Introduction
Some Hanafi followers claim that placing the hands on the chest during Salah is incorrect. They often cite statements attributed to Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله and Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله, which allegedly label this practice as makrūh (disliked).
In this article, we will critically examine such claims and evaluate:
① Whether Ibn al-Qayyim and Imām Aḥmad truly declared placing the hands on the chest as makrūh.
② The actual linguistic meaning of Takfīr and whether it applies to placing hands on the chest in prayer.
③ Authentic evidences from Imāms and Muḥaddithīn affirming the placement of hands on the chest during prayer.
❖ The Truth Behind the Statement Attributed to Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله
1. Original Text from Badā’iʿ al-Fawā’id
“اختلف قوله في صفة وضع اليد على اليد، فعنه أحمد بن أصرم المزني وغيره: أنه يقبض بيمينه على رسغ يساره … في رواية المزني: ‘أسفل السرة بقليل ويكره أن يجعلهما على الصدر’، وذلك لما روي عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه نهي عن التكفير، وهو وضع اليد على الصدر.”
(Badā’iʿ al-Fawā’id by Ibn al-Qayyim)
Translation:
“There is a difference of opinion regarding the manner of placing one hand over the other. From Aḥmad ibn Aṣram al-Muzanī and others: he would grasp his left wrist with his right hand… In Muzanī’s narration: he placed the hands just below the navel, and it is makrūh to place them on the chest, as it has been reported that the Prophet ﷺ prohibited Takfīr, which is placing the hands on the chest.”
📌 Important Point:
This is not the statement of Ibn al-Qayyim himself, but that of Aḥmad ibn Aṣram al-Muzanī (d. 285 AH).
Moreover, the phrase “روِيَ“ (it has been reported) is used, which is a صيغة تمريض (form of weakening), indicating a weak or unauthenticated report in the science of ḥadīth.
2. Ibn al-Qayyim’s Own View on Hand Placement in Prayer
In al-Ṣalāh wa Aḥkām Tārikihā, while describing the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Ibn al-Qayyim wrote:
“ثم كان يمسك شماله بيمينه فيضعها عليها فوق المفصل ثم يضعها على صدره”
(al-Ṣalāh wa Aḥkām Tārikiha by Ibn al-Qayyim)
Translation:
“Then the Prophet ﷺ would grasp his left hand with his right hand above the wrist joint, and place them on his chest.”
📌 Conclusion:
Ibn al-Qayyim himself affirmed that placing hands on the chest is part of the Sunnah. Therefore, the view that it is makrūh is not his own stance.
❖ Investigation into the Statement Attributed to Imām Aḥmad رحمه الله
1. Statement in Masā’il Imām Aḥmad – Riwayah Abī Dāwūd
“وَسَمِعْتُهُ، يَقُولُ: يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ، يَعْنِي: وَضْعَ الْيَدَيْنِ عِنْدَ الصَّدْرِ”
(Masā’il Imām Aḥmad by Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī)
Translation:
“I heard him (Imām Aḥmad) saying: it is makrūh to place the hands near the chest.”
📌 Research Note:
This narration is transmitted through Aḥmad ibn al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Shāh al-Sughdī, who is unknown (majhūl). The chain is as follows:
“حدثنا أبو العباس أحمد بن العلاء بن الشاه السغدي، قال: أخبرنا أبو بكر محمد بن بكر بن محمد بن عبد الرزاق التمار … قال: حدثنا أبو داود … قال: قلت لأحمد بن حنبل …”
So, because of the unknown narrator in the chain, this report cannot be used as evidence.
2. Imām Aḥmad’s Practice – Narrated by His Son
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad al-Shaybānī (d. 290 AH) states:
“رَأَيْتُ أَبِي إِذَا صَلَّى وَضَعَ يَدَيْهِ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَوْقَ السُّرَّةِ”
(Masā’il Aḥmad – Narrated by his son ʿAbdullāh, no. 260)
Translation:
“I saw my father (Imām Aḥmad) when he prayed, placing one of his hands over the other above the navel.”
📌 “Above the navel” refers to the area close to the chest, and does not contradict placing hands on the chest—especially when some narrations explicitly mention ‘على صدره’ (on his chest).
