Question: Is it Sunnah to move the index finger during the tashahhud?
Answer: During the tashahhud the index finger should be moved, because this is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. In the hadith of Hazrat Wa’il bin Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) it is stated:
ثُمَّ رَفَعَ اُصْبَعَهُ فَرَأَيْتُهُ يُحَرِّكُهَا يَدْعُوْ بِهَا
“The Prophet ﷺ raised his finger and kept moving it while supplicating.”
Maulvi Salamullah Hanafi writes in the commentary on the Muwatta:
وِفِيْهِ تَحْرِيْكُهَا دَائِمًا اِذَا الدُّعَاءُ بَعْدَ التَّشَهُّدِ
“This hadith indicates that the finger should be moved continuously during the tashahhud, because the supplication comes after the tashahhud.”
Allamah Nasiruddin al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
فَفِيْهِ دَلِيْلٌ عَلٰي اَنَّ السُّنَّةَ اَنْ يَّسْتَمِرَّ فِي الْاِشَارَةِ وَفِيْ تَحْرِيْكِهَا اِلَي السَّلَامِ لِاَنَّ الدُّعَاءَ قَبْلَهُ
“This hadith is evidence that the Sunnah method is for the pointing and the movement of the finger to continue until the salam, because the supplication is adjacent to the salam.”
Apart from this, there is no evidence from authentic hadiths for merely raising the finger once and putting it down, or raising it at اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللهُ, whereas this practice contradicts the aforementioned hadith.
The narration which states that the Prophet ﷺ did not move the finger during the tashahhud is weak (da’if), because in it Muhammad bin Ajlan narrates from Amir bin Abdullah bin Zubair, and Muhammad bin Ajlan is a narrator about whom there is discussion (mutakallam fih). Moreover, four trustworthy (thiqah) narrators have related this same narration from Amir bin Abdullah, but without the words لَا يُحَرِّكُهَا.
It is thus known that these words are shadh (anomalous).
Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) also related this same narration through the route of Muhammad bin Ajlan, and in it too there are no words لَا يُحَرِّكُهَا. Whereas the narration of Wa’il bin Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) has been declared authentic (sahih) by Ibn al-Mulaqqin, Ibn al-Qayyim and Imam Nawawi, as well as by Nasiruddin al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on them). Only the author of “al-Hidayah fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Bidayah” has declared this hadith shadh, saying that the words يُحَرِّكُهَا are narrated only by Za’idah bin Qudamah from Asim, and that other students of Asim besides Za’idah narrate with the words يُشِيْرُ بِيَدِهِ. But this view is devoid of research and fairness.
Firstly, all the muhaddithun have accepted the authenticity of this hadith, as has already been shown. Secondly, the proof of the hadith of pointing does not negate the movement. For example, there is the authentic hadith of Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet ﷺ was leading the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in prayer while seated, and the Companions were standing behind him. فَاَشَارَ اِلَيْهِمْ اَنِ اجْلِسُوْا “He ﷺ gestured to them that they should sit down.”
From this hadith every intelligent person will understand that the Prophet’s ﷺ gesture was not merely raising his hand as he did in reply to salam, but a gesture by which it was understood that he was commanding them to sit. This gesture cannot occur without movement. Through this example it becomes clear that it is not correct to regard the hadiths of pointing as opposed to the hadiths of movement.
Similarly, there is the narration of Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both):
لَهِيَ اَشَدُّ عَلَي الشَّيْطَانِ مِنَ الْحَدِيْدِ
“This finger is more severe upon the Shaytan than iron.”
This hadith cannot be used as evidence for not moving the finger, because it contains no explicit statement about moving or not moving it, whereas moving it has been established by the hadith of Wa’il bin Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him). If we accept that it contains an explicit statement of not moving, then we can only say that both matters are permissible, as Allamah San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred in Subul al-Salam. But the first position is firmer, because Wa’il bin Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) is describing the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer with a particular care, especially the state during the tashahhud, and he has mentioned in the tashahhud things that no one else has mentioned. Therefore his narration will be given preference.
For further detail, reference may be made to Allamah Nasiruddin al-Albani’s (may Allah have mercy on him) book “Tamam al-Minnah”.
Facing the Qiblah with the index finger during the tashahhud
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Question: During prayer, should the index finger face the qiblah, and is the focusing of the gaze upon it established from any authentic hadith?
Answer: Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates:
“When the Prophet ﷺ sat in prayer, he would point toward the qiblah with his finger and keep his gaze fixed upon it.”
In another hadith it is stated:
“Indeed, when the Prophet ﷺ sat for the tashahhud, he would place his left hand on his left thigh and his right hand on his right thigh, and point with the index finger; the gaze of the Prophet ﷺ did not go beyond his pointing.”
From these hadiths it is known that during the tashahhud, raising the index finger and pointing toward the qiblah and keeping the gaze upon it is Sunnah.
