The Hanafi madhhab’s (Ulama e Deoband) established tradition of putting hands below the navel during Salah (Namaz) is backed by a number of authentic narrations from the Tabi’in and Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhu (رضي الله عنهم), most notably one from Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) that claims it is from the Sunnah. Reports from Abu Mijlaz and Imam Ibrahim al-Nakha’i are important pieces of evidence.
Main Evidence for Placing Hands Below the Navel
- Narration of Hazrat Sayyiduna Ali (radi Allahu anhu) – (cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad ﷺ): Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan (no. 756) that Ali (RA) said: “From the Sunnah is to place one hand over the other in the prayer, below the navel”.
- Based on Athar of Ibrahim al-Nakha’i, a senior Tabi’i, “He places his right hand over his left hand in Salah below the navel” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 1/390).
- Abu Mijlaz’s report: According to his instructions, “He should place the inner portion of his right palm on the back of the left hand beneath the navel” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 1/390).
- Wa’il Ibn Hujr (RA) narrates: “I saw Rasoolullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) placing his right hand in the left one below the navel, in prayer,” according to another source.
- According to the Hadith of Anas (RA), one of the positive qualities of Nubuwwah is to place the right hand over the left below the navel.
Contextual Notes
- According to the Hanafi school, this is the correct and established position for men. For women in Salah, placing hands is different.
- There is some scholarly debate on this issue. However, the narration supporting placement below the navel is widely found in Hadith literature, especially in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah.
- Some scholars, such as Al-Albani, have considered the specific narration about placing the hands below the navel weak, but he is not (Al-Albani) an actual Salafi because he lived in the 20th century. Therefore Imam Abu Hanifa (Hanafi school) is a second-generation Muslim, he is, therefore, both a Tabi’i and a Salafi.