Question: Is it sunnat in ruku’ and sajda to join the feet?
ANSWER
Yes, it is sunnat. Unfortunately, this sunnat has been forgotten today. Similarly, wiping the entire head in wudu’ has been forgotten, too. Instead of it, people wipe only one-fourth of their heads. They carry out only the fard element of wudu’, and they omit the sunnat.
Question: It is very difficult for me to join my anklebones in ruku’. Does it suffice to join the heels, or is it a condition to join the anklebones as well?
ANSWER
It is not a condition. The sunnat is considered to have been performed when only the heels are joined. It is written in the book Se’adet-i Ebediyye:
“It is written on the 315th page of Halabi-i kabir and also in the book Durr-ul-mukhtar:
‘One of the sunnats in ruku’ is to keep the heel bones together.’ For doing this, when one is bending for ruku’, the heel of the left foot is brought near the right foot. They are separated again while one is standing up for qiyam after sajda.”
The final sentences say, “For doing this, when one is bending for ruku’, the heel of the left foot is brought near the right foot. They are separated again while one is standing up for qiyam after sajda.”
It suffices to join only the heels. We asked this matter to the writer of the book Se’adet-i Ebediyye in written form. He sent this answer, “It suffices to join the heels.” The statement “To join the feet” is written in Miftah-ul-Janna in its section dealing with the mustahabs of salat.
In the books Halabi, Durr-ul-mukhtar, and Radd-ul-mukhtar, the phrase “joining the kaabayn [two ka’bs]” appears. The word ka’b in this phrase means the protuberant bone on the inner side of the feet. It is also called anklebone. It suffices to join the heels. It is not necessary to try to join these two bones using a lot of physical effort. When two heels are brought together, the sunnat has been carried out. It is not right to exaggerate this matter. The basic rule in salat is that one should remain calm. For this reason, it is not proper to strain to join anklebones. Neither the one joining them nor the one not joining them should be criticized.
Women do not have to join their feet in ruku’. This rule applies only to men.
Question: It is written in Se’adet-i Ebediyye, “When one is bending for ruku’, the heel of the left foot is brought near the right foot. They are separated again while one is standing up for qiyam after sajda.” Some people separate their feet after they stand up for qiyam. What does “… while one is standing up” mean?
ANSWER
It means that one should separate one’s feet at the moment when one is about to stand up. Then one will stand up with one’s feet separated. If one forgets to do so, one can separate one’s feet after standing up.
Question: In which fiqh books is it written that it is sunnat for men to join their feet in ruku’?
ANSWER
That it is sunnat in the Hanafi Madhhab is written in the book Endless Bliss with quotations from Halabi and Radd-ul-mukhtar. It is also written in famous books Mýzraklý Ýlmihal and Anis-ul-abidin, which were written in Ottoman Turkish. The book Anadolu Yavrusunun Kitabý [The Book of the Anatolian Child]: Malumat-i Diniyya, which was written for students in Ottoman Turkish, says, “The feet should be joined in ruku’.” That is, as people forgot this sunnat over time, it did not appear in books written in the Roman alphabet. He who revives this unpracticed sunnat will be rewarded greatly.
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