1. Analysis of Current
Trend
2. Ahadith pertaining to
manners of standing in the row.
(Stand close, avoid gaps, shoulder to
shoulder, knee to knee, feet to feet, neck to neck, ankle to ankle, line up
chests etc)
3. Analysis of Hadith & The Correct
Understanding:
4. Ahle Sunnah view of positioning the feet (View
of Four Imams)
1. Analysis of Current Trend
In this fourteenth century of the Islamic era, we
observe that few people started to spread the legs wide apart during Salaat. In
the bid to touch the toes of the person standing adjacent to them, few people
disfigure their stance and ruin their composure with the mental preoccupation
of touching the toes of the person standing on both sides in the Row during the
congressional prayers (Jamaat). Even when performing Salaat alone, they stretch
the legs hideously apart. But for this innovation there is absolutely no Shar’i
evidence.
A solitary Hadith which makes reference to ‘foot
with foot’ has been grievously misunderstood and misinterpreted. Besides this it
appears that the proofs refuting this misunderstanding have been intentionally
ignored.
A perusal of the relevant Ahadith on this subject
will convince every unbiased Muslim that this interpretation of the Hadith is a
potion & invention of the nafs, designed, prepared and inject in few minds by
the Iblees to create rifts and discord in the Ummah. When people opt to abandon
the practices which the Aimmah Mujtahideen have reported on the basis of the
authority of the Sahaabah, then shaitaani manipulation is evident. It is not
unknown that from past few decades bunch of people are denying the ways of Salf-e-Saaliheen
(Imams of fiqh) belonging to the Noblest Ages of Islam (Khairul Quroon) and in-turn
invent new ways based on the personal opinion understanding of Ahadith &
Quran.
A little reflection would convince that the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen being Students of the Sahaabah and being mountain of knowledge in themselves would had better understanding of sharia as compared to the emerging self reformers who is never par with Aima e Arba in knowledge/piousness/god fearing & understanding of Deen.
Any act which has been accepted and practiced by
the entire Ummah from the earliest era of Islam to 14 centuries of Islam cannot
be a deviation. The deviation is the act which is in conflict with this sacred
Unanimity. One of such erroneous deviance/practices currently observed is this
act of spreading the legs wide apart during Salaat.
All four Math-habs of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah
unanimously refute the view of spreading out of feet to such extent. None of
the Madhab teaches that the legs should be spread out widely neither when
standing for Salaat nor that the toes of the Musalli alongside should be
touched. Few even go to great lengths in spreading their legs in the bid to
touch the next man’s toes causing annoyance and much irritation.
The emphasis In all the ahadith narrations dealing with the row formation is to align the rows & avoid gaps in between musallies, not on the physical touching feet/knees/neck/ankles of the adjacent musalli. Furthermore, in order to sustain this misunderstood practice of stretching the legs wide open in salah, few are adopting this unusual stance even while performing Salaat alone. While a man who is uneducated in the laws of the Shariah may misunderstand the solitary Hadith in which reference has been made to “foot with foot”, the same mistake cannot not be made in so far as Salaat performed alone because the question of “foot with foot” is not remotely related to infiraadi Salaat, i.e. performing Salaat alone.
Claiming this to be Sunnah, the deniers even impose this practice on women to stand with their legs wide open saying there is no difference between prayer of men and women, what an misunderstanding again and what an miserable and immodest stance for a woman to adopt? A woman is an object of concealment according to the statement of Prophet (peace be upon him). When she has to stretch her legs wide open, she adopts the stance of lewd and shameless women. Throughout Salat, a woman’s postures are to be constricted -- made small and drawn in, not asserted like a man asserts and expresses his actions during Salaat (covered in separate article).
As far as their stance is concerned for the munfarid, there is not a single Hadith which can be cited in substantiation for this regard which anyhow is utterly baseless. All the relevant Ahadith on this topic teach the contrary, namely, that the feet should be held slightly apart. There also exists consensus of the Four Math-habs on this issue.
As far as the actual position of feet for the Row is concerned, they conveniently overlook all the Ahadith which negate the corrupt view. In taking to this view, they deliberately cast aside what exactly the Hadith in question says. They took a single word (namely ‘foot with foot’) out of the context of the Hadith and formulated the practice of stretching the legs wide apart and touching the toes of the musallis standing alongside on either side in the Row. For understanding this issue, it is best that we cite all the relevant Ahadith pertaining to manners of standing in congregation.
2. Ahadith pertaining to manners of standing in
the row.
I.
Lineup shoulders and close gaps, straighten rows,
become tender/flexible:
Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) narrates that
Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Straighten the rows (sufoof), line up the
shoulders, close the gaps and become tender in the hands of your brothers. Do
not leave any gaps for shaitaan. Whoever joins the Row, Allah will join him.
