THE FOUR SUNNI SCHOOLS

Shared foundations.
Room for difference.

Choose a topic to compare all four schools side by side.

Prayer studio: Hanafi. Browsing comparisons does not change your practice setting. Use a school’s button below to apply it and open the studio.

Hand placement

Standing · commonly taught male postures; transmitted variations exist.

حنفي

Hanafi

Imam Abu Hanifah

The usual male hand position is right over left below the navel. Traditional Hanafi instruction describes a different, more gathered posture for women.

CURRENT STUDIO SETTING

شافعي

Shafi‘i

Imam al-Shafi‘i

Place the right hand over the left between the chest and the navel.

مالكي

Maliki

Imam Malik

Letting the arms hang at the sides (sadl) is a well-known Maliki practice. Folding the hands is also transmitted within the school.

حنبلي

Hanbali

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

In the classical guidance cited here, grasp the left wrist with the right hand below the navel. Other placements also appear in transmitted instruction.

Established differences, with context. These are concise summaries, with variations within each school. Posture summaries focus on commonly taught male postures; For women’s Hanafi postures, see the detailed prayer instructions. The studio adapts selected guidance, not every ruling or illustration. The detailed guide’s Hanafi pages and prayer-time settings are separate.

Sources for this comparison

Detailed Salah guide · Hanafi reference →
Hand placement — Shafi‘i guidance →
Maliki hand placement — Muwatta.com →
Hanbali hand placement — Shaykh John Starling →

The linked references explain the evidence and recognized positions behind this comparison.

See differences in the studio

What changes with the school?

Your selection adapts the sequence, recitations and guidance for someone praying alone. Read the accompanying school notes for posture details.

  • Opening: the Maliki sequence omits the separate opening supplication and refuge step.
  • Standing: hand-placement notes change; the familiar Maliki presentation uses arms at the sides and omits the basmalah before al-Fatihah.
  • Before and after bowing: Shafi‘i and Hanbali sequences show raised-hand actions in every rak‘ah, followed by a settled upright stance. The familiar Hanafi and Maliki paths do not add these bowing transitions.
  • Fajr, second unit: Maliki qunut appears before bowing; Shafi‘i qunut appears after rising. Hanafi and Hanbali sequences have no regular Fajr qunut.
  • Witr: Hanafi practice shows three connected units with Qunut before bowing in the third. The other school paths show a single Witr unit, with their respective Qunut guidance.
  • Closing salam: Maliki guidance describes one salam for someone alone; the other sequences describe two.

The studio uses shared seated illustrations and a transmitted tashahhud wording. Compare each school’s sitting guidance alongside the illustration.

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