When should we put up our index finger for Tashahhud & when to put it down?

[saydahaljuhuiam]

Did you know your helping lots of people it’s really nice of you to help may allah bless you and go to jenna

[muhammadsulaiman_]

Some hadith related to finger movement and where to look during TASHAHHUD:

📚 Wa'il bin Hujr said: "I said: 'I am going to watch how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prays.' So I watched him and he stood and said the takbir, and raised his hands until they were in the level with his ears, then he placed his right hand over his left hand, wrist and lower forearm. When he wanted to bow he raised his hands likewise. Then he prostrated and placed his hands in level with his ears. Then he sat up and placed his left leg under him; he put his left hand on his left thigh and knee, and he put the edge of his right elbow on his right thigh, then he held two of his fingers together and made a circle, and raised his forefinger, and I saw him moving it and supplicating with it."
(Sunan an-Nasa'i 889)

📚 Narrated Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to point with his finger (at the end of the tashahhud) and he would not move it.
(Sunan Abi Dawud 989)

📚 "Abd Allah b. al-Zubair narrated the above tradition on the authority of his father saying: He kept his look fixed on the finger he was pointing.
(Sunan Abi Dawud 990)

[Mohammed_Suhaib]

Thank you very much Sheikh for giving the advice.

[goodvibezallday]

Praise be to Allah.. Mashalla..this answered a question I had.. I'm new to the Deen

[radirandom]

It is also a difference in the 4 schools.
I am hanafi and we just raise it for the "ashaduallah illaha illahu WA ashadu Anna muhamadan abduhu warasulooh" part.
I heard the shafi, the hanbali and maliki do it differently like one moves it back and forth and one holds it still.

[yasararafatha]

Anybody from TNTJ here ? From TamilNadu

[limitedquantitysufiyyahexp]

السلام عليكم
Brothers and sisters, you can also look at Sifat Salat By Ustadh Abdurahman Hassan for very detailed information.

[sbad]

It was probably done by the prophet (saw) for functional reasons i.e. to stay on track with supplications. I believe he was a pragmatic man having known that he was to be an example for all mankind. He wants to make things easy for us as much as possible by taking the theory Allah obligated and made it practical for us to follow.

[muhcineaouzal]

If i don't my index finger move shake it our prayer invalid or valid i need to know

[bigfoot]

A lot of people move it so much as if it's shaking, and that is very distracting no matter how hard you try to ignore it. They do it all the way till salaam.

[theyinkaquadri]

Is it mandatory to recite the dua after the Tashadud?

[alfalaq]

Do I put the index finger down during Salawat?

[cebetmohd]

please remove the word...we cannot see the example explain bu sheikh.

[gappuma]

Why do arab leaders point upward when giving speeches? 😁

[qasmb]

Iv'e heard that moving your finger up and down during tashahhuud, this actually attacks and hurts shaytan head.

[Faruk]

There are numerous ahadith which indicate to raising the index finger in tashahud as an act of sunnah.

Saaiduna Abdullah Ibn Umar Radiallahu Anhu said “When the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam sat for tashahud, he placed his left hand on his left knee and placed his right hand on his right knee, and he formed a ring like, and pointed with his finger at ‘La Ilaha’ ”. (Sahih Muslim)

Saaiduna Waail Ibn Hujr Radiallahu Anhu narrates that he saw the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam when he sat in prayer spread out left foot and placed his hands on his thighs and pointed with his index finger making supplication in this way. (Sunan Nasai p.187v.1)

Hazrat Moulana Muhammed Zakariya (RA) has given an overview of the four Schools of Thought with regards to whether the index finger should be raised and moved continuousy or not. Imam Abu Hanifah (RA), Imam Shafi (RA) and Imam Ahmed Hanbal (RA) are of the view that the finger should not be moved continuously in tashahud.

The most common view in the Maliki Fiqh is of moving the finger, however Ibn Qasim and Ibn Arabi oppose this view. (Awjazul Masalik p.117 v.2)

Imam Nawawi (RA) has said that the movement of the finger in Salah is Makruh. (Al Majmu p.454 v.3)

Ibn Qudamah has also said that the index finger should not be moved in the tashahud. (Mughni p.99 v.2)

The view of Imam Abu Hanifah (RA), Imam Shafi (RA) and Imam Ahmaed Hanbal (RA) is established through the hadith narrated by Saaiduna Abdullah Ibn Zubair Radiallahu Anhu that the Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alahi Wasalam would point with his finger when he prayed and he would not move it. (Sunan Nasai p.187 v.1)