Its a pretty straight forward ruling. If you are praying it is preferable for you to have your eyes open and looking at the place where your forehead will be during sujood. If you get distracted (like myself) from funky carpets and psychedelic patterns on the walls then sometimes it is best if you close your eyes so that you can concentrate during prayer.

Allot of people close their eyes from beginning till end… and that might be ok for them specifically because maybe for them that is the only way that they can focus during salah. But it is highly makrooh for you to do it because that is how you like it… if it has nothing to do with your concentration then keep your eyes open.

You’ll notice some brothers not only standing with their eyes closed … but without putting their right hand on their left hand.. They leave that part out because they think that one of the major scholars did that and so it is permissible. If they read the scholar’s story a little more then they would know that one of his arms was dislocated during a period where he was imprisoned and tortued. What he did (so as not to imitate the Christians… who used to pray with one hand on their tummy in his time) was that he put both hands down… not because that is a correct way of prayer but because he physically couldnt put his right hand on his left… and because the alternative was immitating the people of the book.

Needless to say when you look at those brothers you don’t know if they fell asleep standing up or if they’re just relaxing before some onslaught of activity.

And Allah Knows Best

October 13, 2010