Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Discussion on Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 215
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on lying on the right side after the Sunnah of Fajr? A certain Maulvī says that this was something exclusive to the Prophet ﷺ.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
The claim that lying on the right side after the Sunnah of Fajr was an exclusive practice (khāṣṣiyyah) of the Prophet ﷺ is baseless.
Even if someone assumes so at the extreme, it would only be based on the Prophet’s ﷺ practical action (fiʿlī ḥadīth), yet even then it cannot be taken as an exclusivity.
✦ Evidence from Ḥadīth
In Sunan al-Tirmidhī, a marfūʿ narration states:
«اِذَا صَلّٰی اَحَدُکُمْ رَكْعَتَيْ الْفَجْرِ فَلْيَضْطَجِعْ عَلٰى شِقِّهِ الْاَيْمَنِ»
“When one of you has prayed the two rakʿahs of Fajr, let him lie down on his right side.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī)
This shows clearly that lying on the right side was not exclusive to the Prophet ﷺ, but a practice prescribed for the ummah as well.
✦ Refutation of the False Claim
This narration refutes the idea that the act was reserved only for the Prophet ﷺ or for those who prayed long tahajjud. Rather, it is a Sunnah action recommended for the believers in general.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
