Compiled by: Abu Hamzah Salafi
In this research article, we examine a well-known objection that some Ḥanafī scholars attribute to Imām Mālik رحمه الله.
They claim that according to Imām Mālik, raising the hands (Rafʿ al-Yadayn) while going into rukūʿ and while rising from rukūʿ is makrūh and contrary to what is preferable (khilāf al-awlā). As evidence, they present a narration from al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā.
However, the reality is that this narration is a solitary and irregular (shādh) report transmitted by Imām Mālik’s well-known student Ibn al-Qāsim al-ʿUtaqī, whereas Imām Mālik’s other reliable and eminent students (Ibn Wahb, Ashhab, Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways) have transmitted the exact opposite, affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Mālik.
The purpose of this research is to clarify that:
✔ Imām Mālik’s practice and final opinion affirm Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
✔ Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration is shādh and rejected according to the majority of ḥadīth scholars and principles of ḥadīth.
✔ If Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration were accepted as correct, it would render the aḥādīth of Imām Mālik’s own Muwaṭṭaʾ weak, which is utterly false and rejected.
«لا أعرف رفع اليدين في شيء من تكبير الصلاة، لا في خفض ولا في رفع إلا في افتتاح الصلاة، يرفع يديه شيئا خفيفا، والمرأة في ذلك بمنزلة الرجل».
قال ابن القاسم:
«كان رفع اليدين ضعيفا إلا في تكبيرة الإحرام».
“I do not recognize raising the hands in any of the takbīrs of prayer—neither when going down nor when rising—except in the opening takbīr, and even then one raises the hands lightly. In this regard, women are the same as men.”
Ibn al-Qāsim said:
“Raising the hands is weak except in the opening takbīr.”
By presenting this narration, they argue that Imām Mālik also considered Rafʿ al-Yadayn in rukūʿ to be “weak,” and therefore, according to the Mālikīs as well, this practice is makrūh.
Translation:
Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways said: “Mālik ibn Anas used to raise his hands in prayer.”
«رَأَيْتُ مَالِكَ بْنَ أَنَسٍ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ خَفْضٍ وَرَفْعٍ، أَوْ قَالَ: كُلَّمَا خَفَضَ، وَلَمْ تَزَلْ تِلْكَ صِفَتُهُ حَتَّى مَاتَ».
Translation:
Ibn Wahb said: “I saw Mālik ibn Anas raising his hands whenever he went into rukūʿ and whenever he rose from it, and this remained his practice until he passed away.”
«صَحِبْتُ مَالِكًا قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ بِسَنَةٍ، فَمَا مَاتَ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ عِنْدَ الإِحْرَامِ، وَإِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَرْكَعَ، وَإِذَا قَالَ سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ».
Translation:
Ashhab said: “I accompanied Mālik for a year before his death, and he did not pass away except that he raised his hands at the opening takbīr, when going into rukūʿ, and when saying ‘Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah.’”
From the testimony of these three reliable students, it is absolutely clear that Imām Mālik’s final practice and verdict affirmed Rafʿ al-Yadayn, and Ibn al-Qāsim’s negating narration is shādh.
Translation:
Ibn Wahb, al-Walīd ibn Muslim, Saʿīd ibn Abī Maryam, Ashhab, and Abū al-Muṣʿab all narrated from Mālik that he continued to raise his hands according to the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar until his death.
Translation:
The correct view is that the hands are raised in three places: at the opening takbīr, when going into rukūʿ, and when rising from it—based on the famous ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar in the Muwaṭṭaʾ. This is Imām Mālik’s correct position.
Translation:
Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal all agreed upon acting upon this Sunnah (Rafʿ al-Yadayn).
Translation:
The majority of scholars from the Companions and those after them hold that raising the hands when going into rukūʿ and rising from it is recommended, and this is also narrated from Mālik.
Translation:
There is no book on earth more authentic after the Book of Allah than the Muwaṭṭaʾ of Mālik.
Translation:
Mālik ibn Anas did not include any chain in the Muwaṭṭaʾ except that its narrators were trustworthy.
Translation:
Mālik said: “If he were trustworthy, you would have seen him in my books.”
Translation:
Mālik was the first in Madinah to scrutinize narrators and he narrated only what was authentic.
Translation:
Mālik’s habit was that he only narrated in the Muwaṭṭaʾ what he himself practiced.
Conclusion:
Accepting Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration would imply that Imām Mālik included weak aḥādīth in his own Muwaṭṭaʾ—a claim that is false and rejected. Hence, according to the principles of ḥadīth, Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration is shādh and rejected.
Translation:
Yaḥyā ibn Bukayr said: “Ibn Wahb was more knowledgeable than Ibn al-Qāsim.”
Translation:
Ibn Wahb was the most reliable in transmitting from Mālik and more knowledgeable than Ibn al-Qāsim.
