Question: Is abandonment of raising the hands (tark raf’ yadain) proven from the Quran and Hadith or not?
According to a fatwa of the Muqallids: abandonment of raising the hands is proven from the Quran and Hadith. Displeasure at raising the hands, and the command to abandon it.
Please present an answer in the light of clear evidences.
Answer: بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم، جواب الجواب، امابعد :
There are many kinds of raising the hands, for example:
➊ Raising the hands at the takbir al-tahrima.
➋ Raising the hands before and after bowing (ruku’).
➌ Raising the hands in the prostrations (sujud).
➍ Raising the hands in the tashahhud, as the Shia do.
➎ Raising the hands in supplication (dua).
➏ Raising the hands to scratch the head and beard (!) and so on.
↰ The “non-Ahl-e-Hadith” scholar, in his claim “abandonment of raising the hands is proven from the Quran and Hadith”, did not clarify what he means by “abandonment of raising the hands”. Obviously, a vague and unclear claim has no standing in the field of knowledge. In contrast to that non-Ahl-e-Hadith scholar, the claim of the Ahl-e-Hadith is clear and explicit:
❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands before bowing and after bowing. For the evidence of this claim see
and
.
❀ After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (his death), the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to raise their hands, for example, Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). See
.
❀ The noble Tabi’un (may Allah have mercy on them) also used to raise their hands in the same way, for example:
◈ Muhammad bin Sirin
◈ Abu Qilabah
◈ Wahb bin Munabbih
◈ Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar
◈ Qasim bin Muhammad
◈ Makhul
, and others, may Allah have mercy on them all.
↰ What the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions and the Tabi’un (may Allah have mercy on them) did in the best of generations, without any denial or objection, and whose abandonment or abrogation is not proven by any evidence, therefore declaring it abandoned and abrogated, and claiming “displeasure”, carries no real weight in the court of scholarly justice.
↰ There are many proofs that raising the hands before and after bowing is neither abandoned nor abrogated. See:
● the book “Nur al-Aynayn fi Ithbat Raf’ al-Yadayn”, and
● the proven treatise of the Leader of the Believers in Hadith, Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him), “Juz’ Raf’ al-Yadayn.”
For now, two important pieces of evidence are presented, in which the continuity (dawam) of raising the hands is proven.
First: It is narrated from Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) that whoever gestures (in accordance with the Sunnah) in prayer receives a good deed or a rank for each gesture on each finger.
↰ Al-Haythami described it as “its chain is hasan”.
↰ This narration is marfu’ in ruling; rather, it is also narrated as marfu’ directly from the Prophet ﷺ.
↰ From this it is known that raising the hands is a act of reward, and each (Sunnah) raising of the hands earns ten good deeds, and it is known to common people too that narrations about reward and good deeds are not abrogated. Allah wants His servants to earn abundant good deeds.
Second: When Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw any (non-Companion) person who did not raise his hands before and after bowing, he would strike him with pebbles.
↰ Obviously, forcibly making some people after the time of the Prophet ﷺ, in the era of the Tabi’un, raise their hands by striking them is evidence that raising the hands has not become abandoned or abrogated at all.
Evidence of the Muqallids:
Hadith No. 1: عن جابر بن سمرة : قال خرج علينا رسول الله صلى الله تعالىٰ عليه وآلهٖ وسلم فقال مالي اراكم رافعي ايديكم كانها اذناب خيل شمس اسكنوا فى الصلوة۔
“Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to us and said: Why do I see you raising your hands in prayer like the tails of restive horses? Be still and calm in prayer.”
↰ In the narration of Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) there is no explicit mention of raising the hands before and after bowing; rather, from many proofs it is clearly established that this narration has no connection with raising the hands before and after bowing. Some of the proofs are as follows:
① The hadith itself explicitly states that this raising of the hands was at the time of the salam in the tashahhud, just as the Shia still do today. See
That is, this hadith is in refutation of the Shia, yet the common Deobandis and Barelvis and some biased Hanafi individuals have begun to present it against the Ahl-e-Hadith. Fitting a hadith that refutes the Shia against Ahl-e-Hadith is an extremely reprehensible act.
