This excerpt is taken from the book Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿInd al-Rukūʿ wa Baʿdahu fī al-Ṣalāh by the Muḥaddith of the era, Ḥāfiẓ Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.
A Detailed Refutation of the Objections Raised by the Opponents of Rafʿ al-Yadayn
Now, a concise yet comprehensive review of the objections raised by the opponents of Rafʿ al-Yadayn—those who abandon it and those who claim its abrogation—is presented below:
① The Ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه
It is narrated that ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:
“Shall I not demonstrate to you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?”
Then he prayed and did not raise his hands except the first time.
(from the route of Sufyān al-Thawrī from ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad from ʿAlqamah from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd)
Abū Dāwūd said: “This is an abbreviated narration from a longer ḥadīth, and it is not authentic with this wording.”
(He said: ḥadīth ḥasan)
This narration is weak in terms of its chain.
In its chain is Imām Sufyān ibn Saʿīd al-Thawrī رحمه الله, who was a mudallis, and he narrated this report with ʿanʿanah. According to the principles of ḥadīth, such a chain is weak.
The student of Sufyān al-Thawrī, Abū ʿĀṣim al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Makhlad al-Nabīl, stated regarding this narration:
نرى أن سفيان الثوري إنما دلسه عن أبى حنيفة
“We believe that Sufyān al-Thawrī committed tadlīs in this narration from Abū Ḥanīfah.”
(chain ṣaḥīḥ)
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥibbān al-Bustī رحمه الله said:
وأما المدلسون الذين هم ثقات وعدول فإنا لا نحتج بأخبارهم إلا ما بينوا السماع فيما رووا مثل الثوري والأعمش وأبي إسحاق وأضرابهم
“As for those mudallisin who are trustworthy and upright, we do not use their narrations as proof unless they explicitly state hearing, such as al-Thawrī, al-Aʿmash, Abū Isḥāq, and others like them.”
Al-Qasṭallānī, al-ʿAynī, and al-Kirmānī all state:
“Sufyān (al-Thawrī) was a mudallis, and the ʿanʿanah of a mudallis is not accepted as proof unless hearing is established through another chain.”
Ibn al-Turkmānī al-Ḥanafī said:
الثوري مدلس وقد عنعن
“Al-Thawrī was a mudallis, and he narrated this report with ʿanʿanah.”
For further details, see the treatise al-Taʾsīs fī Masʾalat al-Tadlīs, pp. 20, 32.
First Clarification
This muʿanʿan narration of Sufyān al-Thawrī has no established corroboration (mutābaʿah) nor any supporting witness (shāhid). The reference cited in al-ʿIlal of al-Dāraquṭnī regarding a mutābaʿah is rejected due to being without a chain.
Second Clarification
Imām Ibn al-Mubārak, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Dāwūd, al-Dāraquṭnī, and the majority of the muḥaddithīn declared this narration unestablished and weak.
② The Narration of Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād
Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād al-Kūfī narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā (a trustworthy Tābiʿī) that al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه said:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began the prayer, he raised his hands up to his ears, then he did not raise them again.”
Abū Dāwūd said: “This ḥadīth is not authentic.”
This narration is weak due to Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, who has been declared weak by the majority of muḥaddithīn.
A corroboration is presented through Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, but:
(its chain is weak)
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā himself took this narration from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād.
Therefore, this corroboration is rejected. Moreover, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā is weak according to the majority of scholars.
③ A Fabricated Chain from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه
It is narrated with a false chain that ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:
“I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما. They did not raise their hands except at the opening takbīr.”
Al-Dāraquṭnī said:
تفرد به محمد بن جابر وكان ضعيفا
“It was uniquely narrated by Muḥammad ibn Jābir, and he was weak.”
Muḥammad ibn Jābir is weak according to the majority of muḥaddithīn.
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said regarding this narration:
“This ḥadīth is munkar.”
Al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī said:
هذا إسناد ضعيف
“This chain is weak.”
Another defect in this narration is Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān, who was afflicted by confusion (ikhtilāṭ).
It is stated that only the narrations of Ḥammād reported by Shuʿbah, Sufyān al-Thawrī, and Hishām al-Dastawāʾī are acceptable; others reported from him after his confusion.
④ The Claim from Musnad al-Ḥumaydī
Some people present a narration from Musnad al-Ḥumaydī (ḥadīth 614) published with the research of Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān al-Aʿẓamī al-Dīobandī, containing the words “fa-lā yarfaʿ” (“then he did not raise”).
However, in two ancient manuscripts of Musnad al-Ḥumaydī and in the edition edited by Ḥusayn Salīm Asad al-Dārānī, these words do not exist. Rather, the narration affirms Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
The chain and text according to the Dārānī manuscript are:
حدثنا الحميدي قال حدثنا سفيان قال حدثنا الزهري قال أخبرني سالم بن عبد الله عن أبيه قال: رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا افتتح الصلاة رفع يديه حذو منكبيه وإذا أراد أن يركع وبعد ما يرفع رأسه من الركوع ولا يرفع بين السجدتين
Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī also narrated this report with the same chain and wording in al-Mustakhraj ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
⑤ The Claim from Musnad Abī ʿAwānah
Some cite a narration from Musnad Abī ʿAwānah in which the conjunction “wa” before lā yarfaʿuhumā is omitted. However, in two manuscript copies of Musnad Abī ʿAwānah, this “wa” is present, which affirms Rafʿ al-Yadayn rather than negating it.
⑥ Argument from Silence in Certain Narrations
Some people cite narrations in which the abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not mentioned, such as a report in al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā (1/71).
However, once a practice is explicitly mentioned in one narration, its absence in another narration does not necessitate negation.
Moreover, al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā itself is unestablished and unreliable.
See: al-Qawl al-Matīn fī al-Jahr bi al-Taʾmīn, p. 73.
⑦ The Ḥadīth of Jābir ibn Samurah رضي الله عنه
It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Why do I see you raising your hands as if they were the tails of unruly horses? Be calm in prayer.”
This narration appears in Musnad Aḥmad with the words “وهم قعود” (“while they were sitting”), which clarifies that this prohibition does not relate to raising the hands during standing, but rather refers to raising hands while sitting, such as during tashahhud—an act practiced by the Shīʿah even today.
Thus, using a narration reported by Shīʿī narrators against the Ahl al-Sunnah practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is a grave injustice.
For this reason, Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله declared the one who argues from this narration as “lā yaʿlam” (ignorant).
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله described this reasoning as the worst form of ignorance.
Statements of Deobandī Scholars
Maḥmūd Ḥasan Deobandī (Asīr-e-Mālṭā) stated:
“Responding with the narration of ‘tails of horses’ is not fair, because it relates to salām. The Companions said that we used to gesture with our hands during salām in prayer, so the Prophet ﷺ forbade that.”
Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī Deobandī stated:
“But the fair conclusion is that the Ḥanafīs’ argument from this ḥadīth is doubtful and weak.”
Final Conclusion
It is firmly established that not a single authentic narration exists against raising the hands before and after rukūʿ.
