✦ Ibn Masʿūd and Rafʿ al-Yadayn: Analysis of 5 Fabricating Narrators
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Page 355
❖ The Narration
Abū Ḥanīfah said: Ḥammād narrated to us from Ibrāhīm from ʿAlqamah and al-Aswad from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands only at the beginning of the prayer and would not repeat it thereafter.
(Iʿlāʾ al-Sunan, Vol. 3, p. 826, footnote — referencing Kitāb al-Āthār of Imām Muḥammad)
❖ Detailed Examination of the Chain and Narrators
➊ Al-Khwārazmī (d. 665 AH)
The narration mentioned in Iʿlāʾ al-Sunan is cited from Al-Khwārazmī’s book Jāmiʿ al-Masānīd (Vol. 1, pp. 252, 353) through the chain of Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥārithī.
(Iʿlāʾ al-Sunan, Vol. 3, p. 75, footnote)
➡ Al-Khwārazmī is not a trustworthy narrator, and no reliable scholar has declared him thiqah or ṣadūq.
➋ Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Ḥārithī al-Ustād
He was famous for fabricating ḥadīths.- Imām Abū Aḥmad al-Ḥāfiẓ and al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī said:
He fabricated ḥadīths.
(Source: Kitāb al-Qirāʾah by al-Bayhaqī, p. 154, second edition p. 178, Ḥadīth 388 — with an authentic chain)
- Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, al-Khalīlī, and others have also criticized him.
- Imām al-Dhahabī stated:
He narrated astonishingly weak narrations.
(Dīwān al-Ḍuʿafāʾ, p. 176, no. 2297)
See also: Nūr al-ʿAynayn, p. 43
➡ No scholar has authenticated him.
➌ Understanding the Term “Mutahham” in Ḥadīth Terminology
The term “Mutahham” (accused) used by the scholars of ḥadīth implies:
✘ The narrator is a kadhdhāb (liar)
✘ A wāḍiʿ (fabricator) of ḥadīth
In general Urdu usage, “mutahham” may mean “accused,” but in ḥadīth science it is a decisive term for a fabricator.Examples:
- Ismāʿīl ibn Yaḥyā al-Shaybānī:
Imām Ibn Ḥajar said: "Mutahham bil-kadhib"
(Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, p. 145) - Yazīd ibn Hārūn said:
"Ismāʿīl al-Shaʿīrī was a liar."
(Al-Ḍuʿafāʾ of al-ʿUqaylī, 1/92 — authentic chain; Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, 1/159; Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, Vol., p. 293)
➡ Numerous similar examples are found in al-Tahdhīb and al-Taqrīb.
➍ Muḥammad ibn Ziyād al-Rāzī (Teacher of al-Ḥārithī)
Statement of Imām al-Dāraquṭnī:“Dajjāl — he used to fabricate ḥadīths.”
(Al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkūn, no. 487; Lisān al-Mīzān, Vol. 5, p. 29)
➡ This is an unequivocal declaration of fabrication.
➎ Sulaymān al-Shādh Kūfī (Teacher of al-Rāzī)
Majority of the ḥadīth scholars considered him severely weak.- Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said:
“He is a liar and an enemy of Allah. He used to fabricate ḥadīths.”
(Kitāb al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl, Vol. 4, p. 115 — authentic chain)
➡ Another proven fabricator in the chain.
❖ Additional Important Notes
✔ The narration is not established from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah either.
✔ The referenced book, Kitāb al-Āthār, contains no such narration in its authentic compilations.
The chain is a sequence of known liars, fabricators, and unknown narrators.
Conclusion of the Research
The narration attributed to Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه that Rafʿ al-Yadayn was only done at the beginning of the prayer:
✘ Is based on a chain of fabricators
✘ Contradicts authentic and mutawātir narrations
✘ Is not found in Kitāb al-Āthār as claimed
✘ Cannot be attributed to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah
Thus, the narration is fabricated, rejected, and baseless.
ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
