Attributed Report from Umar on Raf' al-Yadayn Examined and Refuted

This excerpt is taken from the book Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿInd al-Rukūʿ wa Baʿdahū fī al-Ṣalāh by the Muḥaddith of the era, Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.

A Report Attributed to Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه​

إبراهيم عن الأسود قال: رأيت عمر بن الخطاب يرفع يديه فى أول تكبيرة ثم لا يعود

It is narrated through the chain of Ibrāhīm from al-Aswad that he said:
“I saw ʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه raising his hands at the initial takbīr, then he would not repeat it.”

Reference: Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī 1/227

Scholarly Criticism of This Report​

Imām Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī objected to this narration, stating that this report is shādh (irregular) and no proof can be established with it. Authentic narrations state that Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه used to raise his hands before rukūʿ and after rukūʿ.

Reference: Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/405; al-Badr al-Munīr 3/501

Imām Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī regarded the narration of Sufyān al-Thawrī—which does not mention abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn—as more authentic than the narration of al-Ḥasan bin ʿAyyāsh.

Reference: Iʿlāl al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim 1/95

Ibn al-Jawzī stated that this report is not authentic (not established).

Reference: al-Badr al-Munīr 3/501; al-Taḥqīq fī Ikhtilāf al-Ḥadīth 1/1282 with al-Tanqīḥ

The research of Imām Abū Zurʿah, Imām al-Ḥākim, and the majority of scholars takes precedence over the research of Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī.

Another Defect in the Narration​

Secondly, in this narration, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī al-Kūfī is a mudallis.

Reference: Ṭabaqāt al-Mudallisīn by Ibn Ḥajar p.28 no.35; Jāmiʿ al-Taḥṣīl fī Aḥkām al-Marāsīl by al-ʿAlāʾī p.104; Maʿrifat ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth by al-Ḥākim p.108; al-Mudallisīn by Abū Zurʿah Ibn al-ʿIrāqī (2); al-Mudallisīn by al-Suyūṭī (1); al-Tabyīn al-Ḥilmī (14)

And this narration is muʿanʿan.

It has already been clarified under the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd that a narration of a mudallis reported with “ʿan” is weak. Imām al-Nawawī said:

والمدلس إذا عنعن لا يحتج به بالاتفاق

“If a mudallis narrates with ʿanʿanah, then his narration is unanimously not taken as proof.”

Reference: Naṣb al-Rāyah 2/34

Another Strong Argument​

Another defect is that if Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه did not perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn, then his eminent and jurist son ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما would also not have performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn. However, the matter is exactly the opposite.

Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn, rather he would strike those who did not perform it. Therefore, this narration is not authentic.

Another Response​

Another answer is that the inference of the deniers of Rafʿ al-Yadayn from this narration is incorrect. These people perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn in qunūt, witr, and the two ʿEids.

If this report attributed to Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه were authentic, then it could also be argued that he did not raise his hands after the opening takbīr even in qunūt, witr, and the two ʿEids (!) — so why do they perform it?

If the specification of Rafʿ al-Yadayn in qunūt, witr, and the two ʿEids is established through other evidences, then likewise, the specification of Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ is also established through other evidences.

The deniers of Rafʿ al-Yadayn should present a clear, authentic report stating explicitly that such-and-such Companion did not perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ, or that he used not to do so.

The actual dispute concerns Rafʿ al-Yadayn at rukūʿ. When the claim is specific, then the evidence must also be specific.