Hadith of the Horse Tails and the Position of Raising Hands (Rafʿ al-Yadayn) in Salah
✍ Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
Jābir ibn Samurah (RA) narrates:
"مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ رَافِعِي أَيْدِيكُمْ كَأَنَّهَا أَذْنَابُ خَيْلٍ شُمُسٍ، اسْكُنُوا فِي الصَّلَاةِ"
“What is the matter with you that I see you raising your hands like the tails of wild horses? Be calm in your prayer.”
[Muslim: 430, Abū Dāwūd: 1000]
① The hadith does not mention that this statement is in reference to raising hands during rukūʿ or rising from rukūʿ.
② The context is clarified in another hadith from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (431):
The companions used to make gestures with their hands when saying salām at the end of the prayer.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Do not move your hands like the tails of wild horses; it is enough that one places his hand on his thigh and greets his brother to the right and left."
This proves that the forbiddance was related to the movement during salām, not rafʿ al-yadayn.
③ If raising hands disturbs the calmness of prayer, then why do the Ḥanafīs perform it in Witr?
ʿAlqamah narrates from Ibn Masʿūd (RA):
“Should I not show you how the Prophet ﷺ used to pray? Then he prayed and did not raise his hands except once.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 683, 738; Tirmidhī: 257; Aḥmad: 1/388; Nasā’ī: 2/182]
① This narration contradicts multiple authentic and mutawātir narrations supporting rafʿ al-yadayn.
② The statement of a companion cannot outweigh the practice of the Prophet ﷺ reported by others.
③ Even if the narration is ṣaḥīḥ, it indicates a lack of regular practice, not a denial of the act itself. Thus, it reduces the level of emphasis but not the legitimacy of the practice.
ʿAlqamah again narrates from Ibn Masʿūd (RA):
“I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar, and they did not raise their hands except at the beginning.”
[Dāraquṭnī: 1/295; Bayhaqī: 2/79]
– Imām Ibn al-Jawzī classified this report as fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
– Dāraquṭnī himself admitted that Muḥammad ibn Jābir, the narrator, is weak.
– Bayhaqī considered it mursal and mauqūf (incomplete chain).
Hence, not acceptable as evidence.
“The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands at the beginning of prayer and did not do so again.”
[Abū Dāwūd: 153–156]
– All narrations with the wording “ثم لا يعود” (he did not return to it) are weak.
– Al-Albānī, al-Dāraquṭnī, and others have rejected these narrations due to weak chains.
– Imām al-Shawkānī notes: the words “ثم لم يعد” are inserted by narrators, not part of the actual Prophetic statement.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/695]
Some say: In early Islam, people hid idols under their arms, and rafʿ al-yadayn was introduced and later abrogated.
This claim is completely baseless —
– It lacks any evidence,
– Not even a weak or fabricated report supports it.
Thus, it has no scholarly value.
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn (raising of hands) is proven from multiple ṣaḥīḥ ahādīth at four positions:
① Before Takbīrat al-Taḥrīmah
② Before rukūʿ
③ After rising from rukūʿ
④ After standing from the first tashahhud (in three/four rakʿah prayers)
– Imām al-Shawkānī: Rafʿ al-yadayn in all four places is established.
[As-Sayl al-Jarrār: 1/226; Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/699]
– Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān: The correct and supported view is to raise hands in all four places.
[Ar-Rawḍah an-Nadiyyah: 1/262]
– ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī, ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Lakhnawī, and the Saudi Council of Fatwā all support raising hands.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/113; At-Taʿlīq al-Mumajjid: p. 89; Fatāwā Islāmiyyah: 1/233]
➊ At-Taḥqīq ar-Rāsiḫ fī anna Aḥādīth Rafʿ al-Yadayn Laysa Laha Naskh – Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Gondalwī
➋ Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Mas’alat Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Mawlānā Zubayr ʿAlī Zai
➌ Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Imām al-Bukhārī
➍ Encyclopedia of Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Mawlānā Khālid Gharjākī
➎ 12 Masā’il – Ḥakīm ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khalīq
Imām al-Zaylaʿī, quoting from Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn of Imām al-Bukhārī, writes:
Imām Ibn al-Mubārak used to practice rafʿ al-yadayn. Once he prayed beside Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, who commented, “I feared during the prayer that you might fly away.”
Ibn al-Mubārak replied: “If I didn’t fly the first time I raised my hands, I won’t fly the second time either.”
Imām Wakīʿ said: “May Allah have mercy on Ibn al-Mubārak — he was truly quick-witted.”
[Naṣb ar-Rāyah: 1/417; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/113–114]
“He would not raise his hands when rising from sujūd.”
[Muslim: 390]
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not legislated during transitions between sujūd.
Abū Hurayrah (RA) narrated:
“When the Prophet ﷺ stood for prayer, he would raise his hands in an extended manner.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhī: 199; Abū Dāwūd: 735; Aḥmad: 2/375; Nasā’ī: 2/124]
“The Prophet ﷺ would not spread his fingers too much, nor keep them tightly together.”
[Ibn Khuzaymah: 459]
All authentic narrations support the practice of raising hands in prayer at the prescribed positions.
Objections to this practice are either:
– Weak,
– Fabricated,
– Or based on misinterpretation.
✔ Hence, Rafʿ al-Yadayn is an established Sunnah, and acting upon it is preferred and supported by the vast majority of scholars.
✍ Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Objection Based on the "Tails of Unruly Horses" Hadith
➊ The Hadith:
Jābir ibn Samurah (RA) narrates:
"مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ رَافِعِي أَيْدِيكُمْ كَأَنَّهَا أَذْنَابُ خَيْلٍ شُمُسٍ، اسْكُنُوا فِي الصَّلَاةِ"
“What is the matter with you that I see you raising your hands like the tails of wild horses? Be calm in your prayer.”
