❖ Question:
What is the correct stance on raising or moving the index finger during tashahhud in prayer?
❖ Answer by:
Shaykh Ḥāfiẓ Khidr Ḥayāt ḥafiẓahullāh
Shaykh Saʿīd Mujtabā Saʿīdī ḥafiẓahullāh
① Raising the Finger (Without Movement):
The sound and preferred opinion is that the index finger should be raised from the beginning to the end of the tashahhud, without moving it.
Narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu):
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، أَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُشِيرُ بِأُصْبُعِهِ إِذَا دَعَا وَلَا يُحَرِّكُهَا
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 989)
“The Prophet ﷺ used to point with his finger when making supplication, but he did not move it.”
② Moving the Finger:
Some scholars prefer the narrations that mention movement, and consider it permissible to move the finger during supplications in tashahhud.
However, several scholars of Hadith and Fiqh have classified the movement-related narrations as weak, and not strong enough to override the more established practice.
③ Reconciliation and Balanced View:
Imām al-Shawkānī (raḥimahullāh) in Nayl al-Awṭār presented a reconciliation between the two views:
The Prophet ﷺ used to point with the finger but did not move it repeatedly.
This can be understood as:
The finger should be raised at the beginning of tashahhud and remain raised in a pointing state until the end, without repetitive motion.
④ Scholarly Opinions:
✔ Shaykh Saʿīd Mujtabā Saʿīdī and Shaykh ʿUmar Fārūq al-Saʿīdī also affirm that the finger should remain raised without movement from the beginning to the end of tashahhud.
✔ Shaykh Khidr Ḥayāt references the Arabic book
"البشارة في شذوذ تحريك الإصبع و ثبوت الإشارة",
which declares finger movement as an unpreferred (non-rajih) act, while affirming the legitimacy of pointing.
Summary:
The preferred and stronger opinion is to raise the index finger at the beginning of tashahhud and keep it pointed until the end, without moving it.
Those who opt to move the finger should avoid excessive or unnecessary movement.
