I also saw Ahmad praying while sitting; he sat exactly as he would sit during prayer, without crossing his legs and without sitting upright, but rather like his sitting position in prayer for the Tashahhud.
1250 - Muhammad ibn al-Wazir narrated to us, he said: Ibn Lahi'ah narrated to us, he said: Zuhrah ibn Ma'bad narrated to us, he said: "I saw Aban ibn 'Uthman—meaning, praying—while he was kneeling (barik)."
1251 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, he said: Al-Barsani narrated to us, he said: Hisham informed us, from al-Hasan, that he saw no harm in a man performing supererogatory prayer by praying one rak'ah standing and one rak'ah sitting, or praying while hunched (muhtabiyan) or leaning, or praying however he wishes.
Chapter: The Prayer of a Sitting Person is Half of the Prayer of a Standing Person
• I heard Ishaq ibn Ibrahim say: "It has reached us that the prayer of a person sitting is half of the prayer of a person standing; this has been authenticated from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and there is a consensus of the people of knowledge regarding it. It is not appropriate for a healthy man to perform the obligatory (fard) prayer while sitting if he is able to stand; if he prays sitting, he must repeat the prayer. The saying: 'The prayer of a person sitting is half of the prayer of a person standing' is only in reference to supererogatory (tatawwu') prayers. As for the sick person who cannot stand, they hope that he shall receive the same reward as the one who stands."
1252 - Sa'id ibn Mansur narrated to us, he said: Jarir ibn 'Abd al-Hamid narrated to us, from Mansur, from Hilal ibn Yasaf, from Abu Yahya, from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, who said: I was told that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "The prayer of a person sitting is half of the prayer of a person standing." So I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and saw him praying while sitting, so I placed my hand upon my head. He said to me: "What is the matter with you?" I said: "I was told that you said: 'The prayer of a person sitting is half of the prayer of a person standing,' yet you are praying while sitting." He said: "Yes, but I am not like any one of you in that regard."
