Abu Dawud

1296. Commentary:
Note: This hadith is weak, but the mention of praying four rak‘ahs is found in the hadith of ‘A’ishah radi Allahu anha, in which the night prayer of Ramadan was asked about. See: [صحيح بخاري : 1147]
However, in other narrations it is explicitly stated that the night prayer (tahajjud) of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to be performed in sets of two rak‘ahs, except for witr, so his predominant practice was to pray in twos, not in fours. Only for the purpose of clarifying permissibility did he sometimes pray in sets of four. Therefore, it is better to perform voluntary prayers (nawafil) in sets of two rak‘ahs. For details, see: [فتح البار ي : 2/618، أوائل كتاب الوتر، حديث : 990۔ 992]

Raising the hands to supplicate after the obligatory prayer

Raising the hands to supplicate after the obligatory prayer is not established by any authentic hadith. See: [هدية المسلمين 54 ح22]

The narration attributed to Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr radi Allahu anhu, from which the practice of raising the hands to supplicate after the prayer is inferred,
for this narration, see: [المعجم الكبير / قطعه من الجزء ج21 ص37 ح90]
its chain is weak due to the weakness of Fudayl ibn Sulayman al-Namiri «ضعيف عند الجمهور».

Note:

All the narrations of this narrator in the two Sahihs (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim) are authentic.
Abdul Quddus Deobandi, the son of Sarfaraz Khan Safdar, has written:
“In those books in which authenticity is strictly observed, the status of a narrator is different; if the same narrator appears elsewhere, his status will be different.” [مجذدبانه واويلا ص247]

The Deobandi Mufti Rashid Ahmad Ludhianwi has written:

“The prevalent method of collective supplication after the prayer, in congregation, is by consensus an evil and reprehensible innovation (bid‘ah qabihah shani‘ah).” [نمازوں كے بعد دعاء ص19، احسن الفتاويٰ ج10]

… Original article …

Fatawa ‘Ilmiyyah (Tawdih al-Ahkam) vol. 2, p. 77

Raising the Hands in Supplication After Prayer

Question: It has been said that raising the hands in supplication after prayer is an innovation (bid‘ah), but after much research I have found the following hadiths on this topic:

➊ Anas radi Allahu anhu reports that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: (Whoever spreads his two palms after every prayer and says: “O Allah! O my God! O God of Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Ya‘qub, O God of Jibril, Mika’il, and Israfil, I ask You to accept my supplication, I am very helpless, grant me protection regarding my religion, indeed I am afflicted, envelop me in Your mercy, for I am very sinful, remove my poverty from me for I am very destitute,” then it is incumbent upon Allah that He does not return his hands empty.) This narration is mentioned by Ibn Sunni in “‘Amal al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah,” page (38).

➋ It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Zubayr radi Allahu anhuma that a man raised his hands in supplication before completing his prayer, so when he finished his prayer, Abdullah ibn Zubayr radi Allahu anhuma said to him: “The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not raise his hands in supplication before completing the prayer.”

This narration is mentioned by al-Tabarani in his Mu‘jam, and al-Haythami declared it authentic in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id.

➌ Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu reports that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, after saying salam at the end of the prayer, raised his hands while facing the qiblah and said: (O Allah! Free the weak Muslims from the captivity of the polytheists) or he said words to that effect.

This narration is mentioned by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Kathir in their tafsirs.

➍ Abu Wada‘ah radi Allahu anhu narrates from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that he said: (The night prayer is two by two rak‘ahs, sit for tashahhud in every two rak‘ahs, express your poverty and need by raising your hands and say: O Allah! Forgive me. Whoever does not do so, his prayer is deficient.) Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah

What is your opinion regarding these hadiths?

Text of the Answer

All praise is due to Allah.

None of the hadiths mentioned in the question have an established chain of transmission. The detailed explanation is as follows:

➊ The first hadith: which is narrated from Anas ibn Malik radi Allahu anhu.

Ibn Sunni mentioned it in “‘Amal al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah,” page 137. He says: Ahmad ibn Hasan ibn Adibwayh narrated to me, who said: Abu Ya‘qub Ishaq ibn Khalid ibn Yazid al-Balsi narrated to us, who said: ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Balsi narrated to us, who narrated from Khasif, who narrated from Anas radi Allahu anhu.

And this narration is extremely weak, due to ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman. The statements of the eminent scholars regarding him are as follows:

Imam Ahmad: “Erase his hadiths, they are all lies,” or he said: “They are fabricated.”

Ibn Hibban: “He can never be used as evidence.”

For more, see: [”العلل 5419 اسي طرح: ”لسان الميزان 5267]

➋ The second hadith: which is narrated from Abdullah ibn Zubayr.

Al-Tabarani narrated it in “al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir” (14/266). Its chain is as follows: Sulayman ibn Hasan ‘Attar narrated to us, who said: Abu Kamil Jahdari narrated to us, who said: Fudayl ibn Sulayman narrated to us, who said: Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya narrated to us...