And whoever cuts the Row Allah will cut him.” [Abu Dawood, Kitab al salat-2, Hadith 666] [Become tender: that
is to comply when a brother musalli in the row touches your shoulder indicating
that you should bring it in line with the shoulders of the other musallis in
the Row. And to go soft & flexible]
II.
Lineup chests & shoulders.
Narrated Al-Bara' ibn Azib: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) used to pass through the row from one side to the other; he
used to set out chests and shoulders in order, and say: Do not be irregular.
And he would say: Allah and His angels bless those who are near the first rows.
(Sunan Abu Dawood, Kitab Al-Salat-2, hadith 664)
III.
Close together, shoulder to shoulder, foot to
foot.
Hadhrat Anas Bin Maalik (ra) narrates that the
Iqaamah for Salaat was given. Prophet (peace be upon him) turned towards us and
said: “Straighten your rows and stand close together, for verily I see you from
behind.” In a narration of Hadhrat Anas (ra) it is mentioned: “Everyone among
us would put his shoulder with the shoulder of his companion (alongside) and
his foot with his foot.” (Sahi Bukhari,
Book of Adhan-11,
Hadith 692)
IV.
Close together, avoid gaps, stand neck to neck
Hadhrat Anas (ra) narrates that Prophet (peace be
upon him) said: “Stand close together in your rows, bring them near one
another, and stand neck to neck, for by Him in Whose hand my
soul is, I see the devil coming in through openings in the row just like a
small black sheep (lamb). (Abu Dawood,
kitab al salaat-2, hadith 667, also recorded by Nisai. Authenticated by Ibn
Hibbaan. (Bulooghul Maraam)--*I’laaus Sunnan)
V.
Stand close, shoulder to shoulder, leave no
spaces/gaps.
Narrated Abu Umamah, Allah's Messenger (peace be
upon him) said: Verily Allah and His angels shower blessings on the
first row. They said: Allah's Messenger, what about the second (row? He
said: Allah and His angels shower blessings on the first row. They said: Allah's
Messenger, what about the second one? Thereupon he said: Verily Allah and His
angels shower blessings on the first row. They said: Allah's Messenger,
what about the second one? And Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: On
the second (also). Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Straighten
your rows, stand shoulder to shoulder, stand close to the
end of your brothers, and close up the intervening spaces for Satan penetrates
what is between them as does a black kid meaning the young of the goat. (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith, Hadith 339)
VI.
Shoulder to shoulder, Knee to Knee, Ankle to
Ankle:
It was narrated that al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer
said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
turned to face the people and said, ‘Straighten your rows,’ three times, ‘for
by Allaah either you straighten your rows or Allaah will create division among
your hearts.’ And I saw men standing shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, ankle
to ankle.” (Abu Dawood, 662) [note: Most
published editions of sunan abu dawud printed in the indian subcontinent do not
contain this hadith. The beirut edition of sunan abu dawud contains this hadith
along with the manuscript which has this hadith]
VII.
Line up Shoulders:
Malik Ibn Abi amir Ansari (ra) narrates:
"Utman Bin Affan (ra) would recite in his khutba: 'When the salat is
ready, arrange the sufuf properly and lineup with the shoulders (i.e the
shoulders to the musallis should all be in line and touching) [Muhammed al
shaybanai: Muwatta, p.56 (No98) Cairo]
VIII.
Lineup chests:
Nu'man b. Bashir reported: The Messenger of Allah
(may peace-be upon him) used to straighten our rows as it lie
were straightening an arrow with their help until he saw that we had
learnt it from him. One day he came out, stood up (for prayer) and was about to
say: Allah is the Greatest, when he saw a man, whose chest was bulging out from
the row, so he said: Servants of Allah, you hint straighten
your rows or Allah would create dissension amongst you. (sahi muslim kitab as salat-4, hadith 875)
Maalik Ibn Abi Aamir Ansaari (radhiyallahu anhu)
narrates: “Uthmaan Bin Affaan (ra) would recite in his Khutbah: ‘When the
Salaat is ready, arrange the rows properly and line up with the shoulders’
(i.e. the shoulders of the musallis should all be in line and touching).” (Muatta Imaam Muhammad)
These are about all the narrations pertaining to
the manner and style of standing in Jamaat Salaat out of many ahadith which
show emphasis of straitening the rows few of which are given below as an
example.
