Folding Right hands over Left (Qabd) or Hands at the Sides (Sadl) during Salat?

INTRODUCTION
Apparently, there are proofs for both Qabd and Sadl during Salat in line with Sunni traditions. However certain quarters of the Muslim have labeled Sadl as Bid'ah (innovation) and strongly discouraged people from doing so.

# First, none of the Four Sunni Madhhabs (Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali and Hanafi) discouraged Sadl (hands by the sides during Salat).

# Only Imam Malik ibn Anas discourage Qabd (folding hands in Salat) totally in Fard Salat (Obligatory prayers). He only allows it in Nawafil prayer (non-obligatory prayers) WHEN the standing become too long [and as a result blood flow to the draped hands become hurtful].
Ref: {Al-Mudawwana Al-Kubra. 1/111. Dar al-Fikr: 1998}

* Scholars of Maliki school (from the past till date) have always maintained this practice (Sadl) as against Qabd. Unfortunately the practice is gradually going down due to the forceful approach of the Salafi who labeled it Bid'ah, and also inability of some to provide dalil (proofs) for Sadl.

# Few scholars insist that Imam Malik only prayed that way (Sadl) due to being tortured at the behests of the Abbasid caliph; torture that led to his arms being pulled out of their sockets. There is absolutely no substantial evidence in any reliable book of Islamic history, jurisprudence or any other reliable book for that matter.

Qabd: Folding hands (Right over Left)
# There are Reports that 18 of the Companions (Sahaba) and 2 of the Successors (Tabi’un) reported the Prophet as having prayed with his right hand over his left hand.

The "strongest" of these proofs are in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. Other evidences in other Sahih books are too weak to be accepted.

Examine The Ahadith
Hadith #1: The hadith of Sahl Reported in Al-Muwatta and Sahih al-Bukhari

"’Abdullah ibn Maslama related to us from Malik from Abu Hazim from Sahl ibn Sa'd. He said:

"The people were ordered that a person is to place the right hand over his left forearm during Salat." Abu Hazim said: "I know only that he attributes that (yanmi dhalika) to the Prophet." Isma’il said: "(I know only that) That is attributed (yunma dhalika)." And he didn’t say: "He attributes" (yanmi).

# Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali (al-Maliki) writes:

The Weaknesses of the Hadith
This hadith – in spite of being in both the Muwatta and the Sahih of Bukhari, isn’t definitive proof that the Prophet’s sunnah was to pray while holding his left hand with his right hand. What weakens such an assumption made from this hadith are the following:

Weakness #1: This is not an explicit report of a statement or action of the Prophet .

Weakness #2: The saying that, “The people were ordered that a person is to place the right hand over his left forearm during Salat” is the statement of the Companion, Sahl. And he doesn’t say that the Prophet gave this order. So there is the possibility that another could have given this order.

Weakness #3: The saying, “I know only that he attributes that (yanmi dhalika) to the Prophet ” is not the statement of Sahl. Rather it is the statement of the Tabi’i, Abu Hazim. So there is no certainty that Sahl actually attributed this to the Prophet , since Abu Hazim is merely conjecturing about what he remembers.

Weakness #4: The statement of Isma’il that, “(I know only that) That is attributed (yunma dhalika).” And he didn’t say: “He attributes” (yanmi)” further emphasizes the belief that Abu Hazim didn’t actually hear Sahl attribute the order to the Prophet.


Hadith #2: The Hadith of Wa’il Reported in Sahih Muslim

Muslim said as is in Sahih Muslim [4/114]:

“Zuhayr ibn Harb related to us, ‘Affan related to us, Hamam related to us, Muhammad ibn Juhada related to us, ‘Abd Al-Jabbar ibn Wa’il related to me, from ‘Alqama ibn Wa’il and a client of theirs that they both related to him from his father, Wa’il ibn Hujr that he saw the Prophet - raise his hands when he entered Salat. He said the takbir, he wrapped himself in his garment, and then placed his right hand on the left…[to the end of the hadith].”

Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali also writes:
The Weaknesses of the Hadith

Weakness #1: The narrator, Muhammad ibn Juhada, is weak. Nawwawi alluded to it by his saying, "In it is Muhammad ibn Juhada." And Ibn Hajar said in the introduction to Al-Fath [p. 361]:

“Muhammad ibn Juhada Al-Kufi was accused of being a Shiite". Then Ibn Hajar said after declaring Ibn Juhada as being one of the weak narrators, “Verily one of the conditions of (a hadith being) Sahih is that the transmitter be sound in creed.”

And in Mizan al-‘Itidal of Imam Dhahabi [4/418] he said that Abu ‘Awana Al-Waddah said about him: “He was extreme in his Shiism (kana yaghlu fi tashayyu’ihi)."

