Authentic Evidence of Raising Hands (Rafʿ al-Yadayn) on Every Takbeer in Funeral Prayer
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 532
❖ Question
Is there authentic Hadith evidence for raising the hands (rafʿ al-yadayn) on every takbeer during the funeral prayer (Ṣalāt al-Janāzah)?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Statement of Imām al-Dāraquṭnī (رحمه الله)
Imām al-Dāraquṭnī (رحمه الله) stated:
“وقد سئل الدارقطني في العلل : عَن حَديث نافع، عَن ابن عُمر؛ أَن النَّبي صَلى الله عَليه وسَلمَ كان إِذا صلى على جِنازة رفع يديه في كل تكبيرة، وإِذا انصرف“
Meaning:
Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ, when performing the funeral prayer, would raise his hands with every takbeer, and would say the taslīm upon concluding.
📚 Kitāb al-ʿIlal by al-Dāraquṭnī, Vol. 13, p. 22, Ḥadīth 2908
Status of the Narration’s Chain
❖ The chain of this narration is ḥasan li-dhātih (intrinsically sound).
❖ Both Imām al-Dāraquṭnī and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Anṣārī are free from the accusation of tadlīs (narrative ambiguity).
📚 See: al-Fatḥ al-Mubīn fī Taḥqīq Ṭabaqāt al-Mudallīsīn, pp. 26, 32
Reliability of the Narrators
❖ ʿUmar ibn Shabbah – Ṣadūq (truthful) and ḥasan al-ḥadīth
❖ Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Jarrāḥ and Muḥammad ibn Mukhlad – both are thiqat (trustworthy)
📚 See: Tārīkh Baghdād (4/409 No. 2312, 3/310–311 No. 1406)
Support from the Practice of the Companions
❖ It is established that Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) would raise his hands at every takbeer during the funeral prayer.
📚 Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 3/296 Ḥadīth 11380
📚 Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn by al-Bukhārī – verified by Imām Abū Muḥammad Badīʿ al-Dīn Shāh al-Rāshidī al-Sindhī (رحمه الله) Ḥadīth 110
📚 Al-Bayhaqī 4/44 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
Absence of Evidence for Abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn
❖ There is no evidence from any Companion (Ṣaḥābī) for abandoning the practice of raising hands during the takbeers of the funeral prayer.
❖ Therefore, the stronger opinion is that rafʿ al-yadayn should be done on every takbeer in the funeral prayer.
Caution in Following the Sunnah
It should be remembered that Sayyidunā ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) was extremely careful in following the Sunnah precisely.
📚 (Shahādat, February 2002)
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
