الحمد للہ وحدہ، والصلوۃ والسلام علی من لا نبی بعدہ۔
The purpose of this article is to clarify that Imam Al-Muhaddithin Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, and the majority of the Muhaddithin did not consider the narration about abandoning raising the hands as proven, rather they explicitly criticized it. On the other hand, the narrations affirming the raising of hands have been considered authentic and reliable, which have been transmitted in the Sahih Sitta and other authentic books of Hadith.
❀ In this article, we will mention the statements of the Muhaddithin one by one with the original Arabic text, Urdu translation, and reference. ❀ This will make it clear that the narration about abandoning raising the hands is weak, while there are clear evidences supporting the raising of hands.
✦ Statements of the Muhaddithin
① Imam Tirmidhi, may Allah have mercy on him
Arabic text: «وَلَمْ يَثْبُتْ حَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَرْفَعْ إِلَّا فِي أَوَّلِ مَرَّةٍ»
Translation: The Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands only the first time, is not proven.
② Imam Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him
Arabic text: «سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ الْمُبَارَكِ يَقُولُ: لَمْ يَثْبُتْ عِنْدِي حَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ … وَقَدْ ثَبَتَ عِنْدِي حَدِيثُ رَفْعِ الْيَدَيْنِ»
Translation: I heard Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak say: In my view, the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands only the first time is not authentic; however, the hadith about raising hands is authentic in my view.
③ Hafiz Ibn Hajar رحمه الله
Arabic text: «قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: لَمْ يَثْبُتْ عِنْدِي»
Translation: Ibn Mubarak رحمه الله said: This hadith is not authentic in my view.
④ Imam Ibn Abdulhadi Al-Maqdisi رحمه الله
Arabic text: «وَأَمَّا أَحَادِيثُ الْمُعَارَضَةِ: فَحَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ الْأَوَّلُ، قَالَ فِيهِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: لَا يَثْبُتُ هَذَا»
Translation: Regarding the first hadith of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: This hadith is not authentic.
⑤ Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi رحمه الله
Arabic text: «فَحَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ الْأَوَّلُ قَالَ فِيهِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ لَا يَثْبُتُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ»
Translation: Regarding the first hadith of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: This hadith is not authentic.
⑥ Imam Al-Baghawi رحمه الله
Arabic text: «قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: لَمْ يَثْبُتْ حَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ»
Translation: Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: The hadith of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه is not authentic.
⑦ Imam Abu Ali At-Tusi رحمه الله
Arabic text: «وَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ قَدْ ثَبَتَ حَدِيثُ مَنْ يَرْفَعُ … وَلَمْ يُثْبِتْ حَدِيثَ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ»
Translation: Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: The hadith of those who raised their hands is authentic, but he did not consider the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه authentic.
⑧ Imam Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi رحمه الله
Arabic text: «فَأَمَّا حَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، فَقَالَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: لَمْ يَثْبُتْ»
Translation: Regarding the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: It is not established.
✦ Summary
❀ From all these statements, it is clear that according to the majority of hadith scholars, the narration of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه about abandoning the raising of hands is not established from the Prophet ﷺ. ❀ In contrast, the narration affirming the raising of hands has been declared authentic and reliable by Imam Ibn al-Mubarak and other hadith scholars. ❀ Thus, the argument insisting on abandoning the raising of hands is weak, while there is consensus among hadith scholars on the affirmation of raising hands.
Narration of Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak and the testimony of Sahih Bukhari
✦ Imam Tirmidhi’s narration
Arabic text: «وَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: قَدْ ثَبَتَ حَدِيثُ مَنْ يَرْفَعُ، وَذَكَرَ حَدِيثَ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، وَلَمْ يَثْبُتْ حَدِيثُ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَرْفَعْ إِلَّا فِي أَوَّلِ مَرَّةٍ»
Translation: Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: The hadith about raising hands is established in my view, and that hadith is from the chain Zuhri → Salim → Ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما. But the narration of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه is not established in my view that the Prophet ﷺ only raised his hands the first time.
✦ Sahih Bukhari’s narration (through the chain of Ibn al-Mubarak)
Arabic text: «حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُقَاتِلٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا يُونُسُ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، أَخْبَرَنِي سَالِمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذَا قَامَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ حَتَّى يَكُونَا حَذْوَ مَنْكِبَيْهِ، وَكَانَ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ حِينَ يُكَبِّرُ لِلرُّكُوعِ، وَيَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ إِذَا رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ مِنَ الرُّكُوعِ، وَيَقُولُ: سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ، وَلَا يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ فِي السُّجُودِ»
Translation: Abdullah bin Umar (RA) says: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he stood for prayer, he would raise both his hands to the level of his shoulders. He would do the same at the time of bowing (ruku) and also when rising from bowing, and he would say: Samaa’ Allahu liman hamidah. However, he would not do this in prostration (sajdah).
✦ Important Point
❀ The main narrator of this authentic narration is Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak himself. ❀ This is the narration that Imam Tirmidhi has transmitted as authentic and established. ❀ Thus, it becomes definitive that Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak considered the narration that abandons raising the hands as unestablished and accepted the narration affirming it as authentic.
