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Is it a Sunnah to raise the index finger while standing, and should one condemn the person who does it or not?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Raising the index finger during prayer while standing has no basis, and it has not been reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, nor from his companions. Matters of worship are prescriptive. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Pray as you have seen me praying." And he said: "Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which is not from it, it is rejected." Therefore, raising the index finger while standing is not legislated. As for raising the index finger and pointing with it during the first and second tashahhud sittings, it is from the Sunnah.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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