Sunni / Shiia difference on folding or unfolding of arms during prayers

[Zeynab]

While talking to a Sunni who wants to know your sectarian branch, will first ask you how you offer prayers - by folding your arms or keeping them by your sides.  A Shiia might ask the same question in a similar situation.  This is because Sunnis fold their arms while offering prayers and Shiias keep their arms by their sides.
 
Needless to say, these rules are NOT Quranic and therefore they are irrelevant and not to be taken seriously.  
 
Praying is praying.   You can place your arms the way you like - folded or unfolded - that's not important.  What's important is a person's intent or niyah while praying.  First of all, we must worship Allah only in our prayers and our prayers must be for the sake of Allah only.  We must utilize the great values of our prayers to strengthen our Faith in Allah and to improve our conduct, failing which our prayers will hold no purpose in the sight of Allah regardless of how we place our hands.
 
This also reminds me of an excellent quote from Imam Khomeini that makes tons of sense.  He had once stated:  "We Muslims are busy bickering over whether to fold or unfold our arms during prayer, while the enemy is devising ways of cutting them off." MashAllah. This is so true and it's precisley my perception too.  We Muslims waste so much time squabbling, quarreling and arguing over petty matters.  We make ourselves look weak, stupid and self-hating before our enemies.  Such attitudes only benefit the enemies of the Muslims.  
 
The Noble Quran does not command us to fold or unfold our arms during prayers.  At the time of our beloved Prophet (S) there were no such bickerings on folding or unfolding of arms while praying, that's definite too.   So, how did this squabbling start?   As usual, it was started by a chain of Hadith narrations discussing movements and placements of the hands while totally ignoring the values of salaat.  Most of these Ahadith on folding the arms have popped up from the Sunni front.  As a backlash, some Shiia Ahadith sprang up too on the same issue.  
 
The term Qabd refers to folding arms (right hand over the left hand) and Sadl refers to keeping your arms or hands by your side at the time of prayers.  Thus, the Shiias support Sadl while the Sunnis uphold Qabd.  

The following are the Sunni Hadiths on folding hands during prayers (or Qabd)
 
Sahih Muslim - Book 004, Number 0792:
Wail b. Hujr reported: He saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) raising his hands at the time of beginning the prayer and reciting takbir, and according to Hammam (the narrator), the hands were lifted opposite to ears. He (the Holy Prophet) then wrapped his hands in his cloth and placed his right hand over his left hand. And when he was about to bow down, he brought out his hands from the cloth, and then lifted them, and then recited takbir and bowed down and when (he came back to the erect position) he recited: Allah listened to him who praised Him. And when prostrates. He prostrated between the two palms.

And now read the following .. the chain of narrators or isnad bragged as "science of hadith" sounds like a pathetic joke.

Hadith #2: The Hadith of Wa’il - Reported in Sahih Muslim [4/114]
“Zuhayr ibn Harb related to us, ‘Affan related to us, Hamam related to us,
Muhammad ibn Juhada related to us, ‘Abd Al-Jabbar ibn Wa’il related to
me, from ‘Alqama ibn Wa’il and a client of theirs that they both related to
him from his father, Wa’il ibn Hujr that he saw the Prophet - raise his
hands when he entered Salat. He said the takbir, he wrapped himself in his garment, and then placed his right hand on the left…[to the end of the hadith].”

A couple of more Sunni hadiths below:

Sahih Bukhari - Volume 1, Book 12, Number 707:
Narrated Sahl bin Sa'd:  The people were ordered to place the right hand on the left forearm in the prayer. Abu Hazim said, "I knew that the order was from the Prophet ."

Abu Dawood: Book 3, Number 0725:
Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr: I purposely looked at the prayer of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), how he offered it. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) stood up, faced the direction of the qiblah and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and then raised his hands in front of his ears, then placed his right hand on his left (catching each other).