This chain is also weak for two reasons:

1- There is a break (inqita‘) between Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya and Abdullah ibn Zubayr radi Allahu anhuma, because the predominant assumption is that Muhammad did not hear from Ibn Zubayr, since Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya died in 144 AH, and Abdullah ibn Zubayr died in 72 AH.

This is why Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah said in “al-Tahdhib” (5/310): A narration of Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya is attributed to Abdullah ibn Zubayr or another Companion, then Ibn Hajar stated definitively that Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya only narrates from the Tabi‘in, and then he mentioned the names of some Tabi‘in.

This further confirms that there is a break in the chain, and some narrators have omitted a narrator in between.

This is why Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd rahimahullah says:

There is a break (inqita‘) in the chain between Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya al-Aslami and Abdullah ibn Zubayr. End quote.

[تصحيح الدعاء ص/440]

2- Fudayl ibn Sulayman has been declared weak by many eminent scholars, such as Ibn Ma‘in, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, al-Nasa’i, and others.

To know their statements, see: “Tahdhib al-Tahdhib” (4/481)

Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah summarized the statements of the scholars in his book “Taqrib al-Tahdhib” (5462), stating that he is weak, saying: «صدوق له خطأ كثير» This narrator is truthful, but he makes many mistakes. [انتهي]

And the fact that some of Fudayl ibn Sulayman’s narrations are included by Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah in his Sahih is not proof of his reliability, because Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah only accepted his narrations after thorough scrutiny and in the presence of corroborating reports from other narrators.

See: [”منهج الإمام البخاري فى تصحيح الأحاديث وتعليليها ”از: ابوبكر كافي ص/154]

➌ The third hadith:

Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu reports that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, after saying salam at the end of the prayer, raised his hands while facing the qiblah, then said: (O Allah! Free Walid ibn Walid, ‘Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi‘ah, Salamah ibn Hisham, and the helpless weak Muslims from the clutches of the polytheists.)

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated this in his Tafsir (3/1048) with the following chain: Ibn Abi Hatim says: My father narrated to me, who said: Abu Ma‘mar al-Minqari narrated to me, who said: ‘Abd al-Warith narrated to me, who said: ‘Ali ibn Zayd narrated to me, who narrated from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, who narrated from Abu Hurayrah.

Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd rahimahullah says:

The central narrator of this hadith is ‘Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jud‘an, due to whom this hadith is weak. And even if this hadith is considered authentic, it was a temporary and exceptional action, not the Prophet’s regular practice. (It is clear that) there is a difference between the two. End quote.

[تصحيح الدعاء ص/443]

➍ The fourth hadith:

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: (The night prayer is two by two rak‘ahs, sit for tashahhud in every two rak‘ahs, express your poverty and need by raising your hands and say: O Allah! Forgive me. Whoever does not do so, his prayer is deficient.) [سنن ابوداود 1296]

The chain of this hadith is weak. In it is the narrator ‘Abdullah ibn Nafi‘, about whom ‘Ali ibn al-Madini said: “This narrator is unknown (majhul).”

Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah also said the same in Taqrib al-Tahdhib (3682).

Because of this narrator, al-Albani rahimahullah declared this hadith weak in Da‘if Abu Dawud.

For more details, see: Da‘if Abu Dawud – al-Asl (al-Asl refers to “al-Umm”). [2/52]

From the above details, it is clear that the hadiths mentioned in the question are not established, and even if any of them are considered authentic, it would mean that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam supplicated after the obligatory prayers due to a temporary and exceptional need, and it was not his regular practice to raise his hands in supplication after every prayer.

And Allah knows best.

...Original article...

Islam Q&A

The scholars of Ahl al-Hadith in our era are divided on this matter. Some say that since it is not established by any authentic (sahih) hadith that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ever raised his hands and supplicated after any obligatory (fard) prayer, nor did the Companions radi Allahu anhum say "Ameen" to such a supplication as is commonly practiced nowadays, therefore, according to these scholars, the customary method of supplicating after the obligatory prayers is an innovation (bid‘ah). Imam Ibn al-Qayyim has also written:

«اما الدعاء بعد السلام مستقبل القبلة او المامومين فلم يكن ذلك من هدية صلى الله عليه وسلم اصلا ولا روي عنه باسناد صحيح ولاحسن وعامة الادعية المتعلقة بالصلوة إنما فعلها وأمر بها فيها وهذا هواللائق بحال المصلي فإنه مقبل على ربه يناجيه مادام فى الصلوة .» [إنتهي ملخصا من زادالمعاد ص257 ج1 بحث الدعاء بعد السلام من الصلوة]

"It is not established at all from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, either by an authentic (sahih) or even a good (hasan) hadith, that he supplicated after the obligatory prayers facing the qiblah or turning towards the congregation. Rather, most of the various supplications that he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made were within the prayer itself, and he instructed that these supplications be made within the prayer. This is because the worshipper is closer to Allah during the prayer and is engaged in intimate discourse (munajat) with his Lord."

