This excerpt is taken from the book Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿinda al-Rukūʿ wa Baʿdahu fī al-Ṣalāh, authored by the contemporary ḥadīth scholar Ḥāfiẓ Zubayr ʿAlī Zāʾī رحمه الله.
Proof of Raising the Hands Before and After Rukūʿ
Ḥadīth No. ①
It is narrated from Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا قام فى الصلاة رفع يديه حتى تكونا حذو منكبيه وكان يفعل ذلك حين يكبر للركوع ويفعل ذلك إذا رفع رأسه من الركوع، ويقول: سمع الله لمن حمده ولا يفعل ذلك فى السجود
Translation:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: when he stood in prayer, he raised his hands until they were level with his shoulders; he would do this when saying the takbīr for rukūʿ, and he would do this when raising his head from rukūʿ, saying Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah; and he did not do this in the prostrations.”
One of the narrators of this ḥadīth, Imām ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Madīnī رحمه الله (d. 234 AH), said:
Translation:
“It is obligatory (a right) upon the Muslims, due to this ḥadīth, that they perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn in their prayers.”
The narrator of this ḥadīth, Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما, himself continued performing Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ.
Rather, if Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما saw someone not performing the mentioned Rafʿ al-Yadayn, he would throw small pebbles at him.
Ḥadīth No. ②
Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه also narrated Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ from the Prophet ﷺ.
After the death of the Prophet ﷺ, Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه himself continued to practice this.
Ḥadīth No. ③
Wā’il ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه, who accepted Islam in 9 AH,
also narrated Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ from the Prophet ﷺ.
Ḥadīth No. ④
Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī رضي الله عنه, along with ten Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, narrated this practice.
Ḥadīth No. ⑤
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
Ḥadīth No. ⑥
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه
Ḥadīth No. ⑦
ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما
Ḥadīth No. ⑧
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه
Ḥadīth No. ⑨
Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه
Ḥadīth No. ⑩
Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنه
In addition to these, many other Companions—such as ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, Anas رضي الله عنه, and others—also narrated Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
Rafʿ al-Yadayn as a Mutawātir Sunnah
Ashraf ʿAlī Thānvī al-Deobandī said:
والحديث إذا روى من عشرة فهو متواتر على القول المختار
Translation:
“When a ḥadīth is narrated by ten Companions, it is mutawātir according to the preferred view.”
In Tadrīb al-Rāwī it is also stated:
وقال الأصطخري: أقله عشرة وهو المختار، لأنه أول جموع الكثرة
Translation:
“Al-Aṣṭakhrī said: its minimum (number) is ten, and this is the preferred view, because this is the first level of large multiplicity.”
Thus, it is firmly established that the aḥādīth proving Rafʿ al-Yadayn are mutawātir. For this reason, numerous scholars have explicitly declared Rafʿ al-Yadayn to be mutawātir, such as al-Suyūṭī, al-Kattānī, Ibn al-Jawzī, Ibn Ḥajar, al-Zabīdī, and others رحمهم الله.
✔ Conclusion:
Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ is established through mutawātir aḥādīth from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, narrated by numerous Companions, continuously practiced by them, and affirmed by the leading scholars of the Ummah.
