What is the Proper Way to Fulfil the Bowing Posture?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is it obligatory for every finger to touch the knees? What counts as outstretched?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate the Merciful

I hope you are well.

Bowing (ruku)  is defined as bending the back to the extent that if one were to extend his arms towards his knees, they would reach them. This the fard aspect of bowing. 

The sunnah method is to hold the knees with both hands spread widely onto the knees and keeping the leg erect. This is the sunnah aspect of bowing. 

[’Ala’uddin ‘Ibn ’Abidin, Al-Hadiyyah al-’Ala’iyyah]

I pray this helps in your questions.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.