Feet / Fatiha / Tawarruk / Counting
Fouad Haddad
Bismillah was-salat was-salam `ala rasulillah:
Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's answers on the following:
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NOT TOUCHING FEET WHEN STANDING IN PRAYER ROWS
RECITING AL-FATIHA WITH TWO NOT SEVEN PAUSES
SITTING IN TAWARRUK IN ANY LAST RAK`A
COUNTING DHIKR WITH THE LEFT HAND
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This series is a correction of some of the aberrant passages of the
self-proclaimed pamphlet "Errors in Prayers that must be Avoided."
Generally speaking, it is useful to know that this pamphlet is based on
la-madhhabi methodology (i.e. they disregard the fiqh of the school and
make up their own, which they claim is based on a better understanding
of the sources than the Four Schools).
Also among what the la-madhabis cite among their "errors
that must be avoided" is the following:
Leaving gaps in lines of congregational prayer. The Messenger of
Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) commanded: Straighten your
lines, level your shoulders and block the gaps. Shaitan passes
through [line] gaps (footnote: Imam Ahmad and others).
-- from Errors in Prayers that must be Avoided
Some people go around the mosques nowadays insisting that the little
toe of their neighbour touch theirs when standing in the row to pray
in congregation and they will even splay their feet to insure it. The
Prophet never said that the feet should touch, but he did mention
the shoulders. Some quote the saying of one of the Companions that
their feet touched when they stood for salat in order to conclude
that it is wajib -- obligatory --
however, what is wajib can only be based on such as the explicit
statement of Allah or the Prophet, as Shawkani pointed out in Nayl
al-awtar (3:126): la yastadillu bi mithli qawli sahabi `ala al-
wujub: The wajib cannot be inferred from something like the saying
of a Companion.
Also among what the la-madhabis claim as "errors that
must be avoided" is the following:
Reciting surat al-Fatiha fast without pausing after each verse. The
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used to pause after each
verse of this surah (Footnote: Abu Dawood).
-- from Errors in Prayers that must be Avoided
We answer: The Sunna is to recite clearly and deliberately with a
beautiful voice, not to necessarily pause between each verse.
The two pauses dictated by meaning are clearly marked in the
mushafs of Ahl al-Sunna: one after maliki yawm al-din and one
after iyyaka na`budu wa iyyaka nasta`in.
Further, not pausing certainly does not mean that one is
necessarily reciting fast.
Furthermore, the hadith they have quoted is ghayr muttasil,
that is, missing a link. Abu Dawud narrated it thus (Sunan, book
of al-Huruf wa al-qira'at):
Sa`id ibn Yahya narrated to us: My father narrated to me:
Ibn Jurayj narrated to us from `Abd Allah ibn Abi
Mulayka from Umm Salama that she mentioned that the
recitation -- or some other word -- of the Prophet was:
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim / al-Hamdu lillah rabb al-
`alamin al-rahman al-rahim malik yawm al-din, and that
he would separate his recitation, reciting verse by verse
(ayatan ayatan)...
Tirmidhi in his Sunan (book of Qira'at) said of the above
chain: laysa isnaduhu bi muttasil -- its chain is not firmly linked.
This is because a sounder chain has al-Layth ibn Sa`d narrating
from Ibn Abi Mulayka from Ya`la ibn Mamlak from Umm Salam
that she described the Prophet's recitation as being harfan harfan --
"letter by letter" -- i.e. not verse by verse. The meaning of the
Prophet's example is that he was articulating each letter, not
necessarily pausing between each verse. This is firmly established
by the sound (sahih) hadith stating it explicitly, which is narrated
by Tirmidhi in the book of Salat, Ahmad in his Musnad (3:237),
Ibn Abi Shayba in his Musannaf (Fada'il #524), Nasa'i, and Abu
Dawud in the book of Salat, chapter entitled Istihbab al-tartil fi al-
qira'a -- Desirability of making one's recitation deliberate /
articulate. And Allah knows best.