-
Narrated
An-Nu'man bin 'Bashir: The Prophet said, "Straighten
your rows or Allah will alter your faces." (sahi bukhari, Book of Adhan-11,
Hadith 685)
-
Narrated
Anas: The Prophet said, "straighten your rows, for I see you from
behind my back.' (ibid,
Hadith 686)
-
Narrated
Anas bin Malik: Once the Iqama was pronounced and Allah's Apostle faced us and
said, "straighten your rows and stand closer together, for I see
you from behind my back.' (ibid,
hadith 687)
-
Narrated
Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "straighten your rows as
the straightening of rows is essential for a perfect and correct
prayer." (sahi bukhari, book
of adhan-11, Hadith 690, sahi muslim kitab as salat-4, hadith 871)
-
Nu'man
b. Bashir reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)
say: straighten your rows, or Allah would create dissension amongst you.
(sahi muslim kitab as salat-4,
hadith 874)
-
Narrated
An-Nu'man ibn Bashir: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) used
to straighten our rows when we stood up to pray, and when we
were straight, he said: Allah is most great (takbir). (Sunan Abu Dawood, Kitab Al-Salat-2, Hadith 665)
Now people of this age, while grabbing the words foot
to foot, ignore neck to neck and shoulder to shoulder. Meaning their
understanding of the ahadith is at odds with that scholars of hadith and fiqh. Now
if one starts taking the meaning of all Ahadith literally, How would one
explain that if two persons of different height are standing next to each other
in a row during salah will align their necks which are never in straight line. In
the same way the narrations joining of knees is commanded, joining which is practically
impossible as with different heights, since the height of knee will vary with
height of every individual.
Thus joining knees to knees is impossible, it
becomes clear that the meaning of the hadith is to encourage and emphasize
filling of the gaps and straightening of the rows and not the actual joining,
sticking or locking them. This is why Al khattabi said about the hadith that
has been narrated by Ibn Abbas (ra) from the prophet (peace be upon him) that he said "the best of you are those
of you who have the most gentle shoulder in salah" [abu dawood kitab al
sunan, 1:460 (nu. 672). "the meaning of this (hadith) is to have
tranquility throughout the salah, and to be comfortable within it, and not to
push nor rub against the shoulders of the one next to him" [shams al haqq
al azimabadi: awn al Mabud 2:261, dar al kutab al ilmiyyah, Beirut.
Similarly, if the literal sense of the 'ankle to
ankle' has to be accepted, it will place the musallis under great stress to
achieve what is not simple because the protruding heels are barriers for this
achievement.
Analysis of Hadith & The Correct Understanding:
Explaining these Ahadith, Imaam Bukhari
(rah) states in the section captioned: “Joining
shoulder to shoulder”:
“This is what the Jamhoor have said: ‘Verily, the meaning (of joining in this context) is complete nearness and lining up, not actual joining (or touching).’ Hafiz Ibn Hajaral - Asqalani writes in his commentary Fath al Bari: "(Imam Bukhari's) reason for choosing this specific title (Joining shoulder to shoulder) is to exaggerate (mubalagaha) the importance of straightening the rows and filling the gaps in between. [Fath Al-Bari, 2:211. Beirut: Dar al Marifah]
Imam Badr al-din al-Aini too has said so. With
this, the indication is towards emphasis in straightening the sufoof and
closing the gaps. (Umdat al-Qari
5:377 Beirut: Dar al kutub al ilmiyyah)
Imam Qastalani and others have also said
this (irshad al-Sari, 2:67, Egypt (Bulaq) al matbaa al kubra al Amiriya)
This means that the narration is not to be taken literally, Allama Shawkani whom ghair muqallids constantly refer to, also has not taken the meaning literally, He writes in his book Nayl al Awtar: " [The statement of the Companion] means, place the parts of the body [shoulder etc] in line with each other, so that shoulder of each person performing prayer is in level with the shoulder of each person perfoming prayer is in level with the shoulder of the next person. This way everyone's shoulders, knees and feet will be in a single straight line." [ Nayl al Awtar: 4:200. Cairo Dar Ibn Affan]
In clear words, this indicates that the real reason
for joining the shoulders and other parts as to straighten the rows, not that
the joining itself is an obligatory act. Is should be noted that the emphasis
is on closing the gaps. There should be no gap between two adjacent members
(musali) standing in the row. There should be no gap between two persons
standing in the row.
There is no difference of opinion among the salaf
al salihin between the stance of the musalli in congregation and in performing
alone. There is no difference regarding the gap between feet. It is not that
spreading the feet should be more in congregation than when performing salat
alone.
The summary of this is: When we do not find the
Sahaabah and the Taabi-een differentiating in their standing position between
Jama’ah and individual Salaat, then we understand that the only meaning of Prophet’s
statement of ‘joining the shoulders’ is to line up closely and to abstain from
leaving gaps (between the musallis).
