How High Should the Hands Be Raised?
Regarding how high the hands should be raised in prayer, consider the Islamic teachings:
① Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
[إذا قام في الصلاة رفع يديه حتىٰ تكونا حذو منكبيه]
When he stood for prayer, he would raise both hands up to the level of the shoulders.
② Sayyiduna Malik bin Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
[إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، كان إذا كبر رفع يديه حتىٰ يحاذي بهما أذنيه]
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said ”اللہ اکبر“, he would raise his hands until they were level with his ears.
❀ In the same narration of Sahih Muslim, these words are also present:
[حتىٰ يحاذي بهما فروع أذنيه]
Until he raised his hands up to the lobes of his ears.
Touching the earlobes with the thumbs while raising the hands at the beginning of prayer is an innovation; it is not established from the Holy Prophet ﷺ, any companion, follower, follower of the followers, or a trustworthy imam, but rather a much later invention.
It is recorded in the authentic books of the Hanafi school:
[يرفع يديه حذاء أذنيه ويمس طرف إبهاميه شحمة أذنيه وأصابعه فوق أذنيه]
He will raise his hands up to the ears, the thumbs will touch the earlobes, and the fingers will go above the ears.
❀ It is mentioned in another book:
[ماسا بإبهاميه شحمة أذنيه]
The thumbs will touch the earlobes.
Regarding the Takbeers of Eid, Ibn Abidin Shami Hanafi writes:
[يرفع يديه ماسا بإبهاميه شحمة أذنيه]
He will raise his hands in such a way that the thumbs are touching the earlobes.
In Hanafi Fiqh it is stated:
[ماسا بإبهاميه شحمة أذنيه]
The thumbs will touch the earlobes.
For further reference:
[ذكر صاحب هداية أيضا في مختارات النوازل المس، وقال القهستاني في جامع الرموز: ذكر في النظم أن محاذاة الإبهام الشحمة مسنونة، وفي ظاهر الأصول محاذاة إليه الأذن ويكره التجاوز عنها والمس لم يذكر في المتداولات إلا في فتاوى قاضي خان والظهيرية والقول بأنه لتحقيق المحاذاة ليس بشيء]
The author of Hidayah has also mentioned in “Mukhtarat al-Nawazil” that the thumbs should touch the earlobes. Kohistani, in “Jami’ al-Rumuz,” has mentioned with reference to the “Nazm” that it is Sunnah for the thumbs to be level with the earlobes. “Zahir al-Usul” states that they should be level with the earlobes, and exceeding the earlobes is disliked. Except for the fatwas of Qazi Khan and the Zahiri school, no commonly used book mentions touching the earlobes with the thumbs, and to say that touching the earlobes with the thumbs proves that the thumbs are level with the earlobes is a baseless statement.
In response to this, Allama Abdul Hayy Hanafi Lakhnawi (1304 AH) states:
[هو ليس بسنة مستقلة فإنه لا دليل عليه في رواية]
This is not an established Sunnah because there is no evidence for it in the Hadith.
Maulana Abdul Shakoor Lakhnawi writes:
Our jurists have written that the thumbs should reach the ears; as we have also written above, this is written only with the idea that the hands should be raised up to the level of the ears, not considered as Sunnah, nor should it be regarded as Sunnah. Therefore, this matter is not proven from any Hadith, and Allah knows best!
❀ Our fair question is: Why a new method for raising the hands when Sunnah is present?
Sayyiduna Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
[رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يرفع إبهاميه في الصلاة إلىٰ شحمة أذنيه]
I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raise his thumbs up to the lobes of his ears.
Commentary:
The chain of this Hadith is “weak”; Abd al-Jabbar bin Wa’il did not hear or meet his father Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him). Hafiz Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
[لم يدركه باتفاقهم]
There is consensus among the Muhaddithin that Abd al-Jabbar did not hear from his father.
It is established that touching the hands to the lobes of the ears during raising the hands is not proven.
Allama Ibn Abi al-Izz Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
[من تبين له من العلم ما كان خافیا عليه فاتبعه فقد أصاب واهتدىٰ، زاده الله هدى]
Whoever discovers a hidden corner of knowledge and adopts it, he is on the path of guidance; may Allah grant him further guidance.
Our Master Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
[رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كبر فحاذىٰ بإبهاميه أذنيه]
I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raising his thumbs up to his ears.
The chain of narration is “weak”.
① ‘Alaa bin Ismail Attar is “unknown”; Hafiz Ibn Hajar
has called him “unknown”. Imam Hakim’s declaration of its chain as “authentic” is not correct.
② There is tadlis (concealment) by Hafs bin Ghiyath in it.
③ Imam Abu Hatim has called it “rejected”
.
The hadith of Bara’ bin Azib is also “weak”; Yazid bin Abi Ziyad is considered “weak” and “mudallis” by the majority of hadith scholars.
Benefit number ①
In Sunan Abi Dawood
, mention is made of raising the hand up to the chest. This narration is weak due to the “tadlis” of Qadi Shareek.
Benefit number ②
It is established in many hadiths that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to raise his hands up to the level of the shoulders, as narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Humaid Saadi رضي الله عنه and others.
The author of Hidayah writes:
[ما رواه يحمل علىٰ حالة العذر]
All the narrations that mention raising the hands up to the shoulders are applicable only in cases of excuse.
In response to this interpretation, Allama Ayni Hanafi (855 AH) writes:
[لا حاجة إلىٰ هٰذه التكلفات]
There is no need for such complications in response to these hadiths.
The commentator of Hidayah, Ibn Humam Hanafi (861 AH) writes:
[لكن الحق أن لا معارضة كما أسمعتك فلا حاجة إلىٰ هٰذا الحمل ليدفع التعارض]
The truth is that these hadiths should not be contradicted, as I have already explained, so there is little need to make such interpretations to resolve the apparent contradiction.
