All Narrations on Leaving Raf al-Yadayn Are Weak and Rejected

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 Muhaddith of the era, Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.

All Narrations About Leaving Rafʿ al-Yadayn Are Weak and Rejected​

In this article, the weak, rejected, fabricated, and baseless narrations—along with their rebuttals—and the answers to the doubts of those who abandon Rafʿ al-Yadayn are presented, which some people repeatedly cite to argue for ترك رفع اليدين (leaving the raising of the hands) or for the abrogation of Rafʿ al-Yadayn, etc.

① A Narration Attributed to Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه​

It is narrated from ʿAlqamah that Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:

“Shall I not show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?” Then he prayed and did not raise his hands except the first time.

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī

(and he said: Ḥadīth ḥasan)

Reference: al-Muḥallā by Ibn Ḥazm

(and he said: “Indeed this report is ṣaḥīḥ.”)

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd

(See my book: Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Masʾalah Rafʿ al-Yadayn, pp. 129–130)

This narration is weak for two reasons:​

① First: Imām al-Shāfiʿī and the majority of the muḥaddithīn declared it not established, fabricated, and weak, etc.
See:

Reference: al-Umm 7/201

Reference: ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim (ḥadīth: 258)

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī (p. 256)

Reference: al-Tamhīd by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr 3/220

and others.

② Second: One of its narrators, Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله, despite being trustworthy, was also a mudallis.
See:

Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (Vol. 4, p. 225)

and the books on mudallisīn.

This narration is reported with “ʿan” (عن), and in no chain is there a clear statement of direct hearing (تصريح بالسماع).

It is a well-known principle of ḥadīth that the ʿanʿanah narration of a mudallis is weak.
See:

Reference: al-Risālah by Imām al-Shāfiʿī (p. 380)

Reference: Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ (p. 99)

If someone says:​

Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar placed Sufyān al-Thawrī in the second level (ṭabaqah thāniyah) of mudallisīn—

The answer:​

The correct view is that Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī was from the third level (ṭabaqah thālithah) of mudallisīn. Eleven references are presented as proof:

① al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī mentioned him (before Ibn Ḥajar) in al-jins al-thālith, i.e., ṭabaqah thālithah.

Reference: Maʿrifat ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth (p. 106)

② al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī said: Sufyān was among the mudallisīn, and the ʿanʿanah of a mudallis is not a proof unless a statement of hearing is established from another chain.

Reference: ʿUmdat al-Qārī 3/112

Thus, according to al-ʿAynī, Sufyān al-Thawrī is from ṭabaqah thālithah.

③ Ibn al-Turkmānī al-Ḥanafī criticized a narration saying: Thawrī is a mudallis and he narrated with “ʿan.”

Reference: al-Jawhar al-Naqī 8/262

So, in his view, Thawrī’s ʿanʿanah narration is defective.

④ al-Kirmānī said the same principle regarding Sufyān being a mudallis.

Reference: Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī by al-Kirmānī 3/62

⑤ al-Qasṭallānī likewise stated the same.

Reference: Irshād al-Sārī 1/286

⑥ Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-ʿAlāʾī said: Sufyān al-Thawrī used to do tadlīs from unknown people.

Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Taḥṣīl fī Aḥkām al-Marāsīl (p. 99)

⑦ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī said: He used to do tadlīs from weak narrators, etc.

Reference: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 2/169

And when a mudallis does tadlīs from non-trustworthy narrators, only those narrations are accepted in which he explicitly states سماع.
See:

Reference: al-Nukat by al-Zarkashī (p. 184)

Reference: Sharḥ Alfiyyah al-ʿIrāqī: al-Tabṣirah wa al-Tadhkirah 1/183–184

⑧ Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar (Deobandī) criticized a narration due to the tadlīs of Sufyān al-Thawrī.

Reference: Khazāʾin al-Sunan 2/77

⑨ Master Amīn Okāṛvī (Deobandī) also criticized a narration due to the tadlīs of Sufyān al-Thawrī.

