Praying with the arms at the sides (sadl) or folded (qabḍ): the views of the four schools

In brief While standing in prayer, should the arms hang at the sides (as-sadl, or al-irsāl), or should the right hand be placed over the left (al-qabḍ)? In West Africa, where the Mālikī school predominates, both practices are often found side by side in the same row, and the question sometimes divides worshippers. The four schools agree on the essential point: this is a recommended manner of praying, not a pillar or an obligation. The prayer is valid either way. The reference texts Sahl ibn Saʿd as-Sāʿidī (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: كَانَ النَّاسُ يُؤْمَرُونَ أَنْ يَضَعَ الرَّجُلُ الْيَدَ الْيُمْنَى عَلَى ذِرَاعِهِ الْيُسْرَى فِي الصَّلَاةِ "People used to be commanded to place the right hand on the left forearm in prayer." (al-Bukhārī, no. 740; Mālik, al-Muwaṭṭaʾ) Abū Ḥāzim, who transmitted this hadith from Sahl, specified that he attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ.

Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (may Allah be pleased with him) described the Prophet's ﷺ prayer: ثُمَّ وَضَعَ يَدَهُ الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى "Then he placed his right hand over the left." (Muslim, no. 401) Those who hold to sadl rely on the practice inherited in Medina, on descriptions of the prayer that do not mention qabḍ (such as the hadith of the man whom the Prophet ﷺ taught how to pray, al-Bukhārī, no. 757), and on scholars of the early generations who are reported to have prayed with their arms at their sides.

What the four schools say Ḥanafīs Qabḍ is sunna. A man places the right hand over the left below the navel; a woman places her hands on her chest. They cite the statement attributed to ʿAlī: "It is part of the sunna to place palm upon palm below the navel" (Abū Dāwūd, no. 756), whose chain is considered weak by hadith specialists. Mālikīs The school has several positions: The position adopted in Khalīl's Mukhtaṣar and its commentaries: it is recommended (mandūb) to let the arms hang at the sides; qabḍ is disliked (makrūh) in obligatory prayers and permitted in voluntary ones.

This rests on what Ibn al-Qāsim reported from Mālik in al-Mudawwana: he did not know this practice in obligatory prayer and disliked it, but saw no harm in it in voluntary prayers when the standing is long. Mālikīs differ on the reason for this dislike: the fear of leaning on one's hands, the fear that ordinary people might think it obligatory, or the fear of displaying a humility one does not have. Ad-Dardīr retains the first: whoever does qabḍ to follow the sunna, and not to lean, does nothing disliked (ash-Sharḥ al-kabīr, with ad-Dasūqī's Ḥāshiya).

Other Mālikīs hold qabḍ in every prayer, obligatory or voluntary. They rely on Sahl's hadith, which Mālik himself reports in al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, and on what Muṭarrif, Ibn al-Mājishūn and Ibn Nāfiʿ reported from him. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr presents qabḍ as the view of the great majority of scholars (at-Tamhīd; al-Istidhkār). When they do qabḍ, Mālikīs place the hands below the chest and above the navel. Shāfiʿīs Qabḍ is sunna. The hands are placed below the chest and above the navel, the right hand holding the left wrist (an-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ). Ḥanbalīs Qabḍ is sunna.

The best-known position of the school is to place the hands below the navel; other narrations from Imam Aḥmad allow placing them higher (Ibn Qudāma, al-Mughnī). What everyone agrees on The prayer is valid with sadl as with qabḍ: no school makes it a pillar or an obligation. The question concerns the recommended manners of prayer, not belief. Each practice has been followed for centuries by recognised scholars. In West Africa today In countries of Mālikī tradition (Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, Niger…), sadl is the practice passed down by most teachers and Qur'anic schools.

Qabḍ is also practised, by Mālikīs following the school's other position and by worshippers who follow other schools or other teachers. The two practices are therefore often found side by side. Practical advice Follow the manner taught to you by your school or teacher, and learn its evidence. Do not reproach your neighbour in the row for a practice followed by great scholars. Do not make this question a cause of division: the unity of believers is an obligation, the position of the hands a sunna. وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا "Hold firmly, all together, to the rope of Allah, and do not be divided." (Āl ʿImrān, 3:103) Sources al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, nos. 740 and 757; Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, no. 401; Abū Dāwūd, Sunan, no. 756.

Mālik, al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, chapter on placing one hand over the other in prayer. Saḥnūn, al-Mudawwana, narration of Ibn al-Qāsim. Khalīl ibn Isḥāq, al-Mukhtaṣar; ad-Dardīr, ash-Sharḥ al-kabīr, with ad-Dasūqī's Ḥāshiya. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, at-Tamhīd and al-Istidhkār. al-Marghīnānī, al-Hidāya; Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-muḥtār. an-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab. Ibn Qudāma, al-Mughnī. Egyptian Dār al-Iftāʾ, fatwa no. 19034 on letting the arms hang at the sides in prayer. This article presents the views of the four schools to help you understand the question.

For your own practice, seek advice from a trusted person of knowledge.