[Muslim: 430, Abū Dāwūd: 1000]
✿ Response:
① The hadith does not mention that this statement is in reference to raising hands during rukūʿ or rising from rukūʿ.
② The context is clarified in another hadith from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (431):
The companions used to make gestures with their hands when saying salām at the end of the prayer.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Do not move your hands like the tails of wild horses; it is enough that one places his hand on his thigh and greets his brother to the right and left."
This proves that the forbiddance was related to the movement during salām, not rafʿ al-yadayn.
③ If raising hands disturbs the calmness of prayer, then why do the Ḥanafīs perform it in Witr?
❖ Second Objection: Ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (RA)
ʿAlqamah narrates from Ibn Masʿūd (RA):
“Should I not show you how the Prophet ﷺ used to pray? Then he prayed and did not raise his hands except once.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 683, 738; Tirmidhī: 257; Aḥmad: 1/388; Nasā’ī: 2/182]
✿ Response:
① This narration contradicts multiple authentic and mutawātir narrations supporting rafʿ al-yadayn.
② The statement of a companion cannot outweigh the practice of the Prophet ﷺ reported by others.
③ Even if the narration is ṣaḥīḥ, it indicates a lack of regular practice, not a denial of the act itself. Thus, it reduces the level of emphasis but not the legitimacy of the practice.
❖ Third Objection: Prayer of the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar (RA)
ʿAlqamah again narrates from Ibn Masʿūd (RA):
“I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar, and they did not raise their hands except at the beginning.”
[Dāraquṭnī: 1/295; Bayhaqī: 2/79]
✿ Response:
– Imām Ibn al-Jawzī classified this report as fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
– Dāraquṭnī himself admitted that Muḥammad ibn Jābir, the narrator, is weak.
– Bayhaqī considered it mursal and mauqūf (incomplete chain).
Hence, not acceptable as evidence.
❖ Fourth Objection: Ḥadīth of al-Barā’ ibn ʿĀzib (RA)
“The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands at the beginning of prayer and did not do so again.”
[Abū Dāwūd: 153–156]
✿ Response:
– All narrations with the wording “ثم لا يعود” (he did not return to it) are weak.
– Al-Albānī, al-Dāraquṭnī, and others have rejected these narrations due to weak chains.
– Imām al-Shawkānī notes: the words “ثم لم يعد” are inserted by narrators, not part of the actual Prophetic statement.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/695]
❖ Fifth Claim: Rafʿ al-Yadayn Was Abrogated Due to Idolatry
Some say: In early Islam, people hid idols under their arms, and rafʿ al-yadayn was introduced and later abrogated.
✿ Response:
This claim is completely baseless —
– It lacks any evidence,
– Not even a weak or fabricated report supports it.
Thus, it has no scholarly value.
❖ The Authentic Practice: Rafʿ al-Yadayn in Four Positions
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn (raising of hands) is proven from multiple ṣaḥīḥ ahādīth at four positions:
① Before Takbīrat al-Taḥrīmah
② Before rukūʿ
③ After rising from rukūʿ
④ After standing from the first tashahhud (in three/four rakʿah prayers)
✿ Endorsements from Scholars
– Imām al-Shawkānī: Rafʿ al-yadayn in all four places is established.
[As-Sayl al-Jarrār: 1/226; Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/699]
– Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān: The correct and supported view is to raise hands in all four places.
[Ar-Rawḍah an-Nadiyyah: 1/262]
– ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī, ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Lakhnawī, and the Saudi Council of Fatwā all support raising hands.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/113; At-Taʿlīq al-Mumajjid: p. 89; Fatāwā Islāmiyyah: 1/233]
✿ Recommended Books on Rafʿ al-Yadayn
➊ At-Taḥqīq ar-Rāsiḫ fī anna Aḥādīth Rafʿ al-Yadayn Laysa Laha Naskh – Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Gondalwī
➋ Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Mas’alat Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Mawlānā Zubayr ʿAlī Zai
➌ Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Imām al-Bukhārī
➍ Encyclopedia of Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Mawlānā Khālid Gharjākī
➎ 12 Masā’il – Ḥakīm ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khalīq
✿ An Interesting Incident
Imām al-Zaylaʿī, quoting from Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn of Imām al-Bukhārī, writes:
Imām Ibn al-Mubārak used to practice rafʿ al-yadayn. Once he prayed beside Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, who commented, “I feared during the prayer that you might fly away.”
Ibn al-Mubārak replied: “If I didn’t fly the first time I raised my hands, I won’t fly the second time either.”
Imām Wakīʿ said: “May Allah have mercy on Ibn al-Mubārak — he was truly quick-witted.”
[Naṣb ar-Rāyah: 1/417; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/113–114]
❖ No Rafʿ al-Yadayn After Sujūd
“He would not raise his hands when rising from sujūd.”
[Muslim: 390]
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not legislated during transitions between sujūd.
✿ Description of the Hands During Rafʿ al-Yadayn
➊ Lengthened Raising:
Abū Hurayrah (RA) narrated:
“When the Prophet ﷺ stood for prayer, he would raise his hands in an extended manner.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhī: 199; Abū Dāwūd: 735; Aḥmad: 2/375; Nasā’ī: 2/124]
➋ Fingers Neither Fully Spread Nor Tight
“The Prophet ﷺ would not spread his fingers too much, nor keep them tightly together.”
[Ibn Khuzaymah: 459]
Conclusion
All authentic narrations support the practice of raising hands in prayer at the prescribed positions.
Objections to this practice are either:
– Weak,
– Fabricated,
– Or based on misinterpretation.
✔ Hence, Rafʿ al-Yadayn is an established Sunnah, and acting upon it is preferred and supported by the vast majority of scholars.