② In the same narration in Musnad Ahmad it comes that وهم قعود “and they were sitting.”
③ There is consensus that this narration is about the tashahhud.
↰ And it is accepted by both sides that consensus is a proof.
④ Muhaddithin such as Imam al-Nasa’i, Imam Abu Dawud and others have set chapters on it under the chapter of salam.
⑤ No muhaddith has mentioned this narration in the chapter on abandonment of raising the hands.
The Muqallids say in their fatwa:
The prayer begins with takbir and ends with the salam.
Raising the hands at any point within it, whether at the start of the second, third or fourth rak’ah, or when going into or coming up from ruku’, has been disapproved of by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He likened this raising of the hands to the actions of animals, described it as contrary to tranquillity, and then commanded that the prayer be offered with tranquillity, that is, without raising the hands. The Holy Qur’an also emphasises tranquillity in prayer, and Allah says: “قومواللہ قانتین” “Stand before Allah in complete tranquillity”
⑥ To liken an action that is established from our beloved Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad Mustafa ﷺ to the tails of restless horses is extremely wrong and deserving of condemnation.
⑦ The scholars of truth have strongly criticised those who argue from this hadith for abandonment or abrogation, and have declared their conduct the worst kind of ignorance. See
⑧ Several non-Ahl-e-Hadith scholars have criticised those who argue for the abrogation of raising the hands using this narration, for example:
◈ Mahmud al-Hasan, the Deobandi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
“As for answering with the narration of اذناب الخيل, it is not correct in fairness, because it concerns salam.”
◈ Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, the Deobandi, says:
“But in fairness, the Hanafi argument from this hadith is doubtful and weak.”
⑨ If it were proven from this hadith that every raising of the hands is abrogated or prohibited, then why do the Hanafi, Deobandi and Barelwi scholars raise their hands at takbir al-tahrima, in witr and in the two Eids?
⑩ It is not established that any one of the narrators of this hadith, such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, or any other muhaddith, declared raising the hands abrogated or abandoned on the basis of this hadith.
❀ In one narration it has come that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مابال الذين يرمون بأيديهم فى الصلوة كأنها أذناب الخيل الشمس etc.
“What has happened to them that they gesture with their hands in prayer, as if they were the tails of restless horses…” etc.
↰ From this it is known that the prayer ends only after the salam.
❀ Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
مفتاح الصلوة الطهور و احرامها التكبير و انقضاء ها التسليم
“Wudu is the key to prayer, takbir is its entry into the state of sanctity, and the prayer ends with the salam.”
↰ It is known that the salam is part of the prayer.
The Muqallids say in their fatwa:
Look, Allah and His Messenger commanded tranquillity in prayer, and the Prophet ﷺ declared raising the hands within prayer to be contrary to tranquillity.
No one has explained قانتين to mean “the recommended raising of the hands should not be done in prayer”. The narration attributed to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, regarding this is baseless. If قانتين meant this, then why do all three groups, the Hanafis, Deobandis and Barelwis, raise their hands in the two Eids, in witr and at takbir al-tahrima?
Emphatic warning: The Deobandi and Barelwi people claim that they follow Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, so it is incumbent on them not to become mujtahids themselves, but rather to prove with a sahih chain from their supposed imam that he argued from “قوموالله قانتين” and from the hadith of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, for the abandonment of raising the hands or for its abrogation. If these people, despite their claim of taqlid, cannot prove the argument from their imam, this is clear evidence that they are trying to become mujtahids themselves. In a sahih hadith it has come that people used to talk during prayer. “وقوموالله قانتين” The verse was revealed and people were commanded to observe silence (sukut).
