Nasai

1158. Commentary:

➊ There is no specification in the hadith regarding whether this refers to the first or second tashahhud; for this reason, the Hanafis hold the view that one should sit in this manner in every tashahhud. However, in other authentic narrations, there is a distinct manner for the final tashahhud, which is called tawarruk. See: [صحیح البخاري ، الأذان ، حدیث : 828] For details on tawarruk, see hadith: 1263 and its benefit. Therefore, this method will be applied to the first tashahhud. This is precisely what the author rahimahullah intends.

➋ When a Companion refers to an action as Sunnah in acts of worship and the like, it is in fact a statement regarding a saying or action of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam; therefore, it is authoritative.

1161. Commentary:

➊ In the Tashahhud, the index finger of the right hand is kept extended while the rest of the fingers are kept closed. And a gesture is made with the index finger, as if pointing towards something. The gaze should remain fixed on the gesture. (Also see, Hadith: 890)

➋ If a person is acting contrary to the Sunnah, he should be corrected.

1268. Commentary: One way of placing the right hand is that all the fingers are closed, and the tip of the thumb is placed at the base of the index (shahadah) finger, with only the index finger kept open.

1270. Commentary: In some narrations, placing the hand on the thigh is mentioned, and in others, on the knee. Reconciliation is possible in such a way that the palm is on the thigh and the fingers are on the knee. In some narrations, this method is explicitly transmitted, as is found in Hadith 1269. Although, considering the narrations mentioning the thigh, some scholars have deemed it permissible to place the entire hand on the thigh, yet it is preferable to act upon all the narrations.

Explanation:
↰ The Arabs used to count with their fingers in a particular manner. In this method, at the number 53, the hand takes on a specific shape in which, except for the thumb and the index finger, the remaining three fingers are folded, and the index finger is extended while the tip of the thumb is placed at the base of the index finger.
Read the complete article “Raf‘ Sababah, The Position of Modality (Maqam Kayfiyyat)”.

Explanation:
What is Raf‘ Sababah?
The finger next to the thumb (forefinger/index finger) is called «مُسَبِّحة» (the finger used for tasbih) in Arabic, and in Urdu it is called "Angusht-e-Shahadat" (the finger of testimony), because it is commonly used when glorifying Allah (tasbih) and bearing witness to His oneness. Glorifying Allah and bearing witness to His oneness is the practice of righteous people. Allah Ta‘ala has also granted this finger to immoral people, but instead of using it for tasbih and testimony, they use it for unjust cursing and abuse; therefore, in Arabic it is also called «سَبَّابَة» (the finger used for cursing).

«رَفْع» is also an Arabic word. It is a verbal noun (masdar) and its meaning is "to raise" or "to elevate."

Thus, the meaning of «رَفْع سَبَّابَة» is "to raise the finger of testimony." This is the linguistic explanation.

And technically, in the context of prayer (salah), pointing with the finger of testimony during the tashahhud is called «رَفْع سَبَّابَة».

As with many other issues of prayer, there are different views among various schools of thought regarding this matter. However, according to the Ahl al-Hadith, raising the sababah (index finger) is recommended (mustahabb) and a Sunnah.

The Position of the Hands in the Final Tashahhud

* After sitting for tashahhud following the second prostration in the second rak‘ah, you (the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would place your right hand on your right knee and your left hand on your left knee.

Proof: «إذا قعد فى الصلاة …وضع يده اليسريٰ على ركبته اليسريٰ ووضع يده اليمني على فخذه اليمني .» [صحيح مسلم: 579]

* You would form the number fifty-three (i.e., a circle) with the fingers of your right hand and point with the index finger (i.e., supplicating while pointing).

Proof: «وعقد ثلاثة وخمسين وأشار بالسبابة» [صحيح مسلم: 580]

It is also established that you would place both hands on both thighs, join the thumb with the middle finger (i.e., form a circle), and point with the index finger.

Proof: «وأشار بإصبعه السبابة ووضع إبهامه على أصبعه الوسطي .» [صحيح مسلم: 579]

Therefore, both ways of practice are permissible.

