Source: Fatawa ‘Ilmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitab al-Salah, Page 467
Is it necessary to raise hands and make collective duʿā with the imām after every prayer?
Some people believe this act to be obligatory, even going as far as to claim that one’s prayer is invalid if duʿā is not made with the imām.
What is the correct Sharʿi position based on the Qur’an and Hadith?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd!
◈ The act of raising hands and making collective duʿā with the imām after every obligatory prayer is not proven from any ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) or ḥasan (sound) Hadith.
◈ If duʿā is needed or occasionally done individually or collectively, it is permissible under general evidences,
but making it a fixed practice is not part of the Sunnah.
◈ The claim that whoever does not join the imām in duʿā after Salah has no valid prayer is false and against Sharīʿah.
◈ This notion is based on ignorance and obstinacy, and those who promote it should repent and abandon this baseless position.
Several major scholars have classified post-Salah collective duʿā as an innovation (bidʿah):
✔ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله
al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā, Vol. 1, pp. 188–189
✔ ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله
Zād al-Maʿād, Vol. 1, p. 257
"This practice was not from the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ at all, neither with a ṣaḥīḥ nor a ḥasan chain."
✔ Imām al-Shāṭibī رحمه الله
al-Iʿtiṣām, Vol. 1, p. 252
✔ Contemporary Deobandi Scholars
Even some modern Deobandi scholars have declared this a bidʿah,
See: Rujūʿ al-Rashīd, pp. 170–173
Published in Shahādat, February 2000
◈ While making duʿā after prayer is permissible individually,
considering collective duʿā mandatory and condemning those who abstain from it is misguidance.
◈ Declaring this as part of the Prophet’s ﷺ Sunnah or as an essential part of the prayer is religiously incorrect.
◈ Such an innovation must be avoided, and those holding this view must repent sincerely.
✔ Post-prayer collective duʿā is not established in the Sunnah and should not be treated as obligatory.
✔ The correct Sharʿi practice is individual duʿā and prescribed adhkār, as taught by the Prophet ﷺ.
✔ Making collective duʿā after every prayer a fixed practice and criticizing others for not joining is a clear deviation from the Sharīʿah.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
❖ Question:
Is it necessary to raise hands and make collective duʿā with the imām after every prayer?
Some people believe this act to be obligatory, even going as far as to claim that one’s prayer is invalid if duʿā is not made with the imām.
What is the correct Sharʿi position based on the Qur’an and Hadith?
✿ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd!
✦ ❶ No Authentic Evidence for Collective Duʿā After Every Prayer
◈ The act of raising hands and making collective duʿā with the imām after every obligatory prayer is not proven from any ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) or ḥasan (sound) Hadith.
◈ If duʿā is needed or occasionally done individually or collectively, it is permissible under general evidences,
but making it a fixed practice is not part of the Sunnah.
✦ ❷ Declaring It Obligatory Is a False Belief
◈ The claim that whoever does not join the imām in duʿā after Salah has no valid prayer is false and against Sharīʿah.
◈ This notion is based on ignorance and obstinacy, and those who promote it should repent and abandon this baseless position.
✦ ❸ Statements of Prominent Scholars Against This Practice
Several major scholars have classified post-Salah collective duʿā as an innovation (bidʿah):
✔ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله
al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā, Vol. 1, pp. 188–189
✔ ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله
Zād al-Maʿād, Vol. 1, p. 257
"This practice was not from the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ at all, neither with a ṣaḥīḥ nor a ḥasan chain."
✔ Imām al-Shāṭibī رحمه الله
al-Iʿtiṣām, Vol. 1, p. 252
✔ Contemporary Deobandi Scholars
Even some modern Deobandi scholars have declared this a bidʿah,
See: Rujūʿ al-Rashīd, pp. 170–173Published in Shahādat, February 2000
✦ ❹ Duʿā After Prayer Is Valid Individually — Not as a Ritual
◈ While making duʿā after prayer is permissible individually,
considering collective duʿā mandatory and condemning those who abstain from it is misguidance.
✦ ❺ Declaring It Part of the Sunnah Is a Bidʿah
◈ Declaring this as part of the Prophet’s ﷺ Sunnah or as an essential part of the prayer is religiously incorrect.
◈ Such an innovation must be avoided, and those holding this view must repent sincerely.
Conclusion:
✔ Post-prayer collective duʿā is not established in the Sunnah and should not be treated as obligatory.
✔ The correct Sharʿi practice is individual duʿā and prescribed adhkār, as taught by the Prophet ﷺ.
✔ Making collective duʿā after every prayer a fixed practice and criticizing others for not joining is a clear deviation from the Sharīʿah.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
