Azami 2103

Muslim narrated it in the Book of Mosques (536), from Ishaq bin Ibrahim, from Muhammad bin Bakr, from Ibn Jurayj, who said, Abu Zubayr informed me, and he related the hadith.The scholars have differed regarding the ruling on iqaa and its interpretation. If its meaning is that one places his buttocks on his heels between the two prostrations, which is what is meant in the hadith of Ibn Abbas, then it is recommended according to Shafii, and most of the people of hadith held this view. This has been established from the Abadila. Amash said, from Atiya, "I saw the Abadila sitting in iqaa during the prayer between the two prostrations," meaning Abdullah bin Zubayr, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Abbas. Ibn Abu Shayba narrated it (1/285-286) from Abu Muawiya, from Amash.Tawus likewise did this. Muawiya bin Khadij said, "I saw Tawus sitting in iqaa, so I said, 'I saw you doing iqaa?' He replied, 'You did not see me doing iqaa, but this is how the prayer is done. I saw the three Abadila doing that,' meaning Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Umar, and Abdullah bin Zubayr." Bayhaqi narrated it (2/119) via the route of Sufyan, who said, Abu Zuhayr Muawiya bin Khadij narrated to us, relating something similar.Bayhaqi said, "This is the iqaa that is permitted, or rather recommended, according to what we have related from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar, namely that one places the tips of his toes on the ground, places his buttocks on his heels, and places his knees on the ground."Tirmidhi said (283), after relating the hadith of Ibn Abbas, "Some of the scholars among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ held to this hadith and saw no harm in iqaa, and this is the view of some of the scholars and jurists of Makkah." End of quote.Maziri said in Al-Mulim (1/274), "It has been related from the Prophet ﷺ that he used to pray in iqaa position." Ibn Shumayl said, "Iqaa is to sit on one's hips, and it is the same as ihtifaz and istifaz." Maziri also said, "Thaalibi related, in discussing the forms of sitting, from the imams, that when a person presses his heels against his buttocks, it is called iqaa, and when he sits poised as if about to spring up to stand, it is called ihtifaz, iqanfaz, or qadal-qaafazi, and when he presses his buttocks to the ground with his legs positioned in between, it is called qirtas."I say, there is no contradiction between this iqaa described by Ibn Abbas, and explained by Ibn Shumayl and other linguists, and the iftirash mentioned in the hadith of Abu Humayd and others, for both of them are sunnah, and the scholars and jurists of Makkah held this view. It appears from this that the Prophet ﷺ used to do this sometimes and that sometimes, so there is no need to interpret it as having been done for some excuse such as illness or the like.As for if we interpret iqaa as pressing one's buttocks to the ground, keeping the legs upright, and placing the hands on the ground, like the iqaa of a dog or a monkey, as Harawi and other linguists have said, then this is the meaning found in the hadiths of prohibition, even though their chains are daif, such as the hadith of Ali bin Abu Talib, who said, the Messenger of Allah said to me, "O Ali, I love for you what I love for myself, and I dislike for you what I dislike for myself. Do not sit in iqaa between the two prostrations." Tirmidhi narrated it (282) from Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman, who said, Ubaydullah bin Musa informed us, Israil narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from Harith, from Ali bin Abu Talib, relating it. Tirmidhi said, "We do not know of this hadith from Ali except through the route of Abu Ishaq, from Harith, from Ali." He also said, "Some scholars have declared Harith Awar daif." End of quote.I say, besides Harith Awar being weak according to the scholars, this chain also contains Abu Ishaq Sabi, who is a mudallis and narrated with an ambiguous form of transmission (an).And similarly the hadith of Abu Hurairah, who said, "My close friend commanded me to do three things and forbade me from three things. He commanded me to pray the two units of Duha prayer, to fast three days of the month, and to pray Witr before sleeping. And he forbade me from three things, from turning my head during prayer like the turning of a fox, from doing iqaa like the iqaa of a monkey, and from pecking like the pecking of a rooster."This was narrated from Abu Hurairah through two routes. The first is through the route of Layth bin Abu Salim, from Mujahid, from Abu Hurairah, and Bayhaqi narrated it through this route (2/120). Ibn Abu Shayba narrated it (1/285) from Ali bin Mushir, from Layth with this chain, but confining himself to the wording, "My close friend forbade me from doing iqaa like the iqaa of a monkey." Imam Ahmad narrated it (10450, 10483) through two routes, from Layth with this chain, but he confined himself to mentioning the first part of the hadith and did not mention the second part. The first part has come through sahih routes, and this will be discussed later in the sections on the Duha and Witr prayers.The second route is what Abu Dawud Tayalisi narrated (2716), who said, Abu Awana narrated to us, from Yazid bin Abu Ziyad, from someone who heard Abu Hurairah say, relating the hadith at length. Imam Ahmad narrated it (7595) from Muhammad bin Fudayl, who said, Yazid bin Abu Ziyad narrated to us with this chain. This chain has two flaws, the first being Ziyad bin Abu Ziyad, who is daif, and the second being that the narrator from Abu Hurairah is unidentified. Sharik named him, in a narration from Yazid bin Abu Ziyad, as being Mujahid. Imam Ahmad narrated it (8106) from Yahya bin Adam, who said, Sharik narrated to us with this chain, but Sharik and his source are both daif.There are other hadiths on this subject besides what I have mentioned, and all of them are daif. Nawawi and others have confirmed this. For more, see Sunan al-Kubra (1/120).