Is Folding the Hands in Salah Fard, Wājib, or Sunnah Mu’akkadah?
Source: Aḥkām wa Masā’il – Discussion on Ṣalāh, Volume 1, Page 131
❖ Question
In a scholarly correspondence (1984) between the respected Ḥāfiẓ Ṣāḥib and Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ Ṣāḥib — later published by Mawlānā Muḥammad Khālid Gharjākhi — the following issue was raised:
"Is folding the hands on the chest or below the navel in prayer Fard, Wājib, or Sunnah Mu’akkadah? Similarly, what is the status of saying Āmīn?"
Ḥāfiẓ Ṣāḥib replied:
"Placing the hands on the chest or below the navel in prayer is, in the light of Qur’ān and Ḥadīth, neither Fard, nor Wājib, nor Sunnah Mu’akkadah. However, saying Āmīn is established from the Prophet ﷺ both in words and in practice."
Now the question arises:
"If folding the hands on the chest or below the navel is not Sunnah, then whose Sunnah are we following?"
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
The clarification lies in the precise wording: “sīnē par yā zīr-e-nāf hath bāndhnā” (on the chest or below the navel).
The difference between the words “ya” (or) and “aur” (and) must be kept in mind.
◈ Explanation
✔ The statement does not negate folding the hands altogether as being Sunnah.
✔ Nor does it exclude both chest and below-navel positions entirely from being Sunnah.
✔ Rather, the negation applies to the claim that only one of the two positions exclusively (either chest alone or below the navel alone) is Fard, Wājib, or Sunnah Mu’akkadah.
In other words:
- If someone claims that folding hands on the chest alone is Fard or Sunnah Mu’akkadah — this is not established by Qur’ān and Ḥadīth.
- Similarly, if someone claims that folding hands below the navel alone is Fard or Sunnah Mu’akkadah — this too has no Sharʿī basis.
Thus, folding the hands in prayer is Sunnah, but assigning exclusive compulsion to one particular style (chest-only or navel-only) is not supported by Sharīʿah.
Conclusion:Folding the hands in prayer is Sunnah, but neither on the chest exclusively nor below the navel exclusively has been proven as Fard, Wājib, or Sunnah Mu’akkadah. The Sunnah is the act of folding the hands itself, not the restriction to one specific style.
For full detail, refer to the author’s dedicated book on this subject, available in Urdu Bazar.
"ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب"
