Joining the ankles (ilsaq al-ka'bayn) in prostration

Question

Question: in “al-‘Arf al-Shadhi” (p. 134, chapter “What has come regarding tasbih in ruku‘ and prostration”) it is transmitted from Hazrat ‘A’isha Siddiqa ﵂: [ar]الرَّصُّ بَيْنَ الْعَقِبَيْنِ فِي السَّجْدَةِ، أَيْ: ضَمُّهُمَا[/ar] “Pressing the heels together in prostration, that is, joining them.” From this “al-rass” in the sense of “joining” it apparently follows that both heels are to be joined only in prostration, while the toes remain apart. Is the status of this joining merely mustahabb, or sunna?

Answer

Since the ruling of joining the ankles (ilsaq al-ka'bayn) applies in the state of prostration as well: [ar]إِذَا كَانَ السُّنَّةُ فِي الرُّكُوعِ إِلْصَاقَ الْكَعْبَيْنِ، وَلَمْ يَذْكُرُوا تَفْرِيجَهُمَا بَعْدَهُ، فَالْأَصْلُ بَقَاؤُهُمَا مُلْصَقَيْنِ فِي حَالَةِ السُّجُودِ أَيْضًا[/ar] “Since the sunna in ruku‘ is joining the ankles, and they [the jurists] did not mention…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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