Gaps Between Fingers in Prayer.

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: Assalamu alaykum

I have read multiple times online that a women is “required” to keep her fingers together with no gap during ruku’, sujood, and the sitting position in Salah. What does that mean? Do I have to tense up my fingers and squeeze them together so as to close any gap? Or are natural small gaps due to the hands being relaxed allowed?

Answer: Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

I pray you are well.

Ladies should keep their fingers and thumb close together in the positions of the prayer. This just means that they are to gently close the gaps between them. There is no need to press hard, or give yourself a cramp.

It is better to focus on gratitude and reverence in the prayer. These outward matter aid that as they are expressions of slavehood to Allah.

It’s better to learn from a teacher than to simply read. Books cannot answer your questions, and can be misunderstood. I recommend you take Shaykh Tabraze’s course on this topic. I’m certain that you’ll find it enriching.

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.

Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.

In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.

His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.

When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.