3. Practice of Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhūyah – A Contemporary of Imām Aḥmad
Isḥāq ibn Manṣūr al-Kawsaj (a close student of Imām Aḥmad and Imām Isḥāq) states:
“ويضع يديه على ثدييه أو تحت الثديين”
(Masā’il of Imām Aḥmad and Isḥāq ibn Rāhūyah, no. 3547)
Translation:
“He (Imām Isḥāq) would place his hands on his breasts or beneath the breasts.”
📌 Imām Isḥāq’s methodology was close to Imām Aḥmad’s, indicating agreement or consistency in practice.
4. Imām Aḥmad’s Principle on Leaving the Sunnah
“سَمِعْتُ أَحْمَدَ، قِيلَ لَهُ: رَجُلٌ سَمِعَ هَذِهِ الْأَحَادِيثَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، ثُمَّ لَا يَرْفَعُ، هُوَ تَامُّ الصَّلَاةِ؟ قَالَ: تَمَامُ الصَّلَاةِ لَا أَدْرِي، وَلَكِنْ هُوَ عِنْدِي فِي نَفْسِهِ مُنْقَصٌ غَرِّضٌ”
(Masā’il Abī Dāwūd)
Translation:
“I heard Aḥmad being asked: A man hears these aḥādīth from the Prophet ﷺ and then does not raise his hands (rafʿ al-yadayn)—is his prayer complete? He replied: I do not know if the prayer is complete, but to me, the person himself is deficient and flawed.”
📌 Insight:
This shows Imām Aḥmad’s general stance on abandoning the Sunnah, which would also apply to placing hands as practiced by the Prophet ﷺ.
❖ The Linguistic and Shar‘ī Meaning of Takfīr and Its Relation to Placing the Hands on the Chest
Some critics among the Ḥanafīs argue that placing hands on the chest is “Takfīr”, and that it is prohibited. Below, we will clarify the original meaning of “Takfīr” from the books of language and the statements of the Imāms.
1. Tāj al-ʿArūs – al-Zabīdī
“وتَكفيرُ أهلِ الْكتاب أَن يُطَأْطِئ رَأْسَه لصاحبِه كالتَّسْليم عندنَا. وَقد كَفَّر لَهُ. وَقيل: هُوَ أَن يَضَعَ يَدَه أَو يَدَيْه على صَدْرِه”
(Tāj al-ʿArūs by al-Zabīdī)
Translation:
“The Takfīr of the People of the Book is that one lowers his head to his companion, like the salutation among us. And it is said: it is to place one’s hand or both hands on one’s chest.”
📌 This definition refers to reverence before other than Allah, not to prayer for Allah.
2. al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ
“(كفر) لسَيِّده انحنى وَوضع يَده على صَدره وطأطأ رَأسه كالركوع تَعْظِيمًا”
(al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ)
Translation:
“(Kaffara) to his master: he bowed, placed his hand on his chest, and lowered his head like in rukūʿ — as an act of reverence to him.”
3. al-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth – Ibn al-Athīr
“والتَّكْفير: هُوَ أَنْ يَنْحَنِيَ الْإِنْسَانُ وَيُطَأْطِئَ رأسَه قَرِيبًا مِنَ الرُّكوع، كَمَا يَفْعل مَنْ يُريد تَعْظِيم صاحِبه”
(al-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth wa al-Athar by Ibn al-Athīr)
Translation:
“Takfīr is that a person bends and lowers his head close to rukūʿ, as one does who wants to show reverence to his companion.”
4. Faṣl al-Maqāl – Abū ʿUbayd al-Andalusī
“التكفير هاهنا: الخضوع، وأصله الانحناء الشديد، كما تكفر النصارى لكبارهم”
(Faṣl al-Maqāl fī Sharḥ Kitāb al-Amthāl)
Translation:
“Takfīr here means submission, and its origin is intense bowing, just as the Christians perform takfīr for their elders.”
5. al-Munjid fī al-Lughah
“انحنى وَوضع يَده على صَدره وطأطأ رَأسه كالركوع تَعْظِيمًا”
(al-Munjid fī al-Lughah)
Translation:
“He bowed, placed his hand on his chest, and lowered his head like in rukūʿ — as an act of reverence.”
