Ruling on the Imam Raising His Hands During the Friday Khutbah
Source: Fatawa Arkan al-Islam
Answer
Alhamdulillah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
General Ruling
- It is not permissible for the Imam to raise both hands while delivering the Friday khutbah under normal circumstances.
Practice of the Sahabah
- Bishr ibn Marwan once raised both hands during the Friday khutbah.
- The Sahabah (رضي الله عنهم) objected to and disapproved of this action.
- This shows that in ordinary khutbahs, the Imam should not raise both hands.
Exception: Du‘a for Rain (Istisqa’)
- The only exception is when the Imam is making du‘a for rain during the khutbah.
- It is authentically proven that the Prophet ﷺ raised both hands when supplicating for rain in the Friday khutbah.
- On that occasion, the people present also raised their hands.
Thus, raising hands in the khutbah is only prescribed for du‘a al-istisqa’; for any other supplication during the khutbah, it is not correct to raise both hands.
