The following was posted by sidi Rashad Ali in an online discussion regarding sadl (leaving one’s hands by the side while standing in the prayer) vs. qabd (placing the right hand over the left hand and/or wrist while standing in prayer):
“The question which is interesting for me is that Sadl is described as mubah according to some narrations from Shafi (in Kifayat ul-Akhyar) and even in others sunna and mustahab from Shafi as narrated by al-Tabari as mentioned also by Taqi al-Din al-Hisni. Similarly Imam Malik is known to have performed qabd himself and it is narrated from many that was his view. Shaykh Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki considered that the mashhur. As did Qadi Iyyad who said it was ash-har the most well known of the mashhur positions. Having said that Ibn al-Qasim does state that Malik did not know if it in the faraid. Yet he narrates the hadith in the muwatta (which is tawatur from him by the way) so must have *known of it* so what did he mean?
Al-Baji states that could possibly mean the mat he meant he did not know of it as an obligation.
We also know that the legend Ibn Abdul Barr stated both were sunna. And that does appear to be one of the transmissions from Malik I.e. Both are allowed from Ibn Abdal Hakam.
That is one of the narrations from Ahmad as mentioned by Mardawi.
So the shafi mutamad view is also in line with a consensus of major aimmah if you like whilst only some of the tabieen we know disliked qabd.
There are some 18 narrations claimed to be sound by the proponents of qabd and yet others have raised issues with the asanid but the multiplicity makes it difficult to reject.
I would say that the issue of amal is interesting and as Ibn Daqiq al-Id states issues of transmission amal is a strong hujjah and accepted such as the likes of transmitted public practice. He mentions this in the discussion of the adhan. Ibn Taymiya also mentioned that Ulema would not reject in such explicit matters but not in matters such as this. The dispute is far and wide.
But it is certainly interesting to look at the other views in the shafi madhab whilst recognising the well known view.
Of course Maliki Ulema and some hanabila and the Zaydi madhab, the jafari madhab, the madhab of Layth and Awzai and Hasan Al-Basri and what is related from Ibrahim al-Nakha’i show that this is an issue that goes beyond mere usul differences but actually a debate across madhahib and also specific adillah such as the famous hadith describing Salat in full where no mention of qabd is made but sadl is implied in parts which as narrated everywhere in the books of sunan.”