Is It Preferred for the Hands to Touch the Body Directly During Prayer?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

When placing the hands above the navel in prayer, is it preferable for them to rest directly on the body? Does wearing thick clothing that prevents this affect what is recommended?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

There is no indication in the Shafi‘i School that the hands must touch the body directly (i.e., skin-to-skin) when placed in prayer. [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]

Rather, the Sunna is to place the right hand over the left between the chest and navel. This description is general and naturally understood to apply to one’s clothing, especially given that covering the body properly in prayer is itself required. [Ibid.]

Accordingly:

• The hands are placed over the clothing, not directly on the skin.
• There is no preference for direct contact with the body.
• The thickness of the clothing does not affect the recommendation.

The normative assumption is that a person is clothed, and the Sunna is fulfilled by placing the hands in the prescribed manner, regardless of whether the clothing is thin or thick.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.