The Method of Placing the Hands in Prayer
The Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ makes it clear. The following ahadith throw light on where and how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed his hands in prayer:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ placing the hands on the chest
Sayyidina Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
‘‘I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he placed his right hand over his left hand and tied them on his chest.’’
Sayyidina Hulb (may Allah be pleased with him) says:
‘‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with his hands tied on his chest.’’
Placing the right hand over the left hand
Sayyidina Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
‘‘People were ordered to place the right hand on the left forearm (dhira’) during prayer.’’
Sayyidina Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him), describing the detailed method of the prayer of the Prophet ﷺ, says:
‘‘He placed the right hand on the back of the left palm, its joint and the wrist.’’
Practice derived from the ahadith
From all these sahih ahadith it becomes clear that:
◈ The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, its joint and the wrist.
◈ Both hands should be tied on the chest.
◈ This method is the comprehensive way of acting upon all sahih narrations.
The narration of placing the hands below the navel
A narration attributed to Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is:
‘‘The Sunnah is that the palm be placed on the palm below the navel.’’
The opinion of the muhaddithin on this narration:
◈ Imam Bayhaqi and Hafiz Ibn Hajar declared it da’if (weak).
◈ Imam Nawawi says: ‘‘All agree on the weakness of this narration.’’
In the chain of this narration there are two narrators who are open to objection:
◈ Abd al-Rahman bin Ishaq al-Kufi al-Wasiti (da’if)
◈ Ziyad bin Zayd (majhul)
Conclusion
From all the sahih and authentic narrations it is established that:
◈ The correct method of placing the hands in prayer is that the right hand be placed on the back of the left hand, its joint and the wrist, and tied on the chest.
◈ The narration of placing the hands below the navel is da’if in terms of its chain, and it cannot be acted upon.