Translation:
Ibn Wahb was more knowledgeable than Ibn al-Qāsim.
✔ Ibn al-Qāsim’s solitary narration contradicts them and is therefore shādh and rejected.
✔ According to the principles of ḥadīth, the report of the more reliable narrator (Ibn Wahb) outweighs the solitary report of Ibn al-Qāsim.
✔ Consequently, Imām Mālik’s final practice and verdict were to raise the hands when going into and rising from rukūʿ.
In this research article, we examine a well-known objection that some Ḥanafī scholars attribute to Imām Mālik رحمه الله.
They claim that according to Imām Mālik, raising the hands (Rafʿ al-Yadayn) while going into rukūʿ and while rising from rukūʿ is makrūh and contrary to what is preferable (khilāf al-awlā). As evidence, they present a narration from al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā.
However, the reality is that this narration is a solitary and irregular (shādh) report transmitted by Imām Mālik’s well-known student Ibn al-Qāsim al-ʿUtaqī, whereas Imām Mālik’s other reliable and eminent students (Ibn Wahb, Ashhab, Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways) have transmitted the exact opposite, affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Mālik.
The purpose of this research is to clarify that:
✔ Imām Mālik’s practice and final opinion affirm Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
✔ Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration is shādh and rejected according to the majority of ḥadīth scholars and principles of ḥadīth.
✔ If Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration were accepted as correct, it would render the aḥādīth of Imām Mālik’s own Muwaṭṭaʾ weak, which is utterly false and rejected.
❖ The Objection (Narration from
قال الإمام مالك:«لا أعرف رفع اليدين في شيء من تكبير الصلاة، لا في خفض ولا في رفع إلا في افتتاح الصلاة، يرفع يديه شيئا خفيفا، والمرأة في ذلك بمنزلة الرجل».
قال ابن القاسم:
«كان رفع اليدين ضعيفا إلا في تكبيرة الإحرام».
Reference: al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā 1/107 – Dār al-Fikr, Beirut
Translation:
Imām Mālik said:“I do not recognize raising the hands in any of the takbīrs of prayer—neither when going down nor when rising—except in the opening takbīr, and even then one raises the hands lightly. In this regard, women are the same as men.”
Ibn al-Qāsim said:
“Raising the hands is weak except in the opening takbīr.”
Ḥanafī Argument:
By presenting this narration, they argue that Imām Mālik also considered Rafʿ al-Yadayn in rukūʿ to be “weak,” and therefore, according to the Mālikīs as well, this practice is makrūh.Affirmation of Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Mālik’s Reliable Students
Now let us examine what Imām Mālik’s reliable and eminent students transmitted from him regarding Rafʿ al-Yadayn. These reports are established with sound chains, and comparison clearly shows that Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration is shādh and rejected.① Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways al-Aṣbaḥī (Nephew and Student of Imām Mālik)
وحَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ أَبِي أُوَيْسٍ، قَالَ: كَانَ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ يَرَى رَفْعَ الْيَدَيْنِ فِي الصَّلاَةِ.
Reference: al-Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr – Sunan al-Tirmidhī
Translation:
Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways said: “Mālik ibn Anas used to raise his hands in prayer.”
② ʿAbdullāh ibn Wahb al-Qurashī al-Miṣrī (Eminent Student)
قال ابن وهب:«رَأَيْتُ مَالِكَ بْنَ أَنَسٍ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ فِي كُلِّ خَفْضٍ وَرَفْعٍ، أَوْ قَالَ: كُلَّمَا خَفَضَ، وَلَمْ تَزَلْ تِلْكَ صِفَتُهُ حَتَّى مَاتَ».
Reference: al-Tamhīd li-mā fī al-Muwaṭṭaʾ min al-Maʿānī wa al-Asānīd
Translation:
Ibn Wahb said: “I saw Mālik ibn Anas raising his hands whenever he went into rukūʿ and whenever he rose from it, and this remained his practice until he passed away.”
③ Ashhab ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Miṣrī (Reliable Student)
قال أشهب:«صَحِبْتُ مَالِكًا قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ بِسَنَةٍ، فَمَا مَاتَ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ عِنْدَ الإِحْرَامِ، وَإِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَرْكَعَ، وَإِذَا قَالَ سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ».
Reference: al-Tamhīd li-mā fī al-Muwaṭṭaʾ min al-Maʿānī wa al-Asānīd
Translation:
Ashhab said: “I accompanied Mālik for a year before his death, and he did not pass away except that he raised his hands at the opening takbīr, when going into rukūʿ, and when saying ‘Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah.’”
From the testimony of these three reliable students, it is absolutely clear that Imām Mālik’s final practice and verdict affirmed Rafʿ al-Yadayn, and Ibn al-Qāsim’s negating narration is shādh.Testimony of Imams and Ḥadīth Scholars
① Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr al-Mālikī (d. 463 AH)
وَرَوَى ابْنُ وَهْبٍ وَالْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ وَسَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ وَأَشْهَبُ وَأَبُو الْمُصْعَبِ عَنْ مَالِكٍ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ عَلَى حَدِيثِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ هَذَا إِلَى أَنْ مَاتَ، فَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.