All of the above are Sunni Hadiths which the Shiias and also some madhabs of Sunnis  consider weak or completely unauthentic .. many of them agreeing that the practice of folding of the hands in prayer came about after the Prophets death.   There are tons of other Sunni hadiths and almost all of them are taken as heavily tainted or untrue.  Thus, Abdullah bin Hamid Ali writes in his essay on Qabd & Sadl that "This short essay is written not to condemn the majority, or even say that their manner of prayer is incorrect. It is written to reveal to all that the position of holding one hand over the other in Salat is not as strong as people have come to accept. To the contrary, the argument that the Prophet prayed in this fashion is no stronger than the argument that he prayed while draping his arms at his sides."

Shiia sources on not folding the hands during prayers (or Sadl)

The Shiia Hadiths on placing the hands by the sides while praying seem to be much fewer than the Sunni Hadiths.  The one which is widely accepted which says to place the hands by the sides is attributed to Imam Ali which I quote: "The Muslim should not fold his hands in front of him while praying, standing before God: [ for, should he do so] he would be like the disbelieving fire-worshippers."   Also, according to Shiia sources,  a person by the name of Abu Hamid Al Sa’adi was a very close friend of the Prophet.  Al-Saadi is reported to have mentioned before several of the "companions" recognized by the Sunnis the precise and detailed manner in which the Prophet prayed, but he said nothing about folding of the hands.   From this, the Shiias conclude that if the Prophet had prayed folding his arms even occasionally, then Abu Hamid Al-sa’adi being a very close companion would have known it and mentioned it .. or at least, those present would have done so.  Some other Shiia Hadiths on this topic are from the Shiia imam Sadiq and can be found in the Shiia Hadith book no.3.

However, being a Quran alone follower and not a Hadith follower (neither Sunni nor Shiia hadiths), I have no idea of the arrangement of numbers or titles in both Sunni and Shiia ahadith books.

Conclusion  

Brothers and sisters, whether you fold your arms or not during salaat, it makes no difference at all.  It's entirely your choice.   What's important is to concentrate on your prayers and think of Allah only while offering your salaat.  And yes, you must be physically clean when you stand up for prayer.

May Allah, The Exalted, continue to grant us the insight to be focused only on the Glorious Quran and no other source for guidance.


To know more on Shiia / Sunni differences on insignificant matters, check the post:
Shiia madhabs

[saraawan]

Salaam
can u tell me sister how u offer prayer.i dont think so method is important when u offering prayers only Allah Accept our Namaz not methods but i want to ask it is important to said salaam to both sides (right and left in the end of the prayers ) or saying Allah Hu Akbar by raising of  hands near ears.
Regards.

[Zeynab]

Walaikum Salaam sister Sara.  You are right, these insignificant physical gestures of folding or unfolding of hands are not important as I've already stated in the post.  The most important thing is our intentions (niyyah) and our worship must be for Allah (Subhan Wa'Taala) only. 

The idea of folding the hands or not are just the wranglings of people.  As for me, I fold my hands during salaat, but that's just a habit.  Even if I some day forget to fold my hands and instead keep them by my sides, I won't be worried about that.

The gesture of doing salaam on the right and left sides at the end of salaat is the greeting of peace to the recording angels who record our deeds.  Salaam at the end of salaat is not mentioned in the Quran, however, it's not a violation of the Quranic dictates either.  So, it's okay to follow it.  The existence of the recording angels is mentioned in the Quran and doing salaam to these 2 angels is a sign of respect .. and I think it's a good thing to do.  You can read some more information on the recording angels with direct reference to the Quran at The "two Receivers" and the "trumpet is blown"

Saying Allah-o-Akbar is of course necessary which means Allah is Great.  This is a very truthful and beautiful expression. It's good to say it as many times as we like, and it's certainly important to say it during salaat.  But raising the hands upto the ears is not necessary.  If you want you can raise your hands, but even if you don't it's okay.  But Allah-o-Akbar must be said.

