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 Muḥaddith of the era, Ḥāfiẓ Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.
The narration presented by the opponents of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is fabricated and false from multiple angles.
(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ, p. 293)
The alleged author Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī died in 361 AH. Who completed and wrote this book 122 years after his death is unknown. Therefore, attributing this book with certainty to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī is unproven.
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī writes:
(ref: al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ, vol. 2, p. 50, no. 4059)
Since this ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad is a liar and is also Qayrawānī like Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith, it appears that the narrator here refers to this very liar.
It should be noted that the reliability of ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mudrik is also unknown.
In the book attributed to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī, it is written:
(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn, p. 216)
There is no explicit declaration of reliability (taوثيق) in this statement.
It states:
Result: ʿUthmān ibn Suwādah is Majhūl al-Ḥāl (of unknown status). His birth and death are also unknown.
See:
◈ al-Ikmāl by Ibn Mākolā (3/261)
◈ al-Ansāb by al-Samʿānī (2/372)
Among contemporaries, ʿUmar Riḍā Kaḥḥālah mentioned this book (Muʿjam al-Muʾallifīn 3/204), and Khayr al-Dīn al-Ziriklī also mentioned it (al-Aʿlām 6/75).
(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn, p. 214)
It is well known even to beginners that a shādh narration is weak.
Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī Sahib concealed the criticism ‘min shawādhdhihā’ with supposed “honesty.”
These proofs relate to the chain of transmission. Now follows the analysis of the text.
Abū Qilābah رحمه الله narrates:
Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه came to the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah during preparations for the expedition of Tabūk.
(ref: Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/110, ḥadīth 628)
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه joined the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah and remained with him for the last four years of his life.
After the Prophet’s ﷺ death, Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه continued practicing Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ.
It is impossible that Rafʿ al-Yadayn was abrogated according to Ibn ʿUmar’s narration, yet he himself continued practicing it.
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله writes:
(ref: al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab 3/405)
Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:
From the aforementioned evidences, it is clear as daylight that the narration from “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn” is fabricated and false. Therefore, labeling it as a “Ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth” by Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī Barelwī is false and rejected.
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
(21 Muḥarram 1426 AH)
A New Narration Against Rafʿ al-Yadayn
“Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn?”
A new narration opposing Rafʿ al-Yadayn has been extracted, which for some time has been forcefully propagated in writings and speeches. Recently, a book titled “Tark-e-Rafʿ al-Yadayn” has been published, in which this narration is quoted with reference to “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn”. Therefore, a detailed critical analysis of this narration is presented below.Text of the Narration
It is written in “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn”:(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ, p. 214, no. 378; Tark-e-Rafʿ al-Yadayn, p. 491)
The narration presented by the opponents of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is fabricated and false from multiple angles.
① Proof No. 1
At the beginning of the book “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn” (p. 5), no chain of transmission of the book is mentioned. At the end, it states:“The book has been completed, and all praise belongs to Allah as He deserves, and blessings be upon Muḥammad ﷺ and his family. This completion occurred in Shaʿbān, 483 AH.”
(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ, p. 293)
The alleged author Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī died in 361 AH. Who completed and wrote this book 122 years after his death is unknown. Therefore, attributing this book with certainty to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī is unproven.
② Proof No. 2
The identity of the narrator ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad is not established. Without evidence, assuming him to be ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mudrik is incorrect. There is no proof that Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī ever met Ibn Mudrik.Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī writes:
“ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Khashīsh al-Qayrawānī narrates from Ibn Ghānim, the Qāḍī of Ifrīqiyyah, I think; he was a liar.”
(ref: al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ, vol. 2, p. 50, no. 4059)
Since this ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad is a liar and is also Qayrawānī like Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith, it appears that the narrator here refers to this very liar.
It should be noted that the reliability of ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mudrik is also unknown.
In the book attributed to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith al-Qayrawānī, it is written:
“Khālid ibn Saʿd said: ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad was among those devoted to seeking knowledge, he taught issues, prepared documents along with his virtue, and was the muftī of his locality. He died in 320 AH.”
(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn, p. 216)
There is no explicit declaration of reliability (taوثيق) in this statement.
③ Proof No. 3
The biographical details of ʿUthmān ibn Suwādah ibn ʿAbbād are not found in any book except “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn.”It states:
Since ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad is either criticized or unknown, this authentication attributed to ʿUbaydullāh ibn Yaḥyā cannot be established.
Result: ʿUthmān ibn Suwādah is Majhūl al-Ḥāl (of unknown status). His birth and death are also unknown.
④ Proof No. 4
The meeting and contemporaneity of ʿUthmān ibn Suwādah with Ḥafṣ ibn Maysarah is not proven. Ḥafṣ died in 181 AH.⑤ Proof No. 5
In the works of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith, the title “Akhbār al-Quḍāt wa al-Muḥaddithīn” is found, but “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn” is not mentioned.See:
◈ al-Ikmāl by Ibn Mākolā (3/261)
◈ al-Ansāb by al-Samʿānī (2/372)
Among contemporaries, ʿUmar Riḍā Kaḥḥālah mentioned this book (Muʿjam al-Muʾallifīn 3/204), and Khayr al-Dīn al-Ziriklī also mentioned it (al-Aʿlām 6/75).
⑥ Proof No. 6
At the beginning of the narration used by the opponents of Rafʿ al-Yadayn, it is written:“And he would narrate a hadith with a chain regarding Rafʿ al-Yadayn; it is among the strange narrations, and I consider it among the anomalous (shādh) ones.”
(ref: Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn, p. 214)
It is well known even to beginners that a shādh narration is weak.
Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī Sahib concealed the criticism ‘min shawādhdhihā’ with supposed “honesty.”
These proofs relate to the chain of transmission. Now follows the analysis of the text.
⑦ Proof No. 7
The text claims that after migrating to Madinah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ abandoned Rafʿ al-Yadayn at rukūʿ. However, authentic narrations prove that he ﷺ continued Rafʿ al-Yadayn in Madinah.Abū Qilābah رحمه الله narrates:
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 391
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 737
Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه came to the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah during preparations for the expedition of Tabūk.
(ref: Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/110, ḥadīth 628)
⑧ Proof No. 8
From Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 694–695
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه joined the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah and remained with him for the last four years of his life.
After the Prophet’s ﷺ death, Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه continued practicing Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ.
Reference: Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn by al-Bukhārī: 22
⑨ Proof No. 9
Nāfiʿ رحمه الله narrates:
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 739
It is impossible that Rafʿ al-Yadayn was abrogated according to Ibn ʿUmar’s narration, yet he himself continued practicing it.
⑩ Proof No. 10
Nāfiʿ رحمه الله states:
Reference: Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn: 15
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله writes:
“With an authentic chain to Nāfiʿ.”
(ref: al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab 3/405)
Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:
(ref: Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn, pp. 40, 76)
Conclusion of the Research
From the aforementioned evidences, it is clear as daylight that the narration from “Akhbār al-Fuqahāʾ wa al-Muḥaddithīn” is fabricated and false. Therefore, labeling it as a “Ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth” by Ghulām Muṣṭafā Nūrī Barelwī is false and rejected.وما علينا إلا البلاغ
(21 Muḥarram 1426 AH)