{NB: ALTHOUGH SOME SCHOLARS WEAKEN BASED ON CREED BUT THIS IS NOT A PROPER PROCEDURE TO WEAKEN IN RIJAL. TRUSTWORTHINESS AND SOUND MEMORY ARE ONLY CRITERIA TO ACCEPT NOT MADHHAB (Al-Albani and others says). INTERESTINGLY BULK OF NARRATORS OF MUSLIM AND BUKHARI WERE SHI'A, EXTREME}. [Albaqir].

Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali Continues:

Weakness #2: There is a second break in the chain, since ‘Alqama ibn Wa’il never met his father, Wa’il, on whose authority he is supposedly speaking.

Dhahabi in Al-Mizan [4/28] and Ibn Hajar in Taqrib al-Tahdhib [2/31] limited themselves to mentioning that "'Alqama is Saduq (veracious), except that he never heard any reports from his father, Wa’il.” And the reviser (muhaqqiq) of Al-Mizan placed a number next to him and said:

“[1] In the Thiqat of Ibn Hibban: (He said) His father died while he was in his mother’s womb.”

And in Siyar ‘Alam Al-Nubala of Dhahabi he mentions that Tirmidhi said in Al-‘Ilal Al-Kubra:

“I asked Bukhari: “Did ‘Alqama hear anything from his father, Wa’il?” He said: “Verily ‘Alqama was born after the death of his father by 6 months."

And Nawwawi said in Tahdhib al-Asma [1/343]: “Verily the reports of ‘Alqama from his father, Wa’il, are through an undisclosed intermediary (mursala).”

Weakness #3: The client mentioned alongside ‘Alqama is unknown and unidentified. So this counts as another break in the chain according to hadith scholars.

Weakness #4: Wa’il was from the city of Hadramaut (Yemen). He came to the Prophet when he was in Madinah, accepted Islam, and returned shortly after to his city. And due to him not taking up residence in Medinah, Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i rejected his hadiths related to the description of the Prophet’s prayer , as is found in Shafi’i’s Umm [1/105] under: ‘Those who oppose the raising of the hands'

What this means is that Wa’il wasn’t the greatest authority on the Prophet’s prayer, since he spent almost no time in his presence after accepting Islam at his hands.

Weakness #5: The hadith never states how Wa’il’s son or their client obtained information about what their father supposedly saw.

For instance, the chain reads, “…‘Abd Al-Jabbar ibn Wa’il related to me, from ‘Alqama ibn Wa’il and a client of theirs that they both related to him from his father, Wa’il ibn Hujr that he saw the Prophet - raise his hands when he entered Salat...” ‘Alqama could have said, “I heard my father say…”, “My father told me…” or “My father related to me that…” But no such expression is used in this hadith that would indicate that there was definitely a meeting between ‘Alqama and his father, Wa’il.

Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7IE2TeWsc8

Sheik Hamzah Yusuf:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6vobY94XkE

To be continue in sha Allah

it is ONLY a COMPLETE OLODO that would say some ahadeeths of sahih bukhari and sahih muslim are weak or fabricated lies.

i am only sad about ignorant people that will swallow this.

Fundamentalist:
it is ONLY a COMPLETE OLODO that would say some ahadeeths of sahih bukhari and sahih muslim are weak or fabricated lies.

i am only sad about ignorant people that will swallow this.

# What a mythical story?!

# Hmmm You know the two Sahihs were dictated by Angel Jubril (alaihim Salam), protected by Allah so that error could not come into it; and of course Prophet himself authenticated them before he died. That made the Sahihayn (sahih Bukhari and Muslim) perfect just like the holy Quran. I wonder what is then the function of the Quran to call itself "al-Furqan (the Criterion)" and "Clarifier of EVERYTHING", should the two Sahihs are free from errors?!

# Allamah al-Albani himself criticized many ahadith in the two Sahih and he submits the this justification:

But, whoever is in doubt concerning the verdicts I have given concerning some ahadith (in Sahih al-Bukhari), let him refer to Fath al-Bari, and he will find there lots and lots of things (in Sahih al-Bukhari) which have been criticized by al-Hafiz Ahmad b. Hajar al-Asqalani, who is rightly named the Amir al-Muminin in Hadith, and whom I believe - and I suppose that anyone who has this knowledge (i.e science of hadith) would agree with me - that no woman has ever given birth to anyone like him after him." {Ref: Fatawa (Cairo: Maktabah al-Turath al-Islami, 1st edition, 1414 H), p.525

So, based on this, both Imam al-Hafiz ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Allamah al-Albani were both COMPLETE OLODO for criticizing Sahih al-Bukhari

AlBaqir:
To be continue in sha Allah

Hadith #3: The Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud Reported in the Sunan of Abu Dawud and the Sunan of Nasa’i.

It is related that ‘Abd Allah Ibn Mas’ud said: “The Prophet saw me placing my left hand on my right hand in Salat. So he took my right hand, and then placed it over my left hand.”

# Abu Dawud’s chain is:
Muhammad ibn Bakkar – from – Hushaym ibn Bashir – from – Al-Hajjaj ibn Abu Zaynab – from – Abu Abi ‘Uthman – from – Ibn Mas’ud.

# Nasa’i’s chain is:
Hushaym ibn Bashir – from – Al-Hajjaj ibn Abu Zaynab – from – Abu Abi ‘Uthman – from – Ibn Mas’ud.

The Weaknesses of the Hadith
Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali writes:

Weakness #1:
Muhammad ibn Bakkar is unknown. Dhahabi stated it in Al-Mizan [4/412].

Weakness #2:
Weakness has been ascribed to Hushaym ibn Bashir. Dhahabi states in Al-Mizan [5/431], and Ibn Hajar states in Taqrib al-Tahdhib [2/269] that he: “Often used trickery in his reports to convince others to accept unacceptable chains of narration in addition to being guilty of conveying subtly distinguishable incomplete chains of narration (kathir at-tadlis wa al-irsal al-khafi).”

Weakness #3:
Al-Hajjaj ibn Abu Zaynab has been declared to be weak by ‘Ali ibn Al-Madini, Nasa’i, Ahmad, and Daraqutni as stated by Dhahabi in Al-Mizan [1/462].

Hadith #4: The Hadith of Hulb Al-Ta’i Reported by Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Daraqutni.

It has been related that Hulb Al-Ta’i said: “The Prophet used to lead us. And he would take his left hand with his right.”

This hadith is reported by way of Sammak ibn Harb – from – Qabisa ibn Hulb – from – his father, Hulb.

Weaknesses of the Hadith
Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali writes:

Weakness #1:
Qabisa ibn Hulb has been classified as weak and unknown. Shawkani said in Nayl al-Awtar [2/200]:

“In the chain of this hadith is Qabisa ibn Hulb. Sammak is the only one to narrate from him. Al-‘Ijli considered him to be reliable. And Ibn Al-Madini and Nasa’i said: “(He is) Unknown

Weakness #2:
Sammak ibn Harb has been classified as weak. Dhahabi said about him in Al-Mizan [2/422 & 423]: “Sufyan, Shu’ba, and others declared him to be weak. And Ahmad said: “(He is) Unstable (mudtarib) in hadith.” And Nasa’i said: “He used to be dictated to. And he would learn (from those dictated notes).”

So there is a weak transmitter on the authority of one who is unknown in the chain. So no attention is to be shown to it.

Hadith #5: The Hadith of ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib Reported by Abu Dawud

It has been related that ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib said: “It is from the Sunnah to place the right hand on the left hand during Salat under the navel.”

This has been related by way of ‘Abd Al-Rahman ibn Ishaq Al-Wasiti.

Weaknesses of the Hadith
Sheik Abdullah ibn Hamid Ali writes:

Weakness #1:
‘Abd Al-Rahman ibn Ishaq has been classified as weak. Dhahabi said of him in Al-Mizan [3/262]: “Ahmad said: “He is insignificant. (He is) Rejected in hadith.”” Nawwawi said in Sharh Muslim [4/115]: “(He is) Weak by the agreement (of hadith scholars).

^ To be continue in sha Allah

Fundamentalist:
it is ONLY a COMPLETE OLODO that would say some ahadeeths of sahih bukhari and sahih muslim are weak or fabricated lies.

i am only sad about ignorant people that will swallow this.

You Wrong Akhi, Very Wrong.

Fundamentalist:
it is ONLY a COMPLETE OLODO that would say some ahadeeths of sahih bukhari and sahih muslim are weak or fabricated lies.

i am only sad about ignorant people that will swallow this.

lol...its the other way round bro...there a lot of fictitious statements in sahih bukhari and sahih muslim a lot of them that goes against the teachings of the Holy koran..

These book are the work of men and mistakes are bound to occur,,,and this men did a good work,but its a scientific process and their good works should be continued so we can remove the flaws from them,we shouldn't stop where they stopped

Btw
that's why you see that when a non-muslim wants to attack islam.he does this with the hadiths....salman rushdi did the same

Fundamentalist:
it is ONLY a COMPLETE OLODO that would say some ahadeeths of sahih bukhari and sahih muslim are weak or fabricated lies.

i am only sad about ignorant people that will swallow this.

Mufti Diyaru Nairaland! Please stop there , at Thanawi level of a Standard Madrasah, there are subject called Mustalahul Hadith & Uloomul Hadith. With this 2 Subject, you'd be taught how to differentiate between a Weak Hadith and a Sound one. There are some Ahaadith is Sahihul Bukhaari that are not from Imaam Al-Bukhari himself(R), they are referred to Sahihu Maoqoofan. So, if such hadith are declared weak in Fathul Baari and Silsilatu Da'ifah, all you should do is get those books and study hard to know why and not this your blanket and loose statement above. Be careful. Wallahul Must'aan