Ibn Majah

Benefits and Issues:

➊
From this, it is understood that the Sunnah in standing (qiyam) is to fold the hands.
It should not be abandoned, as some individuals perform prayer with their hands left hanging.

➋
What is meant by “holding” is placing the right hand over the left hand, as is mentioned in Hadith 811.

➌
From the hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari, it is understood
that the right hand should be placed on the left forearm.
See: (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Adhan, Chapter: Placing the right hand over the left in prayer, Hadith: 740)
That is, in Hadith 811, “hand” (yad) does not mean only the palm, but rather the forearm.
In this way, both hadiths are reconciled,
and the manner of folding the hands is determined
as is known from the narration of Sahih al-Bukhari.

➍
In standing (qiyam), both hands should be folded on the chest, as is narrated in multiple hadiths.
It is narrated from Hazrat Wa’il bin Hujr radi Allahu anhu:
He said:
I performed prayer with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
and he placed his right hand over his left hand on his chest. (Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Salat, Chapter: Placing the right hand over the left in prayer before the opening recitation, Hadith 479)
In its footnote, Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah writes:
Its chain is weak, but this hadith is authentic,
because it is narrated with similar wording through several other chains.
Further support for folding the hands on the chest is found in other hadiths as well.
These hadiths can be seen in Musnad Ahmad, Tabarani, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Bayhaqi. (al-Hakim: 2/537, al-Bayhaqi: 29/30, and al-Tabarani 30/325)

English Commentary:
1:
In contrast, the narration attributed to Imam Malik rahimahullah regarding letting the hands hang (not folding them) is rare (shadh) and not authentic. Even in the Muwatta of Imam Malik, there is a narration about folding the hands. The Shafi'is, Hanafis, and Hanbalis are all agreed that folding the hands in prayer is the Sunnah.

Now, as for the issue of where to fold the hands—on the chest or below the navel—some scholars hold the view of folding them below the navel, but the hadith regarding folding below the navel is weak. Some people are of the opinion that the hands should be folded on the chest, and their evidence is the narration of Wa'il bin Hujr radi Allahu anhu: ((I prayed with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he placed his right hand over his left hand on his chest)).

This narration has been recorded by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih, and it meets the conditions of Ibn Khuzaymah. It is also supported by the narration of Hulb al-Ta'i, which Imam Ahmad has recorded in his Musnad with these words: ((I saw the Messenger of Allah turning to his right and to his left (at the end of prayer), and I also saw him placing these (hands) on his chest, and Yahya described: the right hand over the left, above the wrist joint)).

Yazid bin Qanafah narrates from Hulb al-Ta'i radi Allahu anhu that he saw the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when turning for salam, first turning to the right and then to the left, and he also saw him placing his hands on his chest. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s teacher, Yahya bin Sa'id, practically demonstrated Hulb radi Allahu anhu’s statement by joining his right hand over his left hand and placing them above (the joint).

All the narrators of this chain are trustworthy, and its chain is connected (Musnad Ahmad 5/226). As for the objection raised against the narration of Wa'il bin Hujr that it contains confusion (idtirab): in Ibn Khuzaymah’s narration it is ((on his chest)), in al-Bazzar’s narration it is ((near his chest)), and in Ibn Abi Shaybah’s narration it is ((below the navel)). This objection is not correct, because mere difference does not necessitate confusion (idtirab); rather, for idtirab to exist, all the differing aspects must be equal, and that is not the case here. The phrase ((below the navel)) in Ibn Abi Shaybah’s narration is an addition (mudraj); it was deliberately inserted into the narration by some publishers.

As for the phrase ((on his chest)) in Ibn Khuzaymah’s narration and ((near his chest)) in al-Bazzar’s narration, the narration of Ibn Khuzaymah is preferred, because the narration of Hulb al-Ta'i radi Allahu anhu serves as corroboration for it. There is also a mursal narration from Tawus in its support, whereas, in contrast, there is no corroborating narration for al-Bazzar’s hadith.