Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
Some people say that after the two prostrations (sujud) and the tashahhud in prayer, one should rise for the next rak‘ah by getting up on one’s knees. Let us briefly and academically examine their evidences:

Narration Number: ➊
SA It is attributed to Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma:
“The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam forbade that anyone should support himself with his hands when rising in prayer.” [مسند الامام احمد : 147/2، سنن ابي داود : 992] EA SH Commentary: EH
This narration, with these words, is “shaadh” (anomalous).
Muhammad ibn Abdul Malik Ghazal made a mistake in narrating from Imam Abdur Razzaq rahimahullah. He narrated these words in opposition to several trustworthy and more reliable narrators.
◈ For this reason, Hafiz Nawawi rahimahullah declared this narration “weak” and “shaadh.”
◈ Imam Bayhaqi rahimahullah (384–458 AH) says regarding this:
“This is a mistake, because in this narration Muhammad ibn Abdul Malik contradicted all the other narrators. How can this be correct?” [معرفة السنن والآثار : 43/3]
↰ There are several strong evidences that Muhammad ibn Abdul Malik Ghazal was mistaken in this narration. Consider the following:

➊ From Imam Abdur Razzaq rahimahullah, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Shabwayh, Muhammad ibn Rafi‘, Muhammad ibn Sahl ‘Askar, Hasan ibn Mahdi, and Ahmad ibn Yusuf Salmi narrated this hadith with these words:
“The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam forbade that anyone should sit in prayer leaning on his left hand.”

➋ Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma narrated a hadith as follows:
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saw a man sitting in prayer leaning on his left hand and forbade him, saying: ‘This is the prayer of the Jews.’ [المستدرك على الصحيحين للحاكم : 1/ 272، السنن الكبريٰ للبيهقي : 2/ 136، وسنده، صحيح]
↰ Imam Hakim rahimahullah declared this hadith “authentic according to the conditions of Imam Bukhari and Muslim rahimahumallah.”
And Hafiz Dhahabi rahimahullah agreed with him.

➌ Nafi‘ the Tabi‘i rahimahullah narrates:
“Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma saw a man who had fallen on his knees in prayer and was leaning on his left hand. He said to him: ‘Do not pray like this. This is how those people sit who are being punished.’” [السنن الکبریٰ للبیھقی : 136/2، وسندہ حسن]
↰ From these statements of Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma, it also becomes clear that Muhammad ibn Abdul Malik made a mistake in narrating the aforementioned narration. Therefore, only the authentic hadith narrated by trustworthy and more reliable narrators is to be acted upon, not the error of a single narrator.

992. Commentary:
Ibn Rafi’s argument that it is prohibited to use support when standing up is not correct, because there is evidence for it in authentic ahadith. For example, in the narration of Ayyub from Abu Qilabah in al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that when the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would raise his head from the second prostration, he would sit, take support from the ground, and then stand up. [صحيح بخاري۔ حديث۔ 824]
Therefore, Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has declared the last portion of this narration—“in which there is a prohibition of taking support with the hands when rising”—to be munkar (rejected). However, it is correct that when a person is sitting in the tashahhud, he should not sit by placing his hands on the ground, as will be mentioned ahead.