Even sheikh salih al -Uthaymin salafi agreed to
the position of ahle sunnah on this matter. He says in his majmu fatawa 13:15,
dar al turaya, Saudi Arab.
The correct position regarding straightening of
the row is that the ankles should be in line with each other, not the ends of
the toes, and that is because the body is supported upon the ankle, and the
feet differ in regard to the toes, because some feet are long, and some feet
are short. So it is impossible to ensure straightness except by the ankles (I,e
by the ankles being in line with each other).
As for joining the ankles to the ankles of the
others, then no doubt this is reported from sahaba (ra) for they would
straighten the rows by joining ankles, that is, everyone of them would join his
ankle with the ankle of his neighbor to ensure being line, and the straightness
of the row. So it is not meant as an aim in itself, but rather as a means of achieving
another aim, as some of the people of knowledge have mentioned. Therefore, when
the rows are completed and the people are standing. It is befitting for
everyone of them to join his ankle to the ankle of the companion to ensure
straightness. It does not mean that he should continue this joining and remain
so for the whole salah.
From the extremism that has occurred with regard
to this issue is what is done by some people in that one of them will join his ankle
to the ankle of his companion, and he will spread his feet so far apart until
there is a gap between his shoulder and the shoulder of this companion, so he
will oppose the sunnah by doing that. But the aim is that the shoulders and
ankles should be in line with each other.
Ahle Sunnah view of positioning the feet
According to the Ahl as Sunnah the following
measures are mustahab (recommended) between the musallis own feet when praying:
a. Hanafi Madhab:
In the Hanafi school (also in the Shafi'i school),
there are predominantly two views. One is to stand with a gap of four fingers
in between one's feet, as is mentioned in Ibn 'Abidin's authoritative
commentary of the al-Durr al-Muhtar (1:462). The second view, mentioned in the
commentary of Sunan al-Tirmidhi,Ma'arif al-Sunan, is that there is no specified
distance to be maintain between one's feet and it is permissible to stand as
one finds comfortable.
It was narrated from Abu Ubaidah that Abdulah saw
a person standing in salah with his feet together [i.e touching each other]. He
said: "He is going against the Sunnah; he advised the person that if he
practiced Murawah it would have been better [Nasai: Sunnan, 1:311 (No 966) Dar
al kutub al ilmiyyah, beirut]
It was narrated from Abdullah that he saw a aman
is praying with his feet together. He said: "He is not following the
sunna. If he were to practice murawaha, I would like that better [ibid, 967]
Both the chains are weak, but are different; hence
strengthen each other. These two chains are supported by two other hadith
narrated by Imam Ibn Abu Shayba, which are fair (hasan)
The arabic word Murawaha usualy means to stand on
one foot and then the other, alternating between them as one becomes tire.
However, another meaning of Murawaha is to leave a slight gap between the feet,
and this seems to be the most probable meaning of this word in reference to the
above narration, since the person had been standing with his feet together. If
we take this latter meaning of the term Murawaha, the hadith means that
'Abdullah Ibn Masud (ra) instructed the person to maintain a small gap between his
feet, since the sunnah was not to completely join the feet together [nor keep
them far apart].
It has been reported that 'Abdullah bin Umar (ra)
would not leave a wide gap in between his feet and nor would he totally join
them (in salah) but he would adopt a comfortable and moderate method i.e. not
too close and not too wide [ Ibn Qudamah: Al Mughni 1:696, Dar al Fikr Beirut]
b. Maliki Madhab:
According to the Maliki madhab, the distance
should be moderate, neither together nor so wide apart which is considered
repugnant.
c. Shafaii View
In Shafaii, the gap between the feet should be one
hand. It is makruh (dislike) to spread the feet wider than this.
d. Hanbali View
According to the Hanbali madhab, There should be
small gap between the feet of the musalli.
From all the narrations
and views of the Muhadditheen and Fuqaha of the Khairul Quroon era it is
abundantly clear that the Hadith which mentions joining foot with foot does not
have a literal meaning. It simply means that the feet should be all in line, and
this is achieved by the heels of the musallis all being in the same line. This
will ensure a straight saff on which the emphasis of all the Ahadith is.
It is not conceivable
that the salaf as Salaiheen [all the Imams of the madhab were among them] were
in deviation and the bunch of people in current era with their limited knowledge
and understanding are guided better. The greatest evidence for the view of the
madhab is that whatever they teach has been acquired directly from either the
sahaba or the tabaeen.
May Allah save us from
misguidance and keep us steadfast to correct path, the path of those whom he
has blessed with correct understanding of Deen.
Extracted from the book:
The position of Feet in Salaah by Engg. Fazlullah Sabri Chishti
Limited brief is also available
online at http://falaah.co.uk/
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