Reference: Majmūʿah Rasāʾil (old print) 3/331

Reference: Tajalliyāt Ṣafdar 5/470

⑩ Muḥammad Sharīf Koṭalvī (Barelwī) said while criticizing a narration of Sufyān: “There is suspicion of tadlīs in Sufyān’s narration.”

Reference: Fiqh al-Faqīh (p. 134)

⑪ Muḥammad ʿAbbās Raḍwī (Barelwī) wrote: Sufyān is a mudallis and he narrated from ʿĀṣim bin Kulayb with ʿan, and according to the principles of the muḥaddithīn, the ʿanʿanah of a mudallis is not accepted.

Reference: Munāẓire Hī Munāẓire (p. 249)

From this detail it becomes clear that Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله was a mudallis (from ṭabaqah thālithah), therefore in narrations outside the Ṣaḥīḥayn, his ʿanʿanah narration is weak—unless explicit سماع is proven or a reliable supporting narration is found.

And it should be remembered that in the mentioned narration, a sound, connected, authentic mutābaʿah of Sufyān al-Thawrī is not established.

(Also see my article: Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī’s Tadlīs and Ṭabaqah Thāniyah?)

Further Note (تنبیہ)​

In one narration attributed to Sayyidunā Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه, it is mentioned that he 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.”

Reference: Sunan al-Dāraqutnī 1/295

(and he said: It is narrated uniquely by Muḥammad bin Jābir, and he was weak)

The narrator Muḥammad bin Jābir al-Yamāmī is weak according to the majority.

Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 5/191

Imām al-Dāraqutnī also declared him weak, therefore this narration is rejected.

Another narration attributed to Ibn Masʿūd in:

Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Masānīd 1/355

is false and rejected for several reasons, including that Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh bin Muḥammad bin Yaʿqūb al-Ḥārithī al-Bukhārī is a liar, his teacher is unknown, and the rest of the chain is also rejected. (See Nūr al-ʿAynayn, pp. 42–43)

Leaving Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not even established as a mawqūf report from Sayyidunā Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه.

② A Narration Attributed to Sayyidunā al-Barāʾ bin ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه​

It is narrated from al-Barāʾ bin ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ used to raise his hands up to his earlobes at the start of prayer, then he would not raise them again.

Reference: Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī

,

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd

, etc.

Its main narrator is Yazīd bin Abī Ziyād al-Qurashī al-Hāshimī al-Kūfī, who is weak according to the majority of the muḥaddithīn. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said:

والجمهور على تضعيف حديثه
“The majority hold his ḥadīth to be weak…”

Reference: Hudā al-Sārī (p. 459)

Al-Būṣīrī said: “The majority declared him weak.”

Reference: Zawāʾid Ibn Mājah: 2116

In another chain is Muḥammad bin ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Abī Laylā, also weak according to the majority. Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī (Deobandī) said:

“My view is that he is weak, as is the view of the majority.”

Reference: Fayḍ al-Bārī 3/168

Al-Būṣīrī said: “The majority declared him weak.”

Reference: Zawāʾid Ibn Mājah: 854

A narration of ترك رفع اليدين is also reported with this chain:

أبو حنيفة عن الشعبي قال : سمعت البراء بن عازب

Reference: Musnad Abī Ḥanīfah by Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī (p. 156)

But all its narrators (Abū al-Qāsim bin Bālwiyah, Bakr bin Muḥammad…, ʿAlī bin Muḥammad…, Muḥammad bin Rūḥ, Rūḥ bin Abī al-Ḥarsh) are unknown, therefore this chain is rejected.

③ A Narration Attributed to ʿAbbād bin al-Zubayr (?)​

It is narrated from ʿAbbād bin al-Zubayr that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands at the beginning of prayer, then did not raise them anywhere in the prayer until he finished.

Reference: Khilāfiyyāt (as cited in Naṣb al-Rāyah, p. 404)

This narration is rejected for multiple reasons:

◈ Muḥammad bin Isḥāq (the narrator) is unknown.
◈ Ḥafṣ bin Ghiyāth was a mudallis.

