This excerpt is taken from the book Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿinda al-Rukūʿ wa Baʿdahu fī al-Ṣalāh, authored by the ḥadīth scholar of the era, Ḥāfiẓ Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.
[See p. 68]
Some people, in opposition to this, present a narration from al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā:
عن ابن وهب وابن القاسم عن مالك عن ابن شهاب عن سالم عن أبيه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرفع يديه حذو منكبيه إذا افتتح الصلوة
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه states that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands up to his shoulders when he began the prayer.
[al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā: vol. 1 p. 71, cited from Maʿārif al-Sunan: vol. 2 p. 297 by Muḥammad Yūsuf Banūrī Kawtharī Deobandī; Nūr al-Ṣabāḥ fī Tark Rafʿ al-Yadayn Baʿd al-Iftitāḥ: pp. 60–61]
No reliable muḥaddith has ever presented this narration against Rafʿ al-Yadayn, nor can any sensible person do so. Using this narration as evidence is rejected for several reasons:
② The narrations from Imām Mālik affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn are mutawātir.
③ The narration of Ibn Wahb from Mālik from Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī is present in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (2/69), and in it Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ is affirmed.
The chain of al-Bayhaqī up to Ibn Wahb is completely authentic.
④ In the narration of Ibn al-Qāsim, Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ is also affirmed.
[al-Tamhīd: 9/210–211, muʿallaqan]
The narration of Ibn al-Qāsim is also present in Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik (narration of Ibn al-Qāsim).
[p. 113, ḥadīth: 59]
⑤ The narrations affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī are mutawātir (as previously mentioned). Therefore, deriving evidence from this narration based on “non-mention” is invalid.
⑥ The chain and documentation of al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā itself are problematic.
The compiler of al-Mudawwanah, Saḥnūn, has an unknown connected chain, therefore the entire book is without a verified chain.
A well-known scholar, Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣubayḥ ibn al-Ḥaddād al-Maghribī (author of al-Masnūn), who was among the mujtahid scholars, wrote a book refuting al-Mudawwanah.
He referred to al-Mudawwanah as “al-Mudawwadah” (a worm-infested book).
Shaykh Abū ʿUthmān was among the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. He passed away in 302 AH. May Allah have mercy on him.
◈ In vol. 1, p. 68, it is written:
“Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm should not be recited at all in prayer, not even silently.”
◈ According to al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā, Imām Mālik considered folding the hands in prayer to be makrūh.
[vol. 1, p. 76]
What is your view regarding these issues?
A Narration from al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā
It has already been mentioned in the previous pages that the narration of Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ from Imām Mālik ibn Anas رحمه الله is established with tawātur.[See p. 68]
Some people, in opposition to this, present a narration from al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā:
عن ابن وهب وابن القاسم عن مالك عن ابن شهاب عن سالم عن أبيه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرفع يديه حذو منكبيه إذا افتتح الصلوة
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه states that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands up to his shoulders when he began the prayer.
[al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā: vol. 1 p. 71, cited from Maʿārif al-Sunan: vol. 2 p. 297 by Muḥammad Yūsuf Banūrī Kawtharī Deobandī; Nūr al-Ṣabāḥ fī Tark Rafʿ al-Yadayn Baʿd al-Iftitāḥ: pp. 60–61]
No reliable muḥaddith has ever presented this narration against Rafʿ al-Yadayn, nor can any sensible person do so. Using this narration as evidence is rejected for several reasons:
Reasons for Rejection
① This ḥadīth is brief. It does not mention Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ, and non-mention does not necessitate negation, as has already been explained.② The narrations from Imām Mālik affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn are mutawātir.
③ The narration of Ibn Wahb from Mālik from Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī is present in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (2/69), and in it Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ is affirmed.
The chain of al-Bayhaqī up to Ibn Wahb is completely authentic.
④ In the narration of Ibn al-Qāsim, Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ is also affirmed.
[al-Tamhīd: 9/210–211, muʿallaqan]
The narration of Ibn al-Qāsim is also present in Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik (narration of Ibn al-Qāsim).
[p. 113, ḥadīth: 59]
⑤ The narrations affirming Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī are mutawātir (as previously mentioned). Therefore, deriving evidence from this narration based on “non-mention” is invalid.
⑥ The chain and documentation of al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā itself are problematic.
Status of al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā
Al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā is not a book authored by Imām Mālik.The compiler of al-Mudawwanah, Saḥnūn, has an unknown connected chain, therefore the entire book is without a verified chain.
A well-known scholar, Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣubayḥ ibn al-Ḥaddād al-Maghribī (author of al-Masnūn), who was among the mujtahid scholars, wrote a book refuting al-Mudawwanah.
Reference: Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ: 14/205–206
He referred to al-Mudawwanah as “al-Mudawwadah” (a worm-infested book).
Reference: al-ʿUmr fī Khabar man Ghabar: 2/122
Shaykh Abū ʿUthmān was among the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. He passed away in 302 AH. May Allah have mercy on him.
Inconsistencies in Accepting al-Mudawwanah
The Deobandī scholars themselves do not accept other rulings from this chainless book, for example:◈ In vol. 1, p. 68, it is written:
“Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm