Pointing the Finger during Du‘ā’ in Tashahhud is Sunnah
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
عن عبدالله بن الزبير قال: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا قعد يدعو، وضع يده اليمنى على فخده اليمنى ويده اليسرى على فخده اليسرى وأشار بإصبعه السبابة ووضع إبهامه على إصبعه الوسطى ويلقم كفه اليسرى ركبته
‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه narrates:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would sit and make du‘ā’, he would place his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, point with his index finger, place his thumb on the base of his middle finger, and spread his left palm, grasping his knee.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 216/1, Ḥadīth 579]
① This ḥadīth shows that during tashahhud, pointing the finger at the time of du‘ā’ is Sunnah. Some people raise the finger at ashhadu an lā and lower it at illā Allāh — this practice is not established from any ḥadīth. The apparent meaning of the aḥādīth indicates that the finger should remain raised from the beginning to the end.
Mawlānā ‘Āshiq Ilāhī Meerathi (Deobandi) writes that there was hesitation about how long the raising of the index finger should last in tashahhud, and whether it is mentioned in any ḥadīth. This issue was presented to (Rashīd Ahmad Gangohi). He immediately replied that in the Book of Supplications of al-Tirmidhī, there is a ḥadīth stating that after tashahhud, the Prophet ﷺ read a certain du‘ā’ and at that time was pointing with the index finger. Since du‘ā’ is recited near the end of prayer before salām, it is proven that keeping the finger raised until the end is mentioned in ḥadīth.
[Tadhkirat al-Rashīd: 113/1]
② Some people have prohibited this pointing due to a few fiqh-based narrations. For example, the author of Khalāṣah Kaydānī writes: (al-bāb al-khāmis fī al-muḥarramāt wa-l-ishārah bi-l-sabbābah ka ahl al-ḥadīth, p. 15–16) — meaning, “The fifth chapter on prohibited matters, including pointing with the index finger as the Ahl al-Ḥadīth do.” This statement is invalid because it contradicts the above ḥadīth and other evidences.
③ Against this authentic Sunnah, some so-called modernists have written utterly condemnable remarks in their letters and publications.
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
Pointing after Sending Ṣalāh (Darood)
عن عبدالله بن الزبير قال: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا قعد يدعو، وضع يده اليمنى على فخده اليمنى ويده اليسرى على فخده اليسرى وأشار بإصبعه السبابة ووضع إبهامه على إصبعه الوسطى ويلقم كفه اليسرى ركبته
‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه narrates:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would sit and make du‘ā’, he would place his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, point with his index finger, place his thumb on the base of his middle finger, and spread his left palm, grasping his knee.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 216/1, Ḥadīth 579]
Benefits
① This ḥadīth shows that during tashahhud, pointing the finger at the time of du‘ā’ is Sunnah. Some people raise the finger at ashhadu an lā and lower it at illā Allāh — this practice is not established from any ḥadīth. The apparent meaning of the aḥādīth indicates that the finger should remain raised from the beginning to the end.
Mawlānā ‘Āshiq Ilāhī Meerathi (Deobandi) writes that there was hesitation about how long the raising of the index finger should last in tashahhud, and whether it is mentioned in any ḥadīth. This issue was presented to (Rashīd Ahmad Gangohi). He immediately replied that in the Book of Supplications of al-Tirmidhī, there is a ḥadīth stating that after tashahhud, the Prophet ﷺ read a certain du‘ā’ and at that time was pointing with the index finger. Since du‘ā’ is recited near the end of prayer before salām, it is proven that keeping the finger raised until the end is mentioned in ḥadīth.
[Tadhkirat al-Rashīd: 113/1]
② Some people have prohibited this pointing due to a few fiqh-based narrations. For example, the author of Khalāṣah Kaydānī writes: (al-bāb al-khāmis fī al-muḥarramāt wa-l-ishārah bi-l-sabbābah ka ahl al-ḥadīth, p. 15–16) — meaning, “The fifth chapter on prohibited matters, including pointing with the index finger as the Ahl al-Ḥadīth do.” This statement is invalid because it contradicts the above ḥadīth and other evidences.
③ Against this authentic Sunnah, some so-called modernists have written utterly condemnable remarks in their letters and publications.