6. Explanation by Shaykh Nāsir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله
“نهى عن التكفير. وهو وضع اليد على الصدر … فإن الحديث – إن صح – ليس فيه النهي عن التكفير في الصلاة … بل قد يكون العكس؛ … فيكون عليه الصلاة والسلام نهى عن هذا الوضع لغير الله تعالى؛ لما فيه من الخضوع وتعظيم غير الله تعالى. وبهذا يتحقق أن هذا الحديث لا تعلق له بالصلاة مطلقاً”
(Aṣl Ṣifat Ṣalāt al-Nabī ﷺ, Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī)
Translation:
“Takfīr, i.e. placing the hand on the chest… Even if the ḥadīth is authentic, it does not contain a prohibition of takfīr in prayer; rather, this prohibition is for other than Allah, because it involves reverence of other than Allah. This establishes that this ḥadīth has no connection with prayer at all.”
📌 Conclusion:
All these texts make clear that in the language, “Takfīr” refers to bowing and placing the hand on the chest out of reverence for other than Allah, and this prohibition does not apply to placing the hands in prayer for Allah.
❖ Evidence from Ḥanafī Scholars Supporting Placing Hands on the Chest
Now, by way of argument from their own sources, we present the explicit statements of the Ḥanafīs’ own senior scholars that mention placing the hands on the chest in prayer, so that it becomes clear that declaring this practice makrūh contradicts even their own fatwas and statements.
1. Imām Ibn ʿĀbidīn al-Shāmī رحمه الله (d. 1252 AH)
“وَتَضَعُ الْمَرْأَةُ وَالْخُنْثَى الْكَفَّ عَلَى الْكَفِّ تَحْتَ ثَدْيِهَا … وَفِي بَعْضِهَا عَلَى ثَدْيِهَا. قَالَ فِي الْحِلْيَةِ: وَكَانَ الْأَوْلَى أَنْ يَقُولَ عَلَى صَدْرِهَا كَمَا قَالَهُ الْجَمُّ الْغَفِيرُ، لَا عَلَى ثَدْيِهَا، وَإِنْ كَانَ الْوَضْعُ عَلَى الصَّدْرِ قَدْ يَسْتَلْزِمُ ذَلِكَ”
(Radd al-Muḥtār ʿalā al-Durr al-Mukhtār)
Translation:
“The woman and the khunthā place the palm over the palm beneath her breast … and in some copies: on her breast. In al-Ḥilyah it says: it would have been better to say ‘on her chest’, as the great majority have said, not ‘on her breast’, even though placing on the chest sometimes results in part of the wrist coming onto the breast.”
📌 The question is: if placing hands on the chest were “Takfīr” and a prohibited act, why would ʿAllāmah Shāmī instruct women and the khunthā (intersex person) to do so?
2. Imām Muḥammad Ḥayyāt al-Sindhī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 1163 AH)
“أن لوضع الأيدى على الصدور في الصلاة أصلا أصيلا ودليلا جليلا، فلا ينبغى لأهل الإيمان الاستنكاف عنه، وكيف يستنكف المسلم عما ثبت عن رسول الله ﷺ”
(Fatḥ al-Ghafūr fī Waḍʿ al-Aydī ʿalā al-Ṣudūr)
Translation:
“Placing the hands on the chest in prayer has a firm and clear proof, so the people of faith should not shun it; and how can a Muslim shun what is proven from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?”
These texts show that the senior Ḥanafī scholars themselves accepted placing the hands on the chest as permissible and established from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
✅ Conclusion & Summary
From the above detailed research, the following truths emerge:
① Ibn al-Qayyim did not say placing the hands on the chest is makrūh. Rather, he transmitted the statement of Aḥmad ibn Aṣram al-Muzanī, whose proof was a weak narration that he mentioned with the form of weakening (ṣīghat al-tamrīḍ). Ibn al-Qayyim himself, in another book, transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the practice of placing the hands on the chest.
② The makrūh statement attributed to Imām Aḥmad is not authentic due to an unknown narrator. Other narrations from his son and contemporaries support placing hands above the navel, close to the chest.
③ The word “Takfīr” in its linguistic and Shar‘ī sense means bowing and placing the hands on the chest out of reverence before other than Allah; it has no connection with placing the hands in prayer for Allah.
④ Senior Ḥanafī scholars like Ibn ʿĀbidīn Shāmī and Muḥammad Ḥayyāt al-Sindhī endorsed and considered this act established from the Sunnah.
📌 Final Verdict:
Claiming that placing hands on the chest during prayer is makrūh is unfounded, not proven from either Ibn al-Qayyim or Imām Aḥmad. The act is authentically established in the Sunnah and permissible, and the prohibition of “Takfīr” relates only to bowing in reverence for other than Allah, not to prayer for Allah.
Scans of Important References