Reference: al-Tamhīd 20/76
Translation:
Ibn Wahb, al-Walīd ibn Muslim, Saʿīd ibn Abī Maryam, Ashhab, and Abū al-Muṣʿab all narrated from Mālik that he continued to raise his hands according to the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar until his death.
② Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī al-Mālikī (d. 543 AH)
والصحيح أنها ترفع في ثلاثة مواضع لحديث ابن عمر المشهور في الموطأ…
Reference: ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī 2/197
Translation:
The correct view is that the hands are raised in three places: at the opening takbīr, when going into rukūʿ, and when rising from it—based on the famous ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar in the Muwaṭṭaʾ. This is Imām Mālik’s correct position.
③ Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH)
واتَّفَقَ على الْعَمَلِ بِهَا مَالِكٌ وَالشَّافِعِيُّ وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَل.
Reference: al-Mawḍūʿāt 1/274
Translation:
Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal all agreed upon acting upon this Sunnah (Rafʿ al-Yadayn).
④ Imām al-Nawawī (d. 676 AH)
وجمهور العلماء… يُسْتَحَبُّ رَفْعُهُمَا… وَهُوَ رِوَايَةٌ عَنْ مَالِكٍ.
Reference: Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 4/95
Translation:
The majority of scholars from the Companions and those after them hold that raising the hands when going into rukūʿ and rising from it is recommended, and this is also narrated from Mālik.
The Status of Imām Mālik’s Muwaṭṭaʾ and the Irregularity of Ibn al-Qāsim’s Narration
① Imām al-Shāfiʿī (d. 204 AH)
ما في الأرض كتابٌ بعد كتاب الله أصحّ من موطأ مالك.
Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl 1/27
Translation:
There is no book on earth more authentic after the Book of Allah than the Muwaṭṭaʾ of Mālik.
② Yaʿqūb al-Fasawī (d. 277 AH)
إن مالك بن أنس لم يضع في الموطأ إسنادًا إلا وهو ثقة.
Reference: al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh 1/471
Translation:
Mālik ibn Anas did not include any chain in the Muwaṭṭaʾ except that its narrators were trustworthy.
③ Imām Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 261 AH)
قَالَ مَالِكٌ… لَوْ كَانَ ثِقَةً لَرَأَيْتَهُ فِي كُتُبِي.
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1/15
Translation:
Mālik said: “If he were trustworthy, you would have seen him in my books.”
④ Ibn Ḥibbān (d. 354 AH)
وكان مالك… ولم يكن يروي إلا ما صح.
Reference: al-Thiqāt 7/570
Translation:
Mālik was the first in Madinah to scrutinize narrators and he narrated only what was authentic.
⑤ al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī (d. 855 AH)
عادة مالك أن لا يروي حديثًا في موطئه إلا وهو يعمل به.
Reference: al-Bināyah Sharḥ al-Hidāyah 2/300
Translation:
Mālik’s habit was that he only narrated in the Muwaṭṭaʾ what he himself practiced.
Conclusion:Accepting Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration would imply that Imām Mālik included weak aḥādīth in his own Muwaṭṭaʾ—a claim that is false and rejected. Hence, according to the principles of ḥadīth, Ibn al-Qāsim’s narration is shādh and rejected.
Comparative Status of Ibn al-Qāsim and Ibn Wahb
① al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH)
وقال يحيى بن بكير: ابن وهب أفقه من ابن القاسم.
Reference: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 2/504
Translation:
Yaḥyā ibn Bukayr said: “Ibn Wahb was more knowledgeable than Ibn al-Qāsim.”
② Ibn Farḥūn (d. 799 AH)
هو أثبت الناس في مالك، وهو أفقه من ابن القاسم…
Reference: al-Dībāj al-Mudhhab p. 293
Translation:
Ibn Wahb was the most reliable in transmitting from Mālik and more knowledgeable than Ibn al-Qāsim.
③ Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī (d. 264 AH)
ابن وهب أفقه من ابن القاسم.
Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl 5/71
Translation:
Ibn Wahb was more knowledgeable than Ibn al-Qāsim.
Final Summary
✔ Authentic narrations from Imām Mālik’s eminent students (Ibn Wahb, Ashhab, Ibn Abī Uways) affirm Rafʿ al-Yadayn.✔ Ibn al-Qāsim’s solitary narration contradicts them and is therefore shādh and rejected.
✔ According to the principles of ḥadīth, the report of the more reliable narrator (Ibn Wahb) outweighs the solitary report of Ibn al-Qāsim.
✔ Consequently, Imām Mālik’s final practice and verdict were to raise the hands when going into and rising from rukūʿ.
