✍ Written by: Abu Hamzah Salafi
«رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَنْصَرِفُ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَعَنْ يَسَارِهِ، وَرَأَيْتُهُ، قَالَ، يَضَعُ هَذِهِ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ» وَصَفَّ يَحْيَى: الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى فَوْقَ الْمِفْصَلِ.
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ turning (after the salām) sometimes to his right and sometimes to his left, and I saw him placing this (hand) upon his chest.”
Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān demonstrated (practically) that the right hand was placed over the left above the wrist joint.
Reference:
The practical explanation of Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān constitutes Ziyādat al-Thiqah (an addition by a trustworthy narrator), which is accepted and given precedence according to the principles of ḥadīth.
وَرَأَيْتُهُ قَالَ يَضَعُ هَذِهِ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ ، وَصَفَّ يَحْيَى: الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى فَوْقَ الْمِفْصَلِ
and replaced the word “هَذِهِ” with “يَدَهُ”, thereby altering the entire narration.
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ turning to the right and left, and I saw him placing this upon his chest.”
In that case, neither would prayer be mentioned, nor would it be clear what was placed upon the chest. The entire narration would become incomplete and incoherent.
① ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ibn al-Jawzī cited it in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh as evidence in refutation of Imām Mālik.
② Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī and Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī al-Maqdisī also transmitted it in the chapter of prayer.
… «رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَضَعُ هَذِهِ عَلَى هَذِهِ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ، وَوَصَفَ يَحْيَى: الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى فَوْقَ الْمِفْصَلِ».
Reference: التحقيق في أحاديث الخلاف لابن الجوزي
‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placing this (hand) over this upon his chest,’ and Yaḥyā described that the right hand was over the left above the wrist.”
Simāk bin Ḥarb → Qabīṣah bin Hulb → Hulb رضي الله عنه
and graded it as ḥasan.
Reference:
Thus, the same chain exists in both Musnad Ahmad and Sunan al-Tirmidhī, and it has been graded ḥasan.
(شرح سفر السعادت، ص 48)
Thus, the objection is invalid.
«واسناده حسن، لکن قوله: “على صدره” غیر محفوظ.»
(آثار السنن، ص 107–108)
However, this view is not correct academically because:
✔ In Musnad Ahmad, Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān explicitly demonstrated the placement of the right hand over the left upon the chest.
✔ According to the principles of ḥadīth, Ziyādat al-Thiqah is accepted.
✔ Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān is an eminent, highly reliable Imām; his addition takes precedence.
② Imām al-Baghawī: «هذا حديث حسن…» (Sharḥ al-Sunnah)
③ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr: «…وهو حديث صحيح.» (al-Istīʿāb)
④ Ibn Ḥajar: «مقبول.» (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb)
⑤ Ibn Ḥibbān: Included in al-Thiqāt (No. 5031)
⑥ Abū Dāwūd: Remained silent upon the narration (his silence indicates ṣāliḥ).
⑦ Abū ʿAlī al-Ṭūsī: «حديث هلب حديث حسن.»
⑧ Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Būṣīrī: «رجاله ثقات.»
⑨ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Graded the chain ḥasan in three places (252, 301, 1565).
At least nine scholars declared Qabīṣah bin Hulb trustworthy or ḥasan al-ḥadīth.
✔ The original narration in Musnad Ahmad states that the Prophet ﷺ placed his right hand over his left upon his chest during prayer.
✔ Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān clarified this posture practically.
✔ The chain is graded ḥasan by Imām al-Tirmidhī.
✔ The objections regarding wording and authenticity are invalid.
✔ Qabīṣah bin Hulb is declared trustworthy by numerous scholars.
The narration of Qabīṣah bin Hulb is established with a sound and ḥasan chain. It clearly affirms that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed his right hand over his left upon his chest in prayer.
Therefore, this is Sunnah, and the objections raised against it are rejected.
Original Narration (Musnad Ahmad)
Arabic Text
21967 – حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، حَدَّثَنِي سِمَاكٌ، عَنْ قَبِيصَةَ بْنِ هُلْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ:«رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَنْصَرِفُ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَعَنْ يَسَارِهِ، وَرَأَيْتُهُ، قَالَ، يَضَعُ هَذِهِ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ» وَصَفَّ يَحْيَى: الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى فَوْقَ الْمِفْصَلِ.
Translation
Qabīṣah bin Hulb narrates from his father Hulb رضي الله عنه:“I saw the Prophet ﷺ turning (after the salām) sometimes to his right and sometimes to his left, and I saw him placing this (hand) upon his chest.”
Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān demonstrated (practically) that the right hand was placed over the left above the wrist joint.
Reference:
Reference: Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal: 21967
Clarification
The text mentions turning after salām and the manner of placing the hands — “اليُمنى على اليُسرى فوق المفصل” — which clearly indicates the posture during standing in prayer.The practical explanation of Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān constitutes Ziyādat al-Thiqah (an addition by a trustworthy narrator), which is accepted and given precedence according to the principles of ḥadīth.
✦ Objection No. 01
It is claimed that this narration is not related to prayer because the word “prayer” is not explicitly mentioned in the text. It is further alleged that Ahl al-Ḥadīth scholar Dāwūd Arshad inserted the word “prayer” into the translation according to his own will, and omitted the words:وَرَأَيْتُهُ قَالَ يَضَعُ هَذِهِ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ ، وَصَفَّ يَحْيَى: الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى فَوْقَ الْمِفْصَلِ
and replaced the word “هَذِهِ” with “يَدَهُ”, thereby altering the entire narration.
✦ Answer
To claim that the narration has no connection with prayer renders it meaningless and invalid. If the mention of prayer is denied, the translation would become:“I saw the Prophet ﷺ turning to the right and left, and I saw him placing this upon his chest.”
