Leaning (ittika')

In the lexicon, ittika' means leaning on something. It also means inclining to one side while sitting. Jurists use the word only in these two senses. ¹

Istinad, in the lexicon, means leaning with the back alone. It is therefore narrower than leaning in the first sense, and it is distinct from the second sense. ¹

Leaning in prayer, in either sense, is permitted for those with a valid excuse, by agreement of the jurists. For others, leaning is disliked in an obligatory prayer and permitted in a voluntary one. ¹

Leaning on a grave is treated like sitting on it. The majority hold it disliked; the Malikis permit it. ¹ Leaning on something bearing the image of a living creature, such as a cushion, is discussed under marriage, in the section on the wedding feast. ²

The jurists treat the rules in their own places: in prayer, under the disliked acts; in funerals, under burial; in purity, under the manners of relieving oneself; in food, under eating; in mosques, under what is allowed for necessity or for reviving dead land; and in marriage, under the wedding feast. ^{1 2}