´It was narrated from Sa`d who said:` "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by me when I was supplicating with my fingers and he said: 'Make it one, make it one' and pointed with his forefinger."
Hadith Referenceسنن نسائي / كتاب السهو / 1274
Hadith Gradingالألبانی:صحيح | زبیر علی زئی:ضعيف، إسناده ضعيف، ابو داود (1499) انوار الصحيفه، صفحه نمبر 331
1؎ : In the preceding narration, the mention is of pointing with two fingers; therefore, this will be interpreted as referring to the minimum plural, that is, two, or it may be considered that these are two separate incidents. And Allah knows best.
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Muhammad Ameen
1274. Commentary:
➊ It is possible that the incident in the first hadith also pertains to Sa’d radi Allahu anhu, in which case “several fingers” would mean more than one, i.e., two. Otherwise, these are separate incidents.
➋ The author of this book has declared the aforementioned narrations weak in terms of their chain of transmission, whereas other scholars have deemed them authentic. The contemporary scholar Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has discussed this topic in detail in his “Sahih Sunan Abi Dawud (detailed),” from which it becomes clear that both of the aforementioned narrations are authentic. Therefore, it is understood that one should gesture with only one finger. And Allah knows best. For further details, see: [صحیح سنن النسائي : 1/407 ، رقم : 1271 1272 ، و سنن أبي داود (مفصل) : 5/235 ، 236 ، رقم : 1244]
Source: Sunan Nasa'i: Translation and Benefits by Shaykh Hafiz Muhammad Amin Hafizullah, Page: 1274
Narrated Saad ibn Abu Waqqas: The Prophet ﷺ passed by me while I was supplicating by pointing with two fingers of mine. He said: Point with one finger; point with one finger. He then himself pointed with the forefinger.
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
1499. Commentary: Pointing with one finger during prayer is an affirmation of the oneness (tawhid) of Allah and a gesture towards Him.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 1499