✦ Summary
① The narration abandoning the raising of hands was declared unestablished by Imam Ibn Al-Mubarak and the majority of hadith scholars. ② The narration affirming the raising of hands was narrated by him (Ibn al-Mubarak) with his own chain of transmission, which is present in Sahih Bukhari. ③ This clarifies the fact that the act of raising the hands is a correct and established Sunnah from the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
A Research Review of the Statement Attributed to Imam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id
Some individuals have mentioned that Imam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id said, as if commenting on the criticism of Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak:
Arabic text (attributed): «وَعَدَمُ ثُبُوتِ الْخَبَرِ عِنْدَ ابْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ لَا يَمْنَعُ مِنَ النَّظَرِ فِيهِ، وَهُوَ يَدُورُ عَلَى عَاصِمِ بْنِ كُلَيْبٍ، وَقَدْ وَثَّقَهُ ابْنُ مَعِينٍ»
Translation: The hadith not being established according to Ibn al-Mubarak does not prevent examining it, and this narration revolves around ‘Asim ibn Kulayb, whom Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in declared trustworthy.
✦ Verification of the Chain
❀ This statement is not directly found in the original works of Imam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id. ❀ It was first mentioned by Zaili Hanafi in his book Nasb al-Rayah as a citation, but no chain or original source was provided. ❀ Later some authors (such as commentators and later scholars) merely repeated this phrase by imitation, but could not present any authentic chain.
✦ Correct Meaning
Even if this statement is accepted as a possibility, it only means that:❀ The ruling that a hadith is not established does not mean that its text and chain of narration should not be examined.❀ The work of the muhaddithin is precisely to conduct scholarly research on every narration, even if it is initially classified as weak.
However, this does not at all prove that Ibn al-Mubarak’s criticism is rejected or that he accepted the narration of abandoning the raising of hands as authentic.
✦ Conclusion
① The statement attributed to Imam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id is not established through its chain of narration; rather, it is merely a transmitted phrase whose original source is unclear. ② Even if the meaning of this statement is accepted, it does not contradict Ibn al-Mubarak’s explicit criticism but only expresses a general scholarly principle. ③ Therefore, it is not correct to strengthen the narration of abandoning the raising of hands on this basis.
Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak’s response to Abu Hanifa mocking the Sunnah of raising hands
Imam Abu Muhammad Ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari (276 AH) mentioned an important incident in his well-known book Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith which further clarifies Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak’s stance regarding raising the hands.
✦ Original Narration
Arabic text: «قَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ: وَحَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ الْحَنْظَلِيُّ (ابن راهويه، المتوفى 238هـ) قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ (ابن الجراح، المتوفى 196هـ) أَنَّ أَبَا حَنِيفَةَ قَالَ: مَا بَالُهُ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ عِنْدَ كُلِّ رَفْعٍ وَخَفْضٍ؟ أَيُرِيدُ أَنْ يَطِيرَ؟ فَقَالَ لَهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: إِنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَطِيرَ إِذَا افْتَتَحَ، فَإِنَّهُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَطِيرَ إِذَا خَفَضَ وَرَفَعَ»
✦ Translation
Ibn Qutaybah writes: Ishaq bin Rahwayh narrated, he said that Waki’ bin al-Jarrah stated: Abu Hanifa said: “Why does this person repeatedly raise his hands when bowing and rising from bowing? Does he intend to fly?”
To this, Abdullah bin al-Mubarak replied: “If raising the hands at the beginning of prayer is an intention to fly, then raising the hands during bowing and standing up will also be an intention to fly.”
✦ Scholarly Point
This incident highlights several important aspects:
❀ According to Imam Ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him), raising the hands (raf’ al-yadain) was an established Sunnah, and denying or mocking it is not correct. ❀ His response was very wise and scholarly, indicating that raising the hands is not limited only to Takbir al-Tahrima but is also established during bowing (ruku) and standing (qiyam). ❀ This testimony further strengthens the point that the narration about abandoning raising the hands is unreliable and weak, while the narrations affirming it are strong and proven through continuous practice.
✦ Summary and Conclusion
This research article has clearly explained in detail that the narration about abandoning raising the hands, attributed to Hazrat Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), is not authentically proven from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
❀ Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) along with the majority of hadith scholars explicitly criticized this narration and stated that this narration is not reliable. ❀ On the contrary, the narrations affirming the raising of hands have been declared authentic and established. Among these, the most important narration is from Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (RA), which is present in Sahih Bukhari through the chain of Imam Ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him). ❀ Imam Ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) clearly stated that the narration supporting the raising of hands is authentic, whereas the narration opposing the raising of hands is not authentic. ❀ The statements attributed in defense of the narration opposing the raising of hands (for example, those attributed to Imam Ibn Daqiq al-Eid (may Allah have mercy on him)) are not established through a reliable chain and are merely transmitted reports. ❀ Furthermore, Ibn Qutaybah mentioned that when objections were raised against the raising of hands, Ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) responded in a highly scholarly and wise manner, which reflects his practical and intellectual confidence in the affirmation of this Sunnah.
✦ Conclusion
① The narration that omits raising the hands is weak and considered unproven by the scholars of hadith. ② The narration affirming the raising of hands is authentic and present in Sahih Bukhari and other books with an authentic chain of narration. ③ Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) along with the majority of hadith scholars have declared raising the hands as the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. ④ Thus, raising the hands is a mutawatir and established Sunnah, and denying it is not academically (in terms of scholarship) correct.
Scans of Important References
