Raising the Index Finger in Tashahhud – Evidence and Rulings
This excerpt is taken from the book “Mas’alah Rafʿ al-Sabbabah” (i.e., pointing with the index finger in Tashahhud) by Shaykh ʿAbdul Rauf Haanji al-Salafi.
Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه said:
Once I thought to myself, “I will carefully observe the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to see how he performs it.” I then attentively looked towards him:
ثم قبض اثنتين من أصابعه و حلق حلقة ثم رفع اصبعه فرأيته يحركها يدعو بها
(He folded two fingers, made a circle with the middle finger and the thumb, raised his [Tashahhud] finger, and I saw him moving it while supplicating.)
[Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Kitāb al-Iftitāḥ, 890 / Sunan Ibn Mājah, Abwāb al-Ṣalāh, 912]
Shaykh Shams al-Ḥaqq al-ʿAẓīmābādī رحمه الله (d. 1329H) stated:
وفيه تحريكها دائما إذ الدعاء بعد التشهد
(This proves moving the finger throughout Tashahhud, because supplication continues after Tashahhud until the Salām.)
[ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd, 3/196, under ḥadīth 985]
Shaykh Muḥammad Amīn حفظه الله (commentator of Sunan al-Nasāʾī) wrote:
This ḥadīth indicates that moving the finger until Salām in Tashahhud is Sunnah. The verb يُحرِّك is in the present tense here, indicating continuity, while يَدْعُو بِهَا is circumstantial, meaning that the Prophet ﷺ was moving the finger while supplicating with it.
[Sharḥ Sunan al-Nasāʾī (Urdu), 2/440, Dār al-Salām, Riyadh]
He narrated:
ووضع يده اليمنى علىٰ فخذه اليميني وأشار بإصبعه
(He ﷺ placed his right hand on his right thigh and pointed with his finger.)
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Masājid, 1307]
In Sunan Abī Dāwūd (988) it is narrated as:
وأرانا عبد الواحد وأشار بالسبابة
(And ʿAbd al-Wāḥid—the narrator—demonstrated to us, pointing with the index finger.)
This narration is also reported from Numayr al-Khuzāʿī رضي الله عنه.
[See Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Kitāb al-Sahw, 1272]
When the Prophet ﷺ sat in prayer, he would place both hands on his knees, raise the index finger of the right hand, and supplicate with it…
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Masājid, 1309 / Sunan Ibn Mājah, 913]
He held that pointing with the finger until Salām is correct. He argued that in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Daʿawāt, there is a narration where the Prophet ﷺ made a duʿāʾ after Tashahhud while pointing with the index finger—and duʿāʾ after Tashahhud is done near Salām. This proves that keeping it raised until the end is narrated.
[Tadhkirat al-Rashīd, p. 164, Bāb al-Tafaqquh wa’l-Iftāʾ, Maktabah Dār al-Kitāb, Deoband]
When ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما sat for Tashahhud, he would place his hands on his knees, point with his finger, and keep his gaze upon it. Then he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
بهي أشد على الشيطان من الحديد يعني السبابة
(This pointing with the index finger is more severe upon Shayṭān than iron.)
[Musnad Aḥmad, 2000; Mishkāt, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, 179 – ḥasan chain]
Some claim that instead of striking Shayṭān repeatedly, one effective strike would suffice, so there is no need to repeat it. Such people are friends of Shayṭān, intent on erasing Sunnahs, and even hold no value for ṣalāh.
It is Sunnah to give the index finger a slight bend when pointing.
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 991 – ḥasan chain / Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, 716]
There is no authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) or even weak (ḍaʿīf) ḥadīth establishing this. Whoever has such a narration should present it; otherwise, we invite them to act upon the authentic Sunnah.
Sunan Abī Dāwūd (989) mentions: ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet ﷺ would point with his finger while supplicating and would not move it.
This narration is weak due to Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān being a mudallis who narrates with “ʿan” without specifying hearing.
According to the agreed-upon ḥadīth principle: any narration outside the Ṣaḥīḥayn with a mudallis narrating via “ʿan” without clarification of hearing is considered weak.
In Tashahhud:
The method of raising the finger practiced among Barelwīs, Deobandīs, and Ḥanafīs is not authentically proven from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله. Whoever can provide a sound chain proving it from him may claim their reward—but the chain must be authentic.
Some people, when asked for a chain of transmission for a matter, respond with insults instead of evidence. This is against manners and is simply an excuse to avoid proof. Asking for isnād is not a new practice but a foundational principle in Islamic scholarship.
Qurʾān: ﴿قُتِلَ الْخَرَّاصُونَ﴾ (51:10) – “Destroyed are the conjecturers.”
Prophet ﷺ: كفى بالمرء كذبًا أن يحدث بكل ما سمع – “It is enough of a lie for a person to narrate everything he hears.” [Muqaddimah Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim]
Imām Ibn Sīrīn رحمه الله: إن هذا الحديث دين فانظروا عمن تأخذوه – “This ḥadīth is part of the religion, so see from whom you take it.”
Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak رحمه الله: الإسناد من الدين، ولولا الإسناد قال من شاء ما شاء – “The chain is part of religion; without it, anyone could say whatever they wished.”
Thus, one should not be angered when asked for evidence; rather, one should submit to the truth. May Allah grant us humility before the truth. Āmīn.
This excerpt is taken from the book “Mas’alah Rafʿ al-Sabbabah” (i.e., pointing with the index finger in Tashahhud) by Shaykh ʿAbdul Rauf Haanji al-Salafi.
① Observation of Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه
Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه said:
Once I thought to myself, “I will carefully observe the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to see how he performs it.” I then attentively looked towards him:
ثم قبض اثنتين من أصابعه و حلق حلقة ثم رفع اصبعه فرأيته يحركها يدعو بها
(He folded two fingers, made a circle with the middle finger and the thumb, raised his [Tashahhud] finger, and I saw him moving it while supplicating.)
[Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Kitāb al-Iftitāḥ, 890 / Sunan Ibn Mājah, Abwāb al-Ṣalāh, 912]
Shaykh Shams al-Ḥaqq al-ʿAẓīmābādī رحمه الله (d. 1329H) stated:
وفيه تحريكها دائما إذ الدعاء بعد التشهد
(This proves moving the finger throughout Tashahhud, because supplication continues after Tashahhud until the Salām.)
[ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd, 3/196, under ḥadīth 985]
Shaykh Muḥammad Amīn حفظه الله (commentator of Sunan al-Nasāʾī) wrote:
This ḥadīth indicates that moving the finger until Salām in Tashahhud is Sunnah. The verb يُحرِّك is in the present tense here, indicating continuity, while يَدْعُو بِهَا is circumstantial, meaning that the Prophet ﷺ was moving the finger while supplicating with it.
[Sharḥ Sunan al-Nasāʾī (Urdu), 2/440, Dār al-Salām, Riyadh]
② Report of ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما
He narrated:
ووضع يده اليمنى علىٰ فخذه اليميني وأشار بإصبعه
(He ﷺ placed his right hand on his right thigh and pointed with his finger.)
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Masājid, 1307]
In Sunan Abī Dāwūd (988) it is narrated as:
وأرانا عبد الواحد وأشار بالسبابة
(And ʿAbd al-Wāḥid—the narrator—demonstrated to us, pointing with the index finger.)
This narration is also reported from Numayr al-Khuzāʿī رضي الله عنه.
[See Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Kitāb al-Sahw, 1272]
③ Report of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
When the Prophet ﷺ sat in prayer, he would place both hands on his knees, raise the index finger of the right hand, and supplicate with it…
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Masājid, 1309 / Sunan Ibn Mājah, 913]
④ Statement of Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī (Deobandi)
He held that pointing with the finger until Salām is correct. He argued that in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Daʿawāt, there is a narration where the Prophet ﷺ made a duʿāʾ after Tashahhud while pointing with the index finger—and duʿāʾ after Tashahhud is done near Salām. This proves that keeping it raised until the end is narrated.
[Tadhkirat al-Rashīd, p. 164, Bāb al-Tafaqquh wa’l-Iftāʾ, Maktabah Dār al-Kitāb, Deoband]
⑤ Report from Nāfiʿ رحمه الله
When ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما sat for Tashahhud, he would place his hands on his knees, point with his finger, and keep his gaze upon it. Then he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
بهي أشد على الشيطان من الحديد يعني السبابة
(This pointing with the index finger is more severe upon Shayṭān than iron.)
[Musnad Aḥmad, 2000; Mishkāt, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, 179 – ḥasan chain]
Some claim that instead of striking Shayṭān repeatedly, one effective strike would suffice, so there is no need to repeat it. Such people are friends of Shayṭān, intent on erasing Sunnahs, and even hold no value for ṣalāh.
⑥ Slightly Bending the Finger in Tashahhud
It is Sunnah to give the index finger a slight bend when pointing.
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 991 – ḥasan chain / Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, 716]
⑦ Lifting at “Ashhadu an Lā Ilāha” and Lowering at “Illā Allāh”
There is no authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) or even weak (ḍaʿīf) ḥadīth establishing this. Whoever has such a narration should present it; otherwise, we invite them to act upon the authentic Sunnah.
⑧ On the Report “Without Moving”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd (989) mentions: ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet ﷺ would point with his finger while supplicating and would not move it.
This narration is weak due to Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān being a mudallis who narrates with “ʿan” without specifying hearing.
According to the agreed-upon ḥadīth principle: any narration outside the Ṣaḥīḥayn with a mudallis narrating via “ʿan” without clarification of hearing is considered weak.
⑨ Summary of the Ruling
In Tashahhud:
- Place the left hand on the left knee
- Close the two outer fingers of the right hand
- Make a circle with the thumb and middle finger
- Slightly bend the index finger and keep it raised
- Move it continuously as one points at something
⑩ Important Note
The method of raising the finger practiced among Barelwīs, Deobandīs, and Ḥanafīs is not authentically proven from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله. Whoever can provide a sound chain proving it from him may claim their reward—but the chain must be authentic.
A Humble Request
Some people, when asked for a chain of transmission for a matter, respond with insults instead of evidence. This is against manners and is simply an excuse to avoid proof. Asking for isnād is not a new practice but a foundational principle in Islamic scholarship.
Qurʾān: ﴿قُتِلَ الْخَرَّاصُونَ﴾ (51:10) – “Destroyed are the conjecturers.”
Prophet ﷺ: كفى بالمرء كذبًا أن يحدث بكل ما سمع – “It is enough of a lie for a person to narrate everything he hears.” [Muqaddimah Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim]
Imām Ibn Sīrīn رحمه الله: إن هذا الحديث دين فانظروا عمن تأخذوه – “This ḥadīth is part of the religion, so see from whom you take it.”
Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak رحمه الله: الإسناد من الدين، ولولا الإسناد قال من شاء ما شاء – “The chain is part of religion; without it, anyone could say whatever they wished.”
Thus, one should not be angered when asked for evidence; rather, one should submit to the truth. May Allah grant us humility before the truth. Āmīn.
