Keeping hands unfolded (while standing) is the natural posture, and those who follow it do not need any hadith to justify their action. Has any one asked you to quote a hadith that you should keep your eyes open during prayer? It is those who deviate from natural way who should justify their behaviour from Quran and/or hadith. And when we look at their systems, an interesting picture comes before our eyes. It appears from some reports that when Iranian prisoners were brought before Umar, they stood before him with folded hands. On being asked the reason, they said that it was their custom to stand before the elders with folded hands. Umar said: Then we too should do the same when we stand before Allah in prayers. That was the beginning. But as I will explain later the idea was not accepted in Medina. There are some pointers which show that it had caught up in the early days of Muawiyahs governorship in Damascus. When Anas ibn Malik, a companion of the Prophet (s.a.w.), went to Syria, he wept and said: I do not see here anything which I used to see in the days of the Prophet (s.a.w.), except this prayer and that too is disfigured. (Sahih al- Bukhari). Then there are these four Imams of the Sunnis. Look at their fatwas concerning this matter; and you will see the truth yourself. 1) Imam Malik ibn Anas (died 179) lived in Medina. He orders his followers (the Malikiyah) to keep their hands open, saying that it is the way the people of Medina pray, and they must have learnt it from the Prophet (saw). 2) Imam Abu Hanifah (died 150 A.H.) and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (died 241 AH.) lived in Iraq and they ordered their followers to keep the hands folded. 3) Imam Shafii (died 204 A.H.) was born in Mecca, studied in Medina and then shifted to Iraq and finally to Egypt. He gives his followers choice of folding the hands or keeping them open.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 19:51:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015