✦ Rebuttal of 10 Weak and Invalid Proofs for Abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Page 356
Topic: Scholarly Critique of a Narration from Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn Misused Against Rafʿ al-Yadayn
❖ The Claim
Some individuals, particularly Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī Barelwī, cite a narration from Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn, alleging that the Prophet ﷺ abandoned Rafʿ al-Yadayn during Rukūʿ after migrating to Madinah, and continued only the initial Takbīr until his demise.
Narration Text:
“ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar said: When we were in Makkah with the Prophet ﷺ, we used to raise our hands at the beginning of prayer and during Rukūʿ. When the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Madinah, he abandoned raising the hands during Rukūʿ and retained it only at the beginning of prayer—until he passed away.”
(Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn, p. 316)
❖ Detailed Critical Analysis
➊ Doubtful Attribution of the Book
- The book claims completion in Shaʿbān 483 AH (p. 293),
while Muḥammad ibn Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī passed away in 361 AH.
➡ This indicates the book cannot be his work, as it was finalized 122 years after his death.
➡ It lacks any isnād (chain) in its opening (p. 5) or content.
➋ Obscure Identity of the Narrator ‘ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad’
- It is unclear who ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad is.
- Without evidence, identifying him as ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Mudrak is unjustified.
📝 Imām al-Dhahabī states:
“ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Khushaysh al-Qayrawānī… I suspect he was a liar.”
(Al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ, 2/4059)
➡ Due to the Qayrawānī background, the narrator may be fabricating reports.
➌ ‘ʿUthmān ibn Sawādah ibn ʿAbbād’ Is Unknown (Majhūl)
- No mention of this narrator exists in reputable Hadith sources.
- Even though the book claims “he was trusted by judges,”
➤ such praise from a Majhūl source is invalid when the one narrating (ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad) is himself unknown or unreliable.
➍ Lack of Contemporaneity (No Established Muʿāṣarah)
- Ḥafṣ ibn Maysarah died in 181 AH
- No historical record confirms that ʿUthmān ibn Sawādah lived in the same era or met him.
➡ Therefore, disconnection in the chain (Inqitāʿ).
➎ Dubious Book Title
- The correct title of the book is likely Akhbār al-Quḍāt al-Muḥaddithīn, not Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn.
📝 Supported by:
- Al-Ikmāl by Ibn Mākuwlā (3/261)
- Al-Ansāb by al-Masʿūdī (2/372)
➡ Only modern authors (e.g., ʿUmar Riḍā Kahālah, Khayr al-Dīn al-Ziriklī) mention the latter title.
➡ No early scholar recognized this book.
➏ Even the Book Itself Labels the Narration as Shādh (Anomalous)
📌 The book admits:
“This is from the rare and anomalous Hadiths.”
(p. 214)
➡ This was conveniently omitted by Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī.
➡ Shādh narrations are considered weak and unreliable.
❖ Rebuttals Based on Authentic Narrations
➐ Rafʿ al-Yadayn Is Proven in Madinah
From Abū Qilābah:
“Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith said that the Prophet ﷺ used to perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn.”
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1/167, Ḥadīth 391)
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/102, Ḥadīth 737)
📝 Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith came to Madinah during preparations for Tabūk, confirming the practice was not abrogated.
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, 2/173, Ḥadīth 104)
➑ Practice of Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
📌 Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah:
“The Prophet ﷺ performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the start, before and after Rukūʿ.”
(1/344, Ḥadīth 694, 695 — Ḥasan chain)
Abū Hurayrah stayed with the Prophet ﷺ for the last 4 years in Madinah, and continued Rafʿ al-Yadayn even after his death.
(Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn, Imām Bukhārī, p. 22)
➒ Practice of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
From Nāfiʿ:
“He would raise his hands at the beginning of prayer, before and after Rukūʿ, and upon rising after two Rakʿahs.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 2/102, Ḥadīth 739)
➡ It’s implausible that he would act on something he believed abrogated.
➓ Anger Toward Abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn
From Nāfiʿ:
“Ibn ʿUmar would throw pebbles at one who didn’t perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn.”
(Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn, p. 15 — Authentic Chain)
📝 Imām al-Nawawī:
“Narrated through a Ṣaḥīḥ isnād from Nāfiʿ”
(Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, 3/405)
✅ Conclusion of the Research
The narration from Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn claiming abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn:
❌ Is fabricated (Mawḍūʿ)
❌ Contradicts Ṣaḥīḥ Aḥādīth
❌ Possesses no valid chain
❌ Is textually and contextually rejected
Calling it a “Ṣaḥīḥ Ḥadīth” as Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī did is an academic betrayal and entirely unacceptable.
وما علینا إلا البلاغ