Reference: Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd (Vol. 6, p. 390)

It is narrated with “ʿan,” therefore it is weak.
◈ ʿAbbād bin al-Zubayr is unknown, and assuming it refers to ʿAbbād bin ʿAbdullāh bin al-Zubayr is without evidence.
◈ Even if assumed, it would still be weak due to being disconnected and mursal.

Benefit: Rafʿ al-Yadayn after the Prophet’s ﷺ death is established from ʿAbdullāh bin al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه with an authentic chain.

Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 2/73

④ Narrations Attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās and Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما​

A narration says the Prophet ﷺ said Rafʿ al-Yadayn is done in seven places: at the start of prayer, when seeing the Kaʿbah, at Ṣafā and Marwah, at ʿArafāt and Muzdalifah, and when stoning the jamarāt.

Reference: Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār

,

Reference: Kashf al-Astār

In its chain is Muḥammad bin ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Abī Laylā, weak according to the majority (see ḥadīth no. 2 above).

Another narration in:

Reference: al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī 11/452

is weak due to the narrator ʿAṭāʾ bin al-Sāʾib after his confusion (ikhtilāṭ). It is not established that it was narrated before the ikhtilāṭ; therefore it is weak.

Another report in:

Reference: al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr 11/385

with the words لا ترفع الأيدي إلا فى سبع مواطن is also weak due to Ibn Abī Laylā.

A baseless, fabricated narration without chain appears in:

Reference: Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ by al-Kāsānī 1/207

claiming that the ten promised Paradise did not raise hands except at the start—this is also rejected.

Some cite a report from a book named Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās stating: “And they do not raise their hands in prayer.”

Reference: Tanwīr al-Qiyās (p. 212)

Its chain contains liars: Muḥammad bin Marwān al-Suddī (liar), Muḥammad bin al-Sāʾib al-Kalbī (liar), and Abū Ṣāliḥ Bādhām (weak). Hence, that tafsīr is fabricated.

تنبیہ: From Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما, it is established that he raised his hands before and after rukūʿ.

Reference: Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (Vol. 1, p. 235)

(its chain is ḥasan)
So ترک رفع یدین is not established from him at all.

And Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to raise his hands before and after rukūʿ.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 739

So ترک رفع یدین is not established from him either.

A report from Mujāhid claiming Ibn ʿUmar only raised hands at the first takbīr is weak due to the error of Abū Bakr bin ʿAyyāsh. Imām Aḥmad said: “This is false.”

Reference: Masāʾil Aḥmad, riwāyah Ibn Hānī (Vol. 1, p. 50)

Imām Ibn Maʿīn said: This is his error and has no basis.

Reference: Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn: 16

Reference: Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/392

A narration in Muwaṭṭaʾ Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan is rejected due to weak narrators (Ibn Farqad and Muḥammad bin Abān bin Ṣāliḥ).

⑤ A Narration Attributed to Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه​

A narration says the Prophet ﷺ raised hands at the beginning of prayer, then not again.

Reference: al-ʿIlal by al-Dāraqutnī 4/107

This report is mentioned without a chain in al-ʿIlal al-Wāridah, and no chain is given up to ʿAbd al-Raḥīm bin Salmān, therefore it is rejected.

Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar (Deobandī) said: an unsourced statement cannot be a proof.

Reference: Aḥsan al-Kalām 1/327

Reference: Dard Sar Anskhah (p. 403)

⑥ A Narration Attributed to Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما About “Abrogation”​

A report claims Ibn ʿUmar said: We used to raise hands at the beginning and at rukūʿ in Makkah, then after hijrah to Madīnah the Prophet ﷺ left the rukūʿ raising.

Reference: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn (p. 214)

This report is fabricated and false:

① Its narrator ʿUthmān bin Muḥammad bin Ḥashīsh al-Qayrawānī was called a liar by al-Dhahabī:

كان كذابا

Reference: al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ 2/50

② The completion note of the book states it was completed in Shaʿbān 483 AH (p. 293), while the author died in 361 AH—so the copyist is unknown and much later; the unknown narrator’s report is rejected.

③ The meeting (or contemporaneity) of ʿUthmān bin Sawādah with Ḥafṣ bin Maysarah is not established.

