1 . أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْهَرَوِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنِ الْقَبْضِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، فَكَرِهَهُ وَقَالَ: أَقُولُ فِيهِ بِقَوْلِ فُقَهَاءِ الْمَدِينَةِ، قُلْتُ: تُرِيدُ مَالِكًا؟ قَالَ: مَالِكًا وَخَيْرًا مِنْ مَالِكٍ.
Translation of the saying:
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Harawi informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about holding (one hand over the other) in prayer. So he considered it detested and said: “I say about it according to the view of the jurists of Medina.” I said: “Do you mean Malik?” He said: “Malik and those better than Malik.”
Explanation of the saying:
By Malik, he meant Malik ibn Anas al-Asbahi al-Yamani (d. 179 AH), who was one of the jurists of Medina. He held the view that it is detested to place the right hand over the left hand in prayer. By those better than Malik, he meant Abu Ja‘far al-Baqir (d. 114 AH) and Ja‘far al-Sadiq (d. 148 AH) from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, who were also among the jurists of Medina and held the view that the hands should be hung down in prayer.
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ الْجُوزَجَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ التَّكْفِيرِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي وَاللَّهِ لَأَكْرَهُ أَنْ أَتَشَبَّهَ بِآلِ فِرْعَوْنَ، أَلَا تَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى تَمَاثِيلِهِمْ كَيْفَ يُكَفِّرُونَ؟! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ سُنَّةٌ! قَالَ: سُنَّةٌ لِآلِ فِرْعَوْنَ! ثُمَّ قَالَ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُرْسِلُ يَدَيْهِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، وَكَانَ لَا يَتَصَنَّعُ كَمَا تَتَصَنَّعُونَ.
Translation of the saying:
Isa ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Jowzajani informed us, he said: I asked him about placing the hands over each other in prayer. So he said: “Indeed, by Allah, I hate to copy the house of Pharaoh! Do you not see their statues, how they have placed their hands over each other?!” I said: “They say it is Sunnah!” He said: “A sunnah for the house of Pharaoh!” Then he said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, let his hands hang down in prayer, and he did not act pretentiously as you do!”
Explanation of the saying:
Acting pretentiously is feigning proper conduct. The house of Pharaoh placing their hands over each other is evident in their statues, which can be seen in the following pictures:
For more information on this, refer to Q&A 63.