Is it sunnah to put the feet and heels together while standing and in ruku’ in prayer? What is the resource about it? According to what madhhab is it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

All madhhabs state that there should be a space between one’s two feet while standing in prayer. It is expressed as mandub or sunnah. For, keeping the feet together is something difficult and contrary to awe.

According to Hanafis, this space is about four fingers. According to Shafiis, it is a hand span. According to Malikis and Hanbalis, this space should be moderate and should not be a width that is regarded as extreme by people. (al-Fiqhul-Islami, I/695)

As for the issue of putting the heels together in ruku’:

As it is known, sunnah means the words, deeds and consent of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We have not seen any such sunnah in hadiths.

In the book called Badaius-Sanai, there is a heading called “the Sunnahs of Ruku’”, but putting the heels together is not mentioned in the list.

We have not been able to find any such information in the book called “al-Fiqhul-Islami”, which deals with four madhhabs. The other madhhab scholars do not mention such a sunnah. We have not been able to see anything like that in the majority of Hanafi fiqh resources.   

The issue of “putting the heels together” in ruku’ is not mentioned in Sharhul-Absar, which is the text of Durrul-Muhtar. The phrase “putting the heels together” is included in Raddul-Mukhtar below and the phrase “haythu la uzra = when there is no excuse” is used. (Raddul-Mukhtar, 1/476).

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