Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
What is the sahih Hanafi ruling concerning raising the finger when sitting? I used to raise my finger but stopped after my father was told by someone in Afghanistan that it is best not to raise the finger. I read the same in “Endless Bliss”. I also have heard that one should not rely on “Endless Bliss” for Fiqh. True?
Both Mulla Ali al-Qari, and Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on them) wrote excellent treatises on the subject: raising the pointing finger, while clasping the rest of the hand is established both clear hadiths which our Imams took. Not raising the finger is going against all this.
One raises one’s pointing finger, while clasping the three smaller fingers and placing the end of one’s thumb at the side of the middle joint of the middle finger, as one says “la ilaha illa’ Llah” and puts it down after that, keeping the other fingers clasped till the end of the prayer. [This is the position mentioned by both Mulla Ali al-Qari and Allama Ibn Abidin, though some said you outstretch your fingers after the pointing.]
Wassalam,
Faraz