Author: Ali Razi Date: 2015-11-14

What is the opinion of his Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani about praying with clasping hands[1]?

Answer to question: 2 Date: 2015-11-17

It is fair to say that putting the right hand on the left hand in prayer is not a tradition, because most of the narrations describing the prayer of the Messenger of Allah peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, are empty of its notice, but there is no notice of it in any correct narration, and arrived narrations in this regard are weak or Morsal[2] or Mouqoof[3], and this is the opinion of the household of the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the opinion of Abdullah ibn Zubair, Saeed ibn Mosayeb, Saeed ibn Jabir, Atta’, Ibn Jarij, Ibrahim Nakhaee, Hassan Basri, Malik ibn Anas, Laith ibn Saad, Mohammed ibn Sirin and some others from the followers and jurisprudents; but there is no disagreement among the Muslims that putting the right hand on the left hand in prayer is not obligatory, except some of them, similar to the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, consider it as recommended, and some of them, similar to Malikis and some of the Shia consider it as distasteful, and some of them, similar to most of the Shia, consider it as forbidden and nullifier of the prayer, and from some others, similar to Ouzaee, it has been quoted as optional, and with this description its abandonment is in line with caution and causes certainty about the correctness of prayer. Yes, it is right that such a work cannot be considered as forbidden and nullifier of the prayer; because it does not contradicts the uprising or calmness and is not disturber of prayer’s form, and with this respect is not regarded as an action, and with this description the opinion of Malik ibn Anas form the Sunni people and the opinion of Abu al-Salah Halabi of the Shia are true; as one of our companions informed us, said:

«سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْقَبْضِ فِي الصَّلاةِ، فَکَرِهَهُ وَ قالَ: أَقُولُ فِیهِ بِقَولِ فُقَهاءِ الْمَدِینَةِ! قُلْتُ: تُریدُ مالِکاً؟ قالَ: مالِکاً وَ خَیْراً مِنْ مالِکٍ»; “I asked his Honor about the clasping (Hands) in prayer, then considered it as distasteful and said: I give Fatwa about that similar to the quotation of Madinah’s jurisprudents, I said: do you mean Malik? He said: Malik and better than Malik”!

↑[1] . Translator note: It means to place one's right hand on the back of one's left hand, wrist and forearm while standing in prayer, which is applicable by Sunni people.
↑[2] . It is the case that the secondary narrator does not mention the middleman who has heard the narration from the Prophet or his households directly.
↑[3] . It is the case that the narrator does not hear the narration from the Prophet or his households, but has heard from a middleman.