In that case, neither would prayer be mentioned, nor would it be clear what was placed upon the chest. The entire narration would become incomplete and incoherent.
✦ Statements of the Imams
The reality is that the leading scholars of ḥadīth have cited this narration under the chapter of prayer and used it as juristic evidence.① ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ibn al-Jawzī cited it in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh as evidence in refutation of Imām Mālik.
② Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī and Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī al-Maqdisī also transmitted it in the chapter of prayer.
Arabic Citation (Ibn al-Jawzī)
كِتَابُ الصَّلَاةِ، مَسْأَلَةٌ يُسَنُّ وَضْعُ الْيَمِينِ عَلَى الشِّمَالِ … لَنَا أَرْبَعَةُ أَحَادِيثَ، الْحَدِيثُ الثَّانِي:… «رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَضَعُ هَذِهِ عَلَى هَذِهِ عَلَى صَدْرِهِ، وَوَصَفَ يَحْيَى: الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى فَوْقَ الْمِفْصَلِ».
Reference: التحقيق في أحاديث الخلاف لابن الجوزي
Translation
“In the Book of Prayer: It is Sunnah to place the right hand over the left … Among our evidences is the second ḥadīth:‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placing this (hand) over this upon his chest,’ and Yaḥyā described that the right hand was over the left above the wrist.”
✦ Objection No. 02
It is alleged that Dāwūd Arshad falsely claimed that Imām al-Tirmidhī and ʿAllāmah Nīmwī Ḥanafī graded this narration as ḥasan. It is argued that Imām al-Tirmidhī did not transmit this narration with these words, and that the ḥadīth he graded as ḥasan has a different chain.✦ Answer
This claim is false. Imām al-Tirmidhī transmitted the same chain:Simāk bin Ḥarb → Qabīṣah bin Hulb → Hulb رضي الله عنه
and graded it as ḥasan.
Chain in Musnad Ahmad
21967 – حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ … عَنْ سِمَاكٍ، عَنْ قَبِيصَةَ بْنِ هُلْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ …Same Chain in Sunan al-Tirmidhī
① Ḥadīth 252
حَدِيثُ هُلْبٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ② Ḥadīth 301
حَدِيثُ هُلْبٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ③ Ḥadīth 1565
هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌReference:
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī
Thus, the same chain exists in both Musnad Ahmad and Sunan al-Tirmidhī, and it has been graded ḥasan.
✦ Objection No. 03
It is claimed that although the chain is the same, the wording differs, and the phrase regarding placing the hands on the chest is not present in Tirmidhī.✦ Answer
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Muḥaddith Dehlawī (Ḥanafī) transmitted this narration from Sunan al-Tirmidhī in his book Sharḥ Safar al-Saʿādah, clearly mentioning that the Prophet ﷺ placed his hands upon his chest.Citation (ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Dehlawī)
«وہمچنین روایت کرد ترمذی از قبیصہ بن ھلب از پدرش کہ گفت دیدم رسول خدا صلی اللہ وسلم کہ مینهاد دست خود را بر سینه خود.»(شرح سفر السعادت، ص 48)
Translation
“Likewise, Imām al-Tirmidhī narrated from Qabīṣah bin Hulb, from his father, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placing his hands upon his chest.”Thus, the objection is invalid.
✦ Objection No. 04
It is claimed that although ʿAllāmah Nīmwī graded the chain ḥasan, he declared the words “ʿalā ṣadrihi (upon his chest)” to be unpreserved.✦ Answer
The original statement of Nīmwī:«واسناده حسن، لکن قوله: “على صدره” غیر محفوظ.»
(آثار السنن، ص 107–108)
However, this view is not correct academically because:
✔ In Musnad Ahmad, Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān explicitly demonstrated the placement of the right hand over the left upon the chest.
✔ According to the principles of ḥadīth, Ziyādat al-Thiqah is accepted.
✔ Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān is an eminent, highly reliable Imām; his addition takes precedence.
✦ Objection No. 05
It is claimed that Qabīṣah bin Hulb is majhūl al-ḥāl (unknown status).✦ Answer: Authentication of Qabīṣah bin Hulb
① Imām al-ʿIjlī: «تابعي، ثقة.» (Tārīkh al-Thiqāt)② Imām al-Baghawī: «هذا حديث حسن…» (Sharḥ al-Sunnah)
③ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr: «…وهو حديث صحيح.» (al-Istīʿāb)
④ Ibn Ḥajar: «مقبول.» (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb)
⑤ Ibn Ḥibbān: Included in al-Thiqāt (No. 5031)
⑥ Abū Dāwūd: Remained silent upon the narration (his silence indicates ṣāliḥ).
⑦ Abū ʿAlī al-Ṭūsī: «حديث هلب حديث حسن.»
⑧ Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Būṣīrī: «رجاله ثقات.»
⑨ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Graded the chain ḥasan in three places (252, 301, 1565).
At least nine scholars declared Qabīṣah bin Hulb trustworthy or ḥasan al-ḥadīth.
Summary
✔ The original narration in Musnad Ahmad states that the Prophet ﷺ placed his right hand over his left upon his chest during prayer.✔ Yaḥyā bin Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān clarified this posture practically.
✔ The chain is graded ḥasan by Imām al-Tirmidhī.
✔ The objections regarding wording and authenticity are invalid.
✔ Qabīṣah bin Hulb is declared trustworthy by numerous scholars.
Conclusion
The narration of Qabīṣah bin Hulb is established with a sound and ḥasan chain. It clearly affirms that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed his right hand over his left upon his chest in prayer.Therefore, this is Sunnah, and the objections raised against it are rejected.
