What is the authentic Sunnah reported from the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, concerning raising the finger during the Tashahhud, and pointing with it and moving it?

May Allah reward you for your eagerness to know and apply the Sunnah. Authentic hadiths have been narrated regarding pointing with the index finger in the tashahhud, including those in Sahih Muslim from Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr, and the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr. These hadiths are limited to mentioning the mere act of pointing and do not explicitly indicate whether it should be moved or not.

As for moving it, a narration affirming it has been reported in some versions of Wa'il ibn Hujr's hadith ("I saw him moving it, supplicating with it"), and another denying it in some versions of Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr's hadith ("He used to point with his finger when he supplicated and would not move it"). Neither narration is to be preferred over the other.

The matter in this regard is broad, and both moving it and not moving it have a group of scholars who endorse them. Ibn Abd al-Barr said that all of this is narrated in the traditions and all of it is permissible. What sound consideration dictates is the sunnah of moving it, because the affirming evidence takes precedence over the negating evidence. The utmost that the negating narration indicates is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not continuously move it. And if it were said that it is better to move it sometimes and leave it sometimes, it would not be far-fetched.

It appears that the time for pointing begins from the start of the tashahhud and continues until the end of the supplication.