musa related to me from his father regarding the time
Sa'id ibn al-'As called them. He had called Abu Musa, Hudhayfa, and
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud > before the Fajr prayer. When they departed from
him, the congregation had already begun, so 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
positioned himself behind a pillar in the masjid and performed two rak ats
sunna first, then joined the congregation (Sharh Ma'ani 'L-athar 1:374).
3. Abu "Uthman al-Ansari reports:
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas & arrived while the imam was leading the Fajr prayer.
Since Ibn 'Abbas # had not yet performed the two rak'ars (sunna], he
performed them behind the imam [i.e. separately], then joined in the
congregation (Sharh Ma'ani 'L-athar 1:375).
4. Imam Tahawi has transmitted a report about Abu 'I-Darda' :
He would enter the masjid while everybody would be in rows perform-
ing the Fajr prayer, He would first perform his two rak'ats in a corner of
the masjid, then join everyone in the [fard] prayer (Sharh Ma'ani 7-athar
1:375).
5. Abu 'Uthman al-Nahdi says,
We would arrive at [times to the masjid where] 'Umar ibn al-Khattab 4
[was the imam), not having performed the two rak'ats [sunna] of Fajr. 'Umar
+ would have already started the prayer, so we would first perform our
two rak'ats at the rear of the masjid, then join in the congregation (Sharh
Ma'ani 'l-athar 1:376).
6. 'Abdullah ibn Abi Musa narrates:
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud # arrived while the imam was leading the Fajr
prayer. He performed the two rak'ats [sunna] behind a pillar, as he had
not yet performed them (Musannaf "Abd al-Razzaq 1:444).
128