La Jadid fi Ahkam al-Salat
- Author died
- 1429 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-'Asimah
La Jadid fi Ahkam al-Salat (There Is Nothing New in the Rulings of Prayer) is a legal treatise written by the Saudi scholar Bakr Abu Zayd (d. 1429 AH / 2008 CE) . The book examines and critiques several contemporary interpretations and physical postures introduced into the performance of the ritual prayer, arguing that they lack valid grounding in prophetic reports or the classical legal tradition .
Background and Purpose
Abu Zayd composed the treatise in response to what he observed as modern trends toward pedantry (ighal) and over-literalism in adopting rare or isolated (shadhdh) narrations concerning the description of prayer (sifat al-salah) . He noted that certain practitioners turned these novel postures into distinctive devotional signs (sharat wa-'alamat ta'abbudiyyah), leading to discord in mosques and unjustified rebuke of those who did not adhere to them . The author emphasized the importance of moderation, relying on established understandings of hadith texts, and consulting classical works of comparative jurisprudence (kutub al-khilafiyyat) rather than isolating textual fragments from their linguistic and jurisprudential contexts .
Content and Structure
The work was originally structured around seven specific issues, with an eighth issue added in its third edition :
- Straightening the prayer rows (taswiyat al-sufuf): The critique of twisting one's heels and forcefully pressing one's ankles against those of neighboring worshippers, demonstrating that texts referencing the alignment of ankles and shoulders denote straightening and closing gaps (muhadhah and sadd al-khalal), not literal physical fusion .
- Placing the hands high on the upper chest or throat: The critique of raising the hands up to the clavicles or under the chin during the standing posture, establishing that the sound Sunnah indicates placing the hands upon the chest (al-sadr), without excessive elevation .
- Excessive stretching in prostration (al-infirash wal-tamaddud): The critique of excessively sprawling the body while prostrating, clarifying that the Sunnah maintains a balance between contraction and extension .
- Pointing the index finger between prostrations: The evaluation of reports concerning the movement of the index finger during the sitting between two prostrations (al-julus bayna al-sajdatayn), arguing that general references in texts apply specifically to the sitting for the testimony of faith (tashahhud) .
- The posture of kneading (al-'ajn) when rising: The rejection of clenching the fists on the ground to push oneself up to the next unit of prayer as a prescribed Sunnah, categorizing the supporting reports as weak and noting that such actions were done solely out of physical incapacity by the elderly .
- Novel interpretations of the sitting posture (tawarruk): The analysis of modern literalist executions of placing the left foot between the right thigh and shin based on the hadith of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, harmonizing it with variant narrations denoting placement beneath the thigh .
- Restricting glorification (tasbih) to the right hand: The critique of claims that counting post-prayer glorification must exclusively be done with the right hand, classifying the addition of "with his right hand" (bi-yaminihi) in the hadith of Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As as an isolated anomaly (shadhdh) .
- Pressing the heels together during prostration (damm al-'aqibayn): The critique of joining the heels together while prostrating, showing that the phrase found in Ibn Khuzaymah's narration is anomalous and contrary to the wider corpus of prayer descriptions .
Publication History
The treatise saw multiple printings, including a third edition published by Dar al-'Asimah in Saudi Arabia in 1418 AH (1998 CE) carrying the expanded title La Jadid fi Ahkam al-Salat bi-Ziyadat 'Adam Mashru'iyyat Damm al-'Aqibayn fi al-Sujud, completed by the author during the summer of 1418 AH in Ta'if .
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