❖ Hadith on Closing the Eyes During Salah – Its Chain and Ruling ❖
Source: Fatāwā Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
✿ Question:
What is the status of the following narration in terms of its chain (sanad)?
❀ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إِذَا قَامَ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَلَا يَغْمِضْ عَيْنَيْهِ
“When one of you stands for prayer, he should not close his eyes.”
(al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, al-Ṭabarānī 11/34, ḥadīth no. 10956)
✿ Answer:
The chain of this narration is weak (ḍaʿīf).
① Abū Khaythamah Muṣʿab ibn Saʿīd al-Muṣīṣī is weak.
Imām Ibn ʿAdī (رحمه الله) said:
يحدث عن الثقات بالمناكير ويصحف عليهم .
“He narrated munkar reports from reliable narrators and would distort (words) attributing them to them.”
(al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl 8/89)
② Layth ibn Abī Sulaym is weak and had poor memory.
✿ Practical Ruling:
It is permissible to close the eyes in prayer when needed.
❀ Imām Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn (رحمه الله) said:
كانوا يقولون : لا يجاوز بصره مصلاه، فإن كان قد استعاد النظر فليعمض
“They (the Companions and Tābiʿīn) used to say: The gaze of the worshipper should not go beyond his place of prostration. But if his sight starts wandering, then he should close his eyes.”
(Taʿẓīm Qadr al-Ṣalāh, p. 143 – with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
✅ Conclusion:
The narration prohibiting closing the eyes during Salah is weak in chain, but closing the eyes is allowed when necessary, such as to maintain focus and prevent distraction.
