Jami' at-Tirmidhi

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 260

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Jami` at-Tirmidhi 260
Arabic hadith text

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، بُنْدَارٌ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَامِرٍ الْعَقَدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا فُلَيْحُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبَّاسُ بْنُ سَهْلِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، قَالَ اجْتَمَعَ أَبُو حُمَيْدٍ وَأَبُو أُسَيْدٍ وَسَهْلُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ فَذَكَرُوا صَلاَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ فَقَالَ أَبُو حُمَيْدٍ أَنَا أَعْلَمُكُمْ بِصَلاَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَكَعَ فَوَضَعَ يَدَيْهِ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ كَأَنَّهُ قَابِضٌ عَلَيْهِمَا وَوَتَّرَ يَدَيْهِ فَنَحَّاهُمَا عَنْ جَنْبَيْهِ ‏ .‏ قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَنَسٍ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ أَبِي حُمَيْدٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏ وَهُوَ الَّذِي اخْتَارَهُ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يُجَافِيَ الرَّجُلُ يَدَيْهِ عَنْ جَنْبَيْهِ فِي الرُّكُوعِ وَالسُّجُودِ ‏.‏

Translation

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Muhammad ibn Bashshar, known as Bundar, narrated to us: Abu Amir al-Aqadi narrated to us: Fulayh ibn Sulayman narrated to us: Abbas ibn Sahl ibn Sa‘d narrated to us, who said: Abu Humayd, Abu Usayd, Sahl ibn Sa‘d, and Muhammad ibn Maslamah gathered and discussed the prayer of the Messenger of Allah. Abu Humayd said: ‘I know the prayer of the Messenger of Allah best among you. When the Messenger of Allah bowed, he placed his hands on his knees as though gripping them, held his hands taut, and moved them away from his sides.’

A report on this subject is also related from Anas. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Humayd is hasan sahih. This is what the scholars preferred: that a man hold his arms away from his sides while bowing and prostrating.

Notes and open questions — unreviewed

  • The motion in bowing combines hands gripping the knees with the arms held away from the torso; the compiler extends that preferred posture to prostration as well.

  • ‏ فَقَالَ أَبُو حُمَيْدٍ أَنَا أَعْلَمُكُمْ بِصَلاَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَكَعَ فَوَضَعَ يَدَيْهِ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ كَأَنَّهُ قَابِضٌ عَلَيْهِمَا وَوَتَّرَ يَدَيْهِ فَنَحَّاهُمَا عَنْ جَنْبَيْهِ ‏ .

    The verb describing the hands is figurative and paired with moving them away from the sides; the exact arm tension is not further specified.

    Does “held his hands taut” express the gesture clearly enough in English?