Abu Dawud

The Index Finger Facing the Qiblah During Tashahhud
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Question: In the state of prayer, should the index finger be directed towards the qiblah, and is it established from any authentic hadith that the gaze should be fixed upon it?
Answer: Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma narrates:
“When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would sit in prayer, he would point with his finger towards the qiblah and keep his gaze upon it.” [أبوعوانة، كتاب الصلاة : باب بيان الإشارة 2017، ابن خزيمة، كتاب الصلاة : باب الإشارة بالسبابة 719]
In another hadith it is stated:
“Indeed, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would sit for tashahhud, he would place his left hand on his left thigh and his right hand on his right thigh, and would point with the index finger; his gaze would not go beyond the point of his gesture.” [أبوعوانة، كتاب الصلاة : باب الإشارة بالسبابة : 2018]
From these ahadith, it is understood that during tashahhud, raising the index finger and pointing it towards the qiblah, and keeping the gaze upon it, is a Sunnah.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[مسند الإمام أحمد : 3/4، سنن أبى داؤد : 990، سنن النسائي : 1276، وسنده حسن]
↰ Although Muhammad ibn ‘Ajlan is a "mudallis," in Musnad Ahmad he has explicitly stated his hearing (sima‘).
Furthermore, the original narration of this hadith is also present in Sahih Muslim [579].
Imam Ibn Khuzaymah [718], Imam Abu ‘Awanah [2018], and Imam Ibn Hibban [1944] rahimahumullah have also declared this hadith to be "sahih" (authentic).

990. Commentary:
In prayer, generally the gaze should be at the place of prostration, but during the tashahhud it should be on the finger. It is astonishing how the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) observed every single movement of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) with such meticulous attention and conveyed it to the Ummah.

Benefit:
In this hadith, the mention of pointing with the index finger of the right hand during the tashahhud indicates that the finger should be kept raised throughout the tashahhud. Continuously moving the finger is incorrect. The hadith scholars have written that the meaning of "yuharrik" is to keep the finger raised while moving it, and then to keep it raised. It should also be remembered that from the beginning of the tashahhud until saying "as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah" to both sides, the finger should remain raised.