Tawus said: we asked Ibn Abbas about sitting on heels between the two prostrations. He said: It is the sunnah. We said: We look upon it as a pressure on the foot. He said: This is the sunnah of your Prophet ﷺ
Hadith Referenceسنن ابي داود / أبواب تفريع استفتاح الصلاة / 845
Hadith Gradingالألبانی:صحيح | زبیر علی زئی:صحيح مسلم (536)
Hadith Takhrij« صحیح مسلم/المساجد 6 (536)، سنن الترمذی/الصلاة 98 (283)، (تحفة الأشراف: 5753)، وقد أخرجہ: مسند احمد (1/313) (صحیح) »
1؎: This is the prescribed (masnun) form of iq‘a’ which is specific to the sitting posture between the two prostrations (sajdahs). As for the prohibited form of iq‘a’ which is forbidden in the hadith, it is to sit like a dog, placing the buttocks and both hands on the ground while raising both shins and thighs, or, in the state of tashahhud, to plant both feet upright and sit on the heels.
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
845. Commentary: Sitting on the heels is called "iq‘ā’", and it is permissible to sit in this manner between the prostrations (sujūd) occasionally. However, the other form of iq‘ā’, known as "‘uqbat ash-shayṭān", is impermissible; that is, when a person raises his shins upright and sits on his buttocks.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 845