↰ That is, this noble verse does not relate to raising the hands, but to “silence in prayer”. It should be remembered that reciting in the heart, or reciting with the tongue moving slightly, does not contradict silence, as in the blessed hadith where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite اللهم باعدبيني etc. during the silence.
↰ Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, used to recite وقومواللہ قانتین
and himself used to raise his hands before ruku’ and after ruku’.
The Muqallids say in their fatwa:
Hadith No. 2: قال ابن عباس الذين لا يرفعون ايديهم فى صلوتهم
Sayyidina Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, says, i.e., those who do not raise their hands in prayers.
I have not found this narration in “Musnad Imam A’zam”.
The chain of the book named “Musnad Imam A’zam” depends on Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Harithi. See the introduction to Musnad Imam A’zam (Urdu)
and Musnad Imam A’zam (Arabic)
This Harithi is well known as a liar and a complete fabricator of hadiths. See Mizan al-I’tidal
, Lisan al-Mizan
and al-Kashf al-Hathith ‘amman rumiya bi-wad’ al-hadith
Therefore, the entire book in the name of “Musnad Imam A’zam” is fabricated and made up; Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, is innocent of this book. And all praise is due to Allah.
The Muqallids say in their fatwa:
Hadith No. 3: حدثنا عبدالله۔۔۔۔۔۔عن علقمة قال قال الا اصلي لكم صلوة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال فصلي فلم يرفع يديه الامرة۔
Sayyidina Alqamah, may Allah be pleased with him, says that Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Shall I not show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? So he prayed, and raised his hands only once.
This narration is weak for two reasons.
First: Sufyan al-Thawri is a mudallis (one who commits tadlis, concealing a narrator’s weakness).
Al-Ayni, a Hanafi scholar, wrote about Sufyan al-Thawri:
وسفيان من المدلسين و المدلس لا يحتج بعنعنته إلا أن يثبت سماعه من طريق آخر
That is, Sufyan (al-Thawri) is among the mudallisin, and a mudallis’s narration with ‘an (from) is not a proof unless his hearing is established through another chain. Sufyan al-Thawri used to commit tadlis from weak narrators.
◈ Abu Bakr al-Sayrafi writes in his book Al-Dala’il:
كل من ظهر تدليسه عن غير الثقات لم يقبل خبره حتي يقول حدثني أو سمعت
“Whoever’s tadlis from non-thiqah narrators is evident, his report will not be accepted unless he says حدثني or سمعت in it.”
↰ From this it is also known that Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) is a mudallis of the third tier.
◈ The support for Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) also comes from what Hafiz Ibn Hibban wrote:
وأما المدلسون الذين هم ثقات و عدول فإنا لا نحتج بأخبارهم إلا ما بينوا السماع فيما رووامثل الثوري والأعمش وأبي إسحاق و أضرابهم
“And the mudallisun who are thiqah and ‘adl, such as (Sufyan) al-Thawri, al-A’mash, Abu Ishaq and others, we only take proof from those narrations in which they explicitly state hearing.”
For a detailed discussion, read Noor al-Ainain and At-Ta’sis.
Second: Imam Ahmad, Abu Hatim al-Razi, al-Daraqutni, Abu Dawud and other majority of muhaddithin have declared this narration weak. See my book “Noor al-Ainain fi Masalah Raf al-Yadain”
For the sahih narrations about raising the hands before and after ruku, study Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Sahih Ibn Hibban, and books such as Nazm al-Mutanathir min al-Hadith al-Mutawatir
and others.
May Allah grant us the understanding. Ameen
◈ Imam al-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
كل ما قلت۔۔۔۔ وكان عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم خلاف قولي مما يصح فحدث النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أولي، ولا تقلدوني
“Anything of mine that contradicts a sahih hadith of the Prophet ﷺ (leave it), for the Prophet’s ﷺ hadith is the best, and do not make taqlid of me.”
