Fatwa ID: 07621

Answered by Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat

Question:

Salam, May Allah reward you for all your work helping to teach us Fiqh. May Allah guide us all to the right path.

My question was about motionlessness during prayer. If one was to sit between 2 prostrations enough to say Subhan Allah once, or stand after ruku once, will this be fine or be missing a wajib?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

JazakAllahu khairan for your kind words, and may Allah guide us all and grant us success in our efforts to seek knowledge and practice our faith in accordance with His will.

In the Hanafi school of thought, remaining still (الطمأنينة) for a moment in certain postures of prayer—such as sitting between the two prostrations and standing after the ruku—is considered wajib (obligatory). The person praying must remain motionless for at least the duration it takes to say “Subhan Allah” once in each of these postures.

1. Sitting Between the Two Prostrations (الجلوس بين السجدتين):
   • It is wajib to sit still (motionless) between the two prostrations for the duration it takes to say “SubhanAllah” once. If a person immediately moves into the next prostration without remaining still for this short period, they would be omitting a wajib act, though the prayer would not be invalidated, but a sajda sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) would be required.
2. Standing After Ruku (القيام بعد الركوع):
   • Similarly, after rising from ruku, one must stand still for the duration it takes to say “SubhanAllah” once before going into sujud. If one does not remain motionless in this standing position for that short time, it constitutes missing a wajib, and again, sajda sahw would be necessary. 

In conclusion: 

• In the Hanafi madhhab, remaining motionless for at least the duration it takes to say “SubhanAllah” once in the postures of sitting between two prostrations and standing after ruku is wajib.
• If one does not remain still for this short duration, it is considered omitting a wajib, and a sajda sahw is required to correct this.
• The prayer would still be valid but correcting it through sajda sahw is necessary.

I hope that this answers the question.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by: Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

References:

 “وأما الواجبات فستة عشر… ومنها الطمأنينة في الركوع والسجود وبين السجدتين”
(Nur al-Idah, page 80)

 “والطمأنينة واجبة في الركوع والسجود والجلوس بين السجدتين”
(Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Volume 1, page 114