stated depending on W?’il’s narration- which was narrated by Al-Baihaq? through an authentic chain of narrators- that states that the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) ‘ raised his [index] finger, moving it and calling unto All?h with it’. (1)

As for the view that states that moving the index renders one’s Sal?t invalid, it is a weak and odd one -as An-Nawaw? stated. Some held this view believing that doing three movements in Sal?t renders one’s Sal?t invalid which is totally baseless. Concerning this, Shaikh Ibn B?z said: ‘As for limiting the number of the movements that renders one’s Sal?t as invalid to three movements, it is totally baseless; there is no authentic had?th that states this. It is just a mere proof-lacking opinion of some ‘Ulamah’. (2)

As for Az-Zubair’s narration which states only pointing with the index; it does not entail not moving it as is linguistically known. So from both linguistic and Fiqh point of views (3) disagreement has no access here.

The soundest of all opinions is to apply both narrations, pointing with and moving the [right] index finger as Im?m Ahmad said in “Mas?’il Ibn H?ni’” (vol. 1 / p. 80). All?h knows the best.

Finally, one must pay attention to the following points:

[12/ 22] the first:

The narration that states ‘I saw the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) sitting in his Sal?t ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) raising his index finger curving it slightly calling unto All?h”. This had?th’s narration, however, has a weak chain of narrators; there is M?lik Ibn Numair Al-Khuz?’? in it ‘whose reliability is not known and he is the only one to narrate from his father’ as Ibn Al-Qattan and Ath-Thahabi stated. Al-’Alb?n? reported that Ath-Thahab? stated that ‘This curving of the finger is