Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu Alaykom WA Rahmat Allah Wa Barakatuh

“My beloved friend, Muhammad (SAW) forbade me to perform postures of prayer copying the picking of a rooster; (signifying fast performance of prayer), moving eyes around like a fox and the sitting like monkeys ( i.e. to sit on thighs).” (Imam Ahmad & at-Tayalisi) The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ” The worst thief is the one who steals from his own prayer.” People asked, ‘Messenger of Allah! How could one steal from his own prayer?’ He (SAW) said: “By not completing its rukoo’ and sujood.” (At Tabarani & al-Hakim).

Is this hadeeth correct? If it is, can you explain the sitting position for me please? Jazak Allah Khair. 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Rooster monkey fox prayer postures

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The above quoted hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad is accepted as ‘hasan’ by the vast majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam, which is basically one grade below the ‘sahih’ or authentic hadiths.

If it is, can you explain the sitting position for me please?

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.154

Topic: Sitting posture in prayer

It is considered Sunnah to to put one’s left foot down and to sit upon it, and to keep the right foot upright with its toe pointing toward the ‘qiblah’.

Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) reported that the Prophet (saws) would lay out and sit on his left foot and keep his right foot upright. (Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Hadrat Abdullah Ibn Umar (r.a.) reported that it is from the Sunnah to keep the right foot upright, with its toe pointing toward the ‘qiblah’, and to sit upon the left foot. (Related by an-Nasa'i.)

Al-Muwatta Hadith 3.51

Yahya related from Malik from Muslim ibn Abi Maryam that AIi ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Muawi said, "Abdullah ibn Umar (r.a.) saw me playing with some small pebbles in the prayer. When I finished he forbade me, saying, 'Do as the Messenger of Allah (saws) did.' I asked: 'What did the Messenger of Allah (saws) do?' He (Hadrat Abdullah ibn Umar (r.a.)) said, 'When he (the Prophet (saws)) sat in the prayer, he placed his right hand on his right thigh and he placed his left hand on his left thigh. That is what he used to do.'"

The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) when in the sitting posture in prayer was to place the left leg down and sit upon it, and to keep the right foot upright with its toe pointing towards the ‘qiblah’; to put the right hand (with the palm facing down) on the right thigh, to put the left hand on the left thigh with the fingers stretched out and directed toward the ‘qiblah’. The fingers should be (ever-so) slightly separated and should not go beyond the knees.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan