Can I Pray with My Hands Below the Navel? (Shafi’i)

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question: Assalam alaykum,

I have read that Imam ash-Shafi’i (rahimahullah) had three opinions on where to place the hands, and one is beneath the navel. Is it permissible to do so and still be following the Shafi’i madhhab?

Answer: Wa alaykum al-Salam

I am not aware of Imam al-Shafi’i having a position that states that one should place his hands below the navel in Salah. Yes, Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, a prominent Shafi’i jurist held this position, however his position is not the carried or official view of the Shafi’i madhhab. Consequently, while an adherent of the Shafi’i School may practice on this position and place his hands beneath his navel, it is preferred that he practices upon the official view, by placing his hands beneath the chest and above the navel.

Further, it is interesting to note that with regards to the placement of one’s hands in Salah, three opinions do exist, not in the Shafi’i School necessarily, but among the famous schools of jurisprudence.

1. Below the navel
This is the position of the Hanafi school, the likes of Abu Ishaq in the Shafi’i School and an opinion in the Hambali school.

2. Below the chest and above the navel
This was the position the Shafi’i school and an opinion in the Maliki and Hambali schools.

3. Irsal or placing the hands on one’s side
This opinion exists with in the Maliki School and may be practiced upon, but not necessarily encouraged, by other schools like the Shafi’i madhhab.

In his badhl al-Majhud, Mln Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanfuri, said, “The schools of jurisprudence are restricted within [these] three positions … none of the schools of the [early] Muslims held that hands should be placed on the actual chest. Consequently, the position of placing one’s hand on the chest contradicts th schools (madhahib) of the Muslims and goes against a combined consensus.”

And Allah knows best
Wassalam
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.