* You would place your right elbow on your right thigh.

Proof: «وحد مرفقه الأيمن على فخذه اليمني .» [ابوداود: 726]

* You would place both forearms on your thighs.

Proof: «وضع ذراعيه على فخذيه .» [نسائي: 1265]

* When you sat for tashahhud, you would point with the index finger.

Proof: «كان إذا قعد فى التشهد … وأشار بالسبابة» [صحيح مسلم: 580]

* You would raise your finger and supplicate with it during tashahhud.

Proof: «قد حلق الابهام والوسطي، ورفع التى تليهما يدعو بها فى التشهد .» [ابن ماجه: 912]

* You would slightly bend the index finger.

Proof: «عن نمير الخزاعي قال: رأيت النبى واضعاً ذراعه اليمني على فخذه اليمني رافعا اصبعه السبابة قد حناها شيئا .» [ابوداود: 991]

“Numeir Khuza‘i says: I saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam (in tashahhud) with his right arm placed on his right thigh, and the index finger of that hand slightly bent and raised.”

* You would continue moving your index finger.

Proof: «ثم رفعه اصبعه فرأيته يحركها يدعو بها .» [نسائي: 1269]

* You would direct your index finger towards the qiblah and continue to look at it.

Proof: «وأشار بأصبعه التى تلي الإبهام فى القبلة ور مي ببصره إليها أونحوها ثم قال: هكذا رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم .» [نسائي: 1161]

* You would make this gesture in both the tashahhud after two rak‘ahs (i.e., the first) and the tashahhud after four rak‘ahs (i.e., the final).

Proof: «كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا جلس فى الثنتين أو فى الأربع يضع يديه على ركبتيه ثم أشار بأصبعه .» [نسائي: 1162]

Raising the finger at “la ilaha” and lowering it at “illallah” is not established by any authentic hadith. Rather, from the generality of the ahadith, it is established that from the beginning to the end, the circle should be formed and the index finger should be raised. As is mentioned in the narration of Tirmidhi and Nasa’i, that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saw a man pointing with two fingers (in tashahhud), so he said: «أحّد أحّد» — that is, point with only one finger. From this, it is also established that from the beginning of tashahhud to the end, the index finger should remain raised.

English Commentary:
1:
In the hadiths, various modes of placing the right hand on the thigh during the tashahhud are mentioned.
Among these modes, one is that there is no mention of folding the fingers.
The second is that the little finger (khinsir), the ring finger (bansar), and the middle finger (wusta)—that is, the smallest finger, the one next to it, and the middle one, all three—are kept folded, and the index finger (shahadah finger, the one next to the thumb) is left open, and the thumb is joined to the base of the index finger.
This is the knot of fifty-three.
The third mode is that the little finger (khinsir) and the ring finger (bansar)—the smallest and the one next to it—are folded, and the index finger is left open, and a circle is made with the thumb and the middle finger.
The fourth mode is that all the fingers are kept folded and the index finger is used for pointing.
Hadiths have been narrated regarding all these modes.
One may do as one wishes; all are permissible.
However, it should be clear that all these modes are from the beginning of the tashahhud, not upon saying ((أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ لاَ إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ الله)) (“I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah”), nor from saying this phrase until after it.
In no hadith is this specification established; this is an invented practice of later people.

987. Commentary:
It is understood that as soon as one sits for the tashahhud, this manner is adopted: the right hand is formed into a fist and the gesture is made—that is, the index finger is kept raised. However, there is no need to move it repeatedly, as will be mentioned further ahead.

Benefits and Issues:
➊
Pointing with the finger is done during the tashahhud.
It is not done during the sitting between the prostrations.
In this hadith, sitting in prayer means sitting during the tashahhud,
as is made clear by hadith: 912.