However, other scholars hold the permissibility of this supplication and deduce it from the following ahadith:

➊ «عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : ”مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ بَسَطَ كَفَّيْهِ فِي دُبُرِ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ : اللَّهُمَّ إِلَهِي وَإِلَهَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَإِسْحَاقَ، وَيَعْقُو بَ، وَإِلَهَ جَبْرَائِيلَ، وَمِيكَائِيلَ، وَإِسْرَافِيلَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ، أَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَسْتَجِيبَ دَعْوَتِى، فَإِنِّى مُضْطَرٌّ، وَتَعْصِمَنِى فِي دِينِى فَإِنِّى مُبْتَلًى، وَتَنَالَنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فَإِنِّى مُذْنِبٌ، وَتَنْفِيَ عَنِّى الْفَقْرَ فَإِنِّى مُتَمَسْكِنٌ، إِلَّا كَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ لَا يَرُدَّ يَدَيْه خَائِبَتَيْنِ أخرجه الحافظ والليلي قلت فى سنده عبدالعزيز بن عبدالرحمان القرشي قال فى الميزان إتهمه احمد وقال النسائي وغيره ليس بثقة .» [تحفة الاحوذي : ص246ج1 باب ما يقول اذاسلم]

It is narrated from Anas that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Whoever, after every prayer, spreads his hands and recites this supplication, Allah does not return his hands empty."
One of the narrators of this hadith is ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, who is severely criticized. Mawlana Mubarakpuri rahimahullah has quoted many criticisms of him from the scholars of hadith in Mizaan al-I‘tidal; not a single one has authenticated him. Moreover, the narration of such a criticized narrator cannot be accepted at any level. The method mentioned in the question is also not described in this narration. (A, H)

➋ «عن محمد يحيي السلمي (تقريب اور تهذيب ميں اسلمی ہے . ع)، حقال رَأَيْتُ عَبْدَ اللهِ بْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ وَرَأَى رَجُلًا رَافِعًا يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَفْرُغَ مِنْ صَلَاته، فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ مِنْهَا، قَالَ : إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَرْفَعْ يَدَيْهِ حَتَّى يَفْرُغَ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ»

«ذكر ه الحافظ الهيثمي فى مجمع الزوائد قال ورواه الطبراني وترجم له فقال محمد بن يحيي السلمي عن عبدالله بن الزبير ورجاله ثقات .» [تحفة الاحوذي : ص245ج1]

"Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Sulami says that ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr radi Allahu anhuma saw a man raising his hands and supplicating in prayer. When he finished, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr radi Allahu anhuma said: 'Brother, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to raise his hands for supplication after completing the prayer.'"

➌ «عن ابي بكرة رضى الله عنه ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قا ل سلوا الله بِبُطُونِ أَكُفِّكُمْ، وَلَا تَسْأَلُوهُ بِظُهُورِهَا .» [رواه الطبراني فى الكبير ورجالة رجال الصحيح غير عماد بن خلد الواسطي وهو ثقة۔ مجمع الزوائد ص129، 130 كنز العمان : ص175ج1]

"It is narrated from Abu Bakr radi Allahu anhu that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: 'Supplicate to Allah with your palms upwards and do not supplicate with the backs of your hands.'"

From these ahadith, it is understood that the imam and the followers may raise their hands and supplicate after the obligatory prayers, and calling this an innovation (bid‘ah) does not seem correct. However, making it a regular practice and adhering to it constantly is an innovation, because even from a weak (da‘if) hadith, the regularity of this supplication after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is not established. Since the aforementioned ahadith are also weak, they only establish its recommendation (istihbab).

As Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari states: «ألاستحباب يثبت بالضعيف لا بالموضوع .» Our Hanafi brothers consider this supplication necessary, whereas according to Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah and the Hanafi jurists, supplicating in the customary manner after the obligatory prayers is not necessary. As it is stated in al-Bahr al-Ra’iq:

«وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ الْمُصَنِّفُ مَا يَفْعَلُهُ بَعْدَ السَّلَامِ وَقَدْ قَالُوا : إنْ كَانَ إمَامًا وَكَانَتْ صَلَاةً يُتَنَفَّلُ بَعْدَهَا فَإِنَّهُ يَقُومُ وَيَتَحَوَّلُ من مكانه يمينه او يساره او خلفه والجلوس مستقبلا بدعة .» [تحفة الاحوذي : ص247ج1]

"And the author did not mention what the imam should do after the salam. However, the jurists are of the opinion that in those prayers after which there are supererogatory (nafl) prayers, the imam should stand up and turn to the right or left, and to remain seated facing the qiblah is an innovation (bid‘ah)."

«هذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب»

...Original article...

Fatawa Muhammadiyyah, vol. 1, p. 368