[Heba]

Very good piece, sister Zeynab.  My husband calls it the "battle of Qabd and Sadl" .. lol    The Hadith has again done it.  This initial question comes like a bazuka from both sunnis and shiias .... "how do u keep your hands while praying?"  The positioning of hands is more important to them than the extent of devotion to Allah while praying.   That quote from Imam Khomeini is really very sensible.  This is exactly what's going on within the Ummah today.  At least our Shiia brothers & sisters are making some efforts to reach out, unite and patch up the differences.  But the Sunnis are really being mean & nasty.  Far from trying to unite, they are taking pleasure in deepening the divide and some even openly talk of perpetrating violence.  Shameful and disgusting!  Such folks are not believers .. in fact they hardly belong to the human race.

[saraawan]

Salaam
Thanks for helping Zeynab.
Takecare
Regards.

[Zeynab]

@ Sister Sara, you are most welcomed.

@ Sister Heba .. well said.  couldn't agree more!

[Ruhi_Rose]

Mash'Allah, very useful and productive post.  JazekAllah Khairan.

Btw, would anyone know the sunni significance behind raising the hands upto the ears (for women upto the shoulders I suppose)?

[Heba]

I suppose the significance or purpose is some kind of confirmation for making the intent or niyyah for salat.  Sunnis often raise their hands before starting salat and probably before starting every new rakah.  and yeah, I think u r right.  Women are supposed to raise their hands upto their shoulders. Why this difference of "ears" and "shoulders" between men and women is something I wouldn't know.  In any case, this idea of raising the hands whether upto the ears or shoulders is not important.  The confirmation for the niyyah or intention to pray or start a new rakah can be made just as well within one's heart & mind instead of making it obligatory to show it physically.  What is important are the recitations.  And as sister Zeynab mentioned, to say "Allah-o-Akbar"  is very important and necessary.

[Ruhi_Rose]

hummm, right .... thanks a lot sis.  That makes lot of sense.

[Thinker_Truth_Seeker]

lol, can any wrangling be more petty than this?  And I really like that quote from Khomeini.  Makes tons of sense.

[iwan rse]

Thanks. I read in shia site, they said Umar ibn khattab copying the hand folding pose from majusi (fire worshipper) way of praying... that cant be true isnt it ?
The sunni madhab maliki dont fold their hand, because some hadith said the ppl of Madina dont do it....

----------------
sorry mistake, it is Maliki that not fold their hand...

[iwan rse]

lol, can any wrangling be more petty than this?  And I really like that quote from Khomeini.  Makes tons of sense.

Being traditional moslem we taught that praying pose is from Rasulullah Muhammad himself and must not be changed whatsoever. I even saw a person getting corrected for folding his hand the wrong way (too low near belly/too high etc)

[Zeynab]

Thanks. I read in shia site, they said Umar ibn khattab copying the hand folding pose from majusi (fire worshipper) way of praying... that cant be true isnt it ?

Being traditional moslem we taught that praying pose is from Rasulullah Muhammad himself and must not be changed whatsoever. I even saw a person getting corrected for folding his hand the wrong way (too low near belly/too high etc)

No, this is not right at all.  I wouldn't dwell on such issues.   Folding the arms or keeping them straight is not a big deal we need to quarrel about as the sunnis and shiias do.  It's a personal decision ..  whatever way you may personally choose and consider more respectful in the presence of Allah.  Some might think keeping the hands straight  is more respectful, some might consider folding them.  The Noble Quran does not emphasize at all on such matters.  Respect comes from the heart.  There's absolutely no such obligation in the Quran about folding our hands or putting them at our sides while offering salaat.   Whether or not the Prophet (s) or Umar bin Khattab folded their hands, the presumption of it comes only from certain sunni circles just as the idea of the Prophet (s) and imam Ali (s) not folding their hands come from certain shiia circles.  These cannot be attributed as the traditions of the Prophet (s) nor his family nor friends, there's no evidence for that.  These are simply the traditions set up by people of later times.  Moreover, Islam comes from the Quran, not from traditions.  Since the Quran has not laid down any hard & fast rules about folding the hands nor keeping them by the side, this becomes our personal choice.

[MuslimanMahlon]