The Sunnah. The second narration is that he does sit. Al-Khallal chose this, and it is one of the two sayings of al-Shafi'i. Al-Khallal said: Abu 'Abd Allah returned to this; meaning he abandoned his statement of not sitting, because of what Malik ibn al-Huwayrith narrated, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to sit when he raised his head from prostration before rising. [Narrated by al-Bukhari] (3). Abu Humayd also mentioned it in the description of the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) (4), and it is a hasan sahih (good and authentic) hadith, so acting upon it and adhering to it becomes established.
It was said: If the prayer-performer is weak, he sits for the rest (istirahah) due to his need to sit, and if he is strong, he does not sit due to having no need for it. The sitting of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was interpreted as having occurred in the latter part of his life, during his old age and weakness; in this, there is a harmonization between the reports and a middle ground between the two opinions.
When we say he sits, it is possible that he sits in the iftirash posture (spreading the left foot and sitting on it), following the same manner of sitting between the two prostrations, which is the school of al-Shafi'i. This is due to the statement of Abu Humayd in the description of the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Then he folded his leg, sat down, and sat straight until every limb returned to its place, then he rose." This is explicit regarding the manner of the sitting of rest, so it is necessary to adhere to it. Al-Khallal said: It was narrated from Ahmad by more people than I can count that he sits on his buttocks. Al-Qadi said: He sits on his feet and buttocks, placing them on the ground, because if he sat in the iftirash posture, he would not be safe from forgetfulness, and he might doubt whether he sat after the first prostration or the second; by this [other method], he is safe from that. Abu al-Hasan al-Amidi said: Our companions do not differ that he should not press his buttocks against the ground in the sitting of rest, rather he sits raised from the ground. According to both narrations, he rises for the standing upon the balls of his feet, leaning upon his knees, and he does not lean upon his hands. Al-Qadi said: His opinion does not differ that he does not lean upon the ground, whether we say he sits for rest or he does not sit. Malik and...
(3) In M: "Agreed upon (muttafaq 'alayh)." It was recorded by al-Bukhari in: The Chapter of One Who Prays with the People While Intending Only to Teach Them the Prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and His Sunnah, from the Book of the Adhan. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/172. (4) The takhrij (authentication/sourcing) of the hadith of Abu Humayd was previously presented on page 122. (5) In M: "yarji'u" (returns).
السُّنَّةُ. والرِّوَايَةُ الثانيةُ: أنه يَجْلِسُ. اخْتَارَهَا الخَلَّالُ. وهو أحَدُ قولَىِ الشافعىِّ. قالَ الخَلَّالُ: رجَعَ أبو عبدِ اللهِ إلى هذا. يَعْنِى تَرَكَ قَوْلَه بِتَرْكِ الجُلُوس؛ لمَا رَوَى مالكُ بنُ الحُوَيْرِثِ، أنَّ النَّبِيَّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- كانَ يَجْلِسُ إذا رَفَعَ رأسهُ مِن السجودِ قَبْلَ أنْ يَنْهَضَ. [رَواهُ البُخارِىّ] (٣). وذَكَرَهُ أَيضًا أبو حُمَيْدٍ في صفةِ صلاةِ رسولِ اللهِ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- (٤)، وهو حديثٌ حسنٌ صَحِيحٌ، فَيَتَعَيَّنُ العَمَلُ به، والمصيرُ إليه.
وقيل: إنْ كانَ المُصَلِّى ضَعِيفًا جلسَ للاسْتِرَاحَةِ؛ لحَاجَتِهِ إلى الجُلُوسِ، وإنْ كان قوِيًّا لم يَجْلِسْ؛ لغِنَاهُ عنه، وحُمِلَ جُلوسُ النَّبِيِّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- على أنَّه كان في آخرِ عُمْرِه، عند كِبَرِه وضَعْفِه، وهذا فيهِ جَمْعٌ بين الأخبارِ، وتَوَسُّطٌ بين القولَيْن.
فإذَا قُلْنَا: يجلِسُ. فَيَحْتَمِلُ أنه يَجْلِسُ مُفْتَرِشًا على صفةِ الجلوسِ بين السَّجْدتيْنِ، وهو مذهبُ الشافعىِّ؛ لقَولِ أبي حُمَيْدٍ فِي صفةِ صلاةِ رسولِ اللهِ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-: ثُمَّ ثَنَى رِجْلَه، وقَعَدَ، واعْتَدَلَ حتى رَجَعَ (٥) كلُّ عُضْوٍ في مَوْضِعِهِ، ثم نَهَضَ. وهذا صَرِيحٌ في كَيْفِيَّةِ جِلْسَةِ الاسْتِرَاحَةِ، فيَتَعَيَّنُ المَصِيرُ إليه. وقالَ الخَلَّالُ: رَوَى عن أحمدَ مَنْ لا أُحْصِيهِ كَثْرَةً، أنَّه يَجْلِسُ على أليَتَيْهِ. قال القاضي: يَجْلِسُ على قدمَيْهِ وَألْيَتَيْهِ، مُفْضِيًا بهما إلى الأرضِ؛ لأنَّه لو جَلَسَ مُفْتَرِشًا لم يَأْمَنِ السَّهْوَ، فَيَشُكُّ هل جَلَسَ عن السَّجْدةِ الأُولَى أو الثَّانِيةِ؟ وبهذا يأْمَنُ ذلك. وقال أبو الحسنِ الآمِدِىُّ: لَا يَخْتَلِفُ أَصْحَابُنَا أَنَّهُ لَا يَلْصِقُ أَلْيَتَيْهِ بِالأرْضِ فِي جِلْسَةِ الاسْتِرَاحَةِ، بَلْ يَجْلِسُ مُعَلَّقًا عن الأرْضِ. وعلى كِلْتَا الرِّوَايَتَيْنِ يَنْهَضُ إلى القيامِ على صُدُورِ قدَمَيْهِ مُعْتَمِدًا على رُكْبَتَيْه، ولا يَعْتَمِدُ على يديهِ. قال القاضي: لا يختَلِفُ قولُه، أنه لا يَعْتَمِدُ على الأرضِ، سَوَاءٌ قُلْنَا: يجلِسُ للاسْتِرَاحَةِ أو لَا يَجْلِسُ. وقال مالكٌ،
(٣) في م: "متفق عليه". وأخرجه البخاري، في: باب من صلى بالناس وهو لا يريد إلا أن يعلمهم صلاة النبي -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- وسنته، من كتاب الأذان. صحيح البخاري ١/ ١٧٢.(٤) تقدم تخريج حديث أبي حميد، في صفحة ١٢٢.(٥) في م: "يرجع".