➋
In the tashahhud, the left hand should be placed in the same manner
as it is during the sitting between the prostrations.
One method for the right hand is described in this hadith:
that the thumb is joined with the middle finger to form a ring,
and the index finger is used to point.
In this case, the two smallest fingers are kept closed. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Salat, Subsection: Chapters on Bowing and Prostration,
Chapter: Pointing in the Tashahhud, Hadith: 987)
The second method is that the thumb is placed on the lower phalanx of the index finger,
and the remaining three fingers are closed.
In the hadith, this is described as the number fifty-three.
See: (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Masajid, Chapter: Description of Sitting in Prayer,
Hadith: 580)
Among the Arabs, there were specific gestures for numbers, and according to those, the number fifty-three is formed in this way.
That is why this posture is described with this term.

➌
What is meant by supplicating with the finger is that during supplication, the finger is raised and pointed.

➍
This pointing should be done from the beginning to the end, that is, until the salutation (salam) is given.

➎
It is not necessary to move the finger or to keep moving it while pointing. Some people only raise the finger at (illa Allah)
and then put it down.
This is completely baseless, and some people keep moving it continuously.
This is also not correct.
In some narrations, the words (yuharrikuha)
do appear, but their meaning is also (yad‘u biha or yushiru biha),
that is, to supplicate or to point with it.

Takhrij al-Hadith: [وأخرجه مسلم 580/116، من حديث ما لك به .]
Jurisprudential Points:
➊ Unnecessary movements in prayer are prohibited. If it is absolutely necessary to remove pebbles, then remove them only once.
➋ Pointing with the index finger during every tashahhud in prayer is Sunnah, and this gesture continues from the beginning of tashahhud until the end of the prayer (salam). At the end, during supplication, continuously moving it is established from an authentic and well-preserved hadith. See [سنن النسائي :1269، وسنده ميں محفوظ مختصرصحيح نماز نبوي ص 22 حاشيه فقره:39]
➌ At the time of pointing, the index finger is to be slightly bent. See [سنن ابي داود 991، وسنده حسن روحه ابن خزيمه 716، وابن حبان (الاحسان :1943)]
➍ The narration in which it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not move his index finger [سنن ابي داود : 989 وسنن النسائي: 1271] is weak due to the tadlis (i.e., the use of "an") of Muhammad ibn ‘Ajlan, who was a mudallis.
➎ One should always, to the best of one's ability, remain engaged in enjoining good and forbidding evil.
➏ The hadith of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is a proof, provided it is established with a sound (hasan) chain of narration.
➐ Unnecessary acts in prayer are prohibited. Only those matters are permissible for which there is evidence in the Shari‘ah or a valid legal excuse.
➑ Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (rahimahullah) taught people the method of sitting in tashahhud: he raised his right foot, spread out his left foot, and sat on his left thigh, not on his feet. Then he explained that this method was shown to him in practice by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, who had seen his father (Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Umar, radi Allahu anhuma) doing so. [الموطأ 90/1 ح 199 وسنده صحيح]

Takhrij:
«أخرجه مسلم، المساجد، باب صفة الجلوس في الصلاة، حديث:580.»©Explanation:
➊ In this hadith: «عَقَدَ ثلَاَثًا وَّخَمْسِینَ» While sitting in the tashahhud, when he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would gesture, he would place his thumb at the base of the adjacent finger and keep the remaining fingers closed.
We should do likewise, so that the Sunnah is fulfilled.
➋ All the Imams are agreed upon the gesture with the index finger during the tashahhud.
Mulla Ali Qari, the renowned Hanafi scholar, has written two independent treatises on the raising of the index finger, in which he has brought authentic ahadith to establish that raising the index finger is Sunnah, and he has strongly refuted what is written in Khulasat al-Kaydani and others, where it is declared haram; this refutation is worth reading.
In the famous Hanafi books of jurisprudence such as Durr al-Mukhtar, al-Shami, and Sharh al-Wiqayah, it is also mentioned in this manner.

Benefit:
Sufyan said: Yahya ibn Sa‘id used to narrate this (hadith) on the authority of Muslim, so I met Muslim and he narrated the hadith to me, and in it he further stated that the pointing of the index finger for testimony melts the Shaytan.