A separate chainless report in Naṣb al-Rāyah (from Khilāfiyyāt) is also declared fabricated by al-Ḥākim.

Reference: Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/404

⑦ A Chainless Report Quoted by Some Ḥanafī Jurists​

Al-Kāsānī and others mention (without chain) that the Prophet ﷺ saw some companions raising hands before rukūʿ and when rising and said: “Why do I see you raising your hands like the tails of stubborn horses? Be calm in prayer.”

Reference: Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/207

Because it is without chain, it is fabricated and rejected.

⑧ A Narration Attributed to Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه​

A report via Kathīr bin ʿAbdullāh claims the Prophet ﷺ instructed him: face the qiblah, raise hands, say takbīr, recite, then when going into rukūʿ place palms on knees, etc.

Reference: al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl by Ibn ʿAdī 6/2086

Its narrator Kathīr bin ʿAbdullāh Abū Hāshim al-Ablī is severely weak and abandoned.
Imām al-Bukhārī said:

منكر الحديث عن أنس
“He narrates munkar ḥadīths from Anas.”

Reference: al-Kāmil (p. 2085)

Reference: al-Ḍuʿafāʾ by al-Bukhārī: 316

Imām al-Nasāʾī said: متروك الحديث

Reference: al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkūn (506)

Al-Ḥākim declared his narrations from Anas to be fabricated.

Reference: Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 8/418

Also, even in this fabricated report, there is no explicit statement of ترک رفع یدین—rather it is mere non-mention, and non-mention is not proof of negation.

⑨ Distortions (Taḥrīfāt)​

Some people present two narrations from Musnad al-Ḥumaydī and Musnad Abī ʿAwānah, attributing them to Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما to prove ترك رفع یدین, while in the old manuscript copies these narrations are recorded with affirmation of Rafʿ al-Yadayn, not ترك. Therefore, one should be aware of these distortions. (See Nūr al-ʿAynayn, pp. 68–81)

⑩ Weak Reports and Some Points​

Some people present weak and unproven athār against marfūʿ aḥādīth, for example:

① An athar attributed to Ibn Masʿūd is rejected because it is disconnected—he passed away before Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī was born.
② An athar attributed to ʿUmar رضي الله عنه is weak due to the tadlīs of Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī (a trustworthy mudallis). Whoever claims it is ṣaḥīḥ must produce explicit سماع in it.
③ An athar attributed to the Rightly Guided Caliphs is weak due to Muḥammad bin Jābir (weak).
④ An athar attributed to ʿAlī رضي الله عنه is weak and not established by agreement of the muḥaddithīn.
⑤ Some cite reports from books attributed to Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī (al-Muwaṭṭaʾ and al-Āthār), whose chains are not authentic, and Ibn Farqad himself is weak according to the majority.
⑥ Some cite narrations about raising hands in sujūd, though not a single narration proves Rafʿ al-Yadayn in sujūd; and it is written in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 738

“He would not raise his hands when prostrating or when rising from prostration.”
⑦ Some cite the ḥadīth of Jābir bin Samurah رضي الله عنه (from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), whereas it relates to gesturing with hands at salām in tashahhud, not to rukūʿ Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
⑧ Some claim the companions used to carry idols in their armpits and that is why Rafʿ al-Yadayn was done—this is pure lie and fabrication with no evidence in any ḥadīth book.
⑨ Some claim the Prophet ﷺ first did Rafʿ al-Yadayn and later left it or abrogated it—there is no chain or proof for this in any ḥadīth book.
⑩ Some attempt to present praises for narrators declared criticized by the majority, whereas in principle the majority’s jarḥ outweighs such tawthīq unless a specific-vs-general issue applies.
⑪ Some cite the Shīʿī book “Musnad Zayd” and the Khārijite book “Musnad al-Rabīʿ bin Ḥabīb,” while both are unestablished and false books; referencing unestablished books is rejected.

Conclusion​

For the evidences of affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn before rukūʿ and after rukūʿ, study Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and other ḥadīth collections.

وما علينا إلا البلاغ

(11 July 2009)