Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This chapter is dedicated to describing the manner in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to sit.
127. Qaylah bint Makhramah reported: “I saw the Messenger (peace be upon him) in the masjid sitting in a qurfusā’ posture. Whilst watching him [and observing his personality] I became overwhelmed due to his overwhelming tranquillity, and this caused me to shiver.” [147]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This hadīth is part of a longer one wherein Qaylah narrates the story of how she embraced Islām.
Al-Bajūrī said,
The qurfusā’ (also pronounced as qarfasā’ and qirfisā’) is to sit on the ground with the thighs pressing against the stomach and the arms enfolding the legs. This position is also known as al-ihtibā’.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
He (peace be upon him) was sitting in a humble state, gazing at the floor whilst his body parts were calm and tranquil due to his excessive fear of Allāh, the Most High.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The sitting posture of the Prophet (peace be upon him) manifested his true slavery to Allāh, the Most High as he said in a hadīth, “I sit like how a slave sits and I eat just like how a slave eats.”[148] He did not sit in the manner of the arrogant and the proud. Qaylah was affected in the way she mentioned due to his overwhelming prestige and awe-inspiring personality that caused people to respect him highly and glorify him.
128. ‘Abdullāh ibn Zayd reported: “I saw the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) lying on his back in the masjid with one leg placed upon the other.” [149]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This kind of posture is not common when a person is sitting with a group of people. Rather, a person adopts this posture when resting, when alone or whilst sitting in the company of a few people.
Al-Bajūrī said,
This hadīth indicates that lying down is considered a form of sitting.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
It is reported in Sahīh Muslim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) admonished this kind of posture. The reconciliation between his admonishment of sitting in such a position and his action [in the hadīth] is that his action shows that it is permissible to sit in that position when one knows that his ‘awrah will not become uncovered.
Alī al-Qārī said,
Al-Khattabī said: “This indicates that the hadīth wherein the Prophet (peace be upon him) admonished this form of sitting is either abrogated or that it is admonished only when the ‘awrah will show. This is because the izār could be tight and so placing the leg on the other would make most of the leg show. It was also said that this incident happened before he admonished this posture or that the admonishment does not apply to the case where one does it because of being tired or to rest, or that his action was to show that it is permissible. It is also said that resting one leg upon the other is done in two ways: (i) the two legs stretched out while one is on the other and this posture does not expose the ‘awrah, (ii) one leg is lifted and bent whilst the other leg is on it, and so the hadīth in this chapter refers to the first type while the admonishment [in Sahīh Muslim] refers to the second type.
129. Abū Sa’īd al-Khudarī narrated: “When Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him) sat in the masjid, he did ihtibā’ with his hands.” [150]
Al-Bajūrī said,
The exception to this posture is that which he (peace be upon him) used to do after the prayer of Fajr as he used to sit with his legs-crossed as reported by Abū Dawūd with an authentic chain of narrators.
Ihtibā’ is the common posture of the Bedouins and it is to sit on the ground and to have the thighs pressing against the stomach by wrapping them with a turban and its likes [such as the arms] to give support to the back. The Bedouins used to do it as they had no walls to lean their backs upon.