Also among what the la-madhabis claim as "errors that
must be avoided" is the following:
Sitting in tawarruk position in the last rak'ah of Fajr and Jum'ah
prayers. It is praiseworthy to take tawarruk position only in the last
rak'ah of Dhtuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha' prayers. Tawarruk is
described in Sahih al-Bukhari as resting the body, during sitting
position, on the left thigh and putting the left foot under the right
leg, while setting the right foot upright; and supporting the body by
the left hand with which the left knee is grasped.
-- from Errors in Prayers that must be Avoided
We answer: There are several views on the issue among the
scholars and therefore it is impermissible to fault all the views other
than the one we pick and choose such as the above claim does. The
view of Imam Malik is that tawarruk is always the position for
sitting, whether in the first, or the second, or the only tashahhud.
The view of Imam Shafi`i and his school is that tawarruk is the
position for the final tashahhud, whether one prayed two or four
rak`at. The view of Imam Ahmad and his school -- which is being
falsely claimed here as the only valid view -- is that tawarruk is the
position for the final tashahhud only if one prayed four rak`at,
whereas if one prayed only two, as in Fajr or Jum`a, then he must
sit in iftirash. The view of Imam Abu Hanifa and his school is that
one must sit in iftirash every time, and that tawarruk is only
permissible, not praiseworthy, in case of difficulty in sitting in
iftirash. See: al-Mudawwana (1:74), Nawawi's Sharh al-
muhadhdhab (3:450), Ibn Qudama's al-Mughni (1:571), and
Marghinani's al-Hidaya (1:55).
The position of Imam Shafi`i is sound. It is established
from the hadith of Abu Humayd al-Sa`idi in Sahih Bukhari (book
of Adhan) that the Prophet sat in tawarruk in his last tashahhud.
This hadith does not specify whether it was at the end of two or
four rak`at but simply says: wa idha jalasa fi al-rak`a al-akhira
qaddama rijlahu al-yusra wa nasaba al-ukhra, wa qa`ada `ala
maq`adatihi: "Whenever he sat after his last rak`a he would put
forward his left leg, set up the other, and sit on his posterior." There
is no basis, therefore, for those who claim that tawarruk is for the
last sitting of four rak`at and not two. Shawkani said in Nayl al-
awtar (2:274): "The stipulation which Ahmad made is refuted by
the words of Abu Humayd."
Also among what the la-madhabis claim as "errors that
must be avoided" is the following:
Counting tasbeeh with the left hand.
The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used to count tasbeeh on
the fingers of his right hand after salah. Abdullah bin Amr reported
that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said,
(There are) two good deeds, any Muslim who does them shall enter
Jannah but few are those who do them: to say, "subhanAllah" ten
times, and "alHamdulillah" ten times, and "AllahuAkbar" ten times.
And I have seen the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wasallam) counting them on his hand. lbn Qudamah said: The
Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used his right
hand for tasbeeh [Abu Dawood]. The above hadeeth indicates
clearly that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used only one
hand for counting tasbeeh. No Muslim with sound mind would
imagine that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used his left
hand for counting tasbeeh. Aa'ishah, with whom Allah is pleased,
said that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used his left
hand only for Istinjaa', or cleaning himself after responding to the
call of nature. He never used it for tasbeeh. Yasirah reported: The
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) commanded women to count
tasbeeh on their fingers. The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wasallam) said: They (the fingers) will be made to speak, and will
be questioned (on the Day of Resurrection.) [Tirmidhi]. The above
hadeeth indicates that it is preferable to count tasbeeh on the
fingers of the right hand than to do so on masbahah (rosary).
-- from Errors in Prayers that must be Avoided
We answer: It is established that the Prophet said: "Count tasbih on
your fingers, for they will be called to witness." He never said to
use the right hand only. Therefore we should count tasbih on our
fingers, beginning with the right hand, as the Prophet always began
everything with the right side.
As for using a masbaha or dhikr-beads, then it is
established as a Sunna and this has been amply demonstrated
before, in the answer on Dhikr.
And Allah knows best.
Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions
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