Prohibition of Sitting in the Iḥtibā’ Position During the Friday Sermon
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Sitting in the Iḥtibā’ Position is Prohibited During the Friday Sermon
It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Anas (رضي الله عنه) that:
إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَهَى عَنِ الْحُبْوَةِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ وَالإِمَامُ يَخْطُبُ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited sitting in the ḥubwah (iḥtibā’) position on the day of Jumuʿah while the Imam is delivering the sermon.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 982 | Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb al-Iḥtibā’ wal-Imām Yakhṭub | Abū Dāwūd: 1110 | Tirmidhī: 514 | Aḥmad: 3/439 | Ibn Khuzaymah: 1815 | Bayhaqī: 3/235]
❖ What is Iḥtibā’?
Iḥtibā’ refers to the posture in which one:
✔ Ties his back and legs with a cloth,
✔ Or clasps his knees with his arms,
✔ While his back is resting on the ground.
📚 [Al-Nihāyah: 1/335]
❖ Wisdom Behind the Prohibition
This posture is discouraged during the Friday sermon because:
① It leads to drowsiness,
② There is a risk of breaking the wudū’,
③ It may cause the exposure of one’s ‘awrah (private area) due to looseness of garments.
📚 [Maʿālim al-Sunan: 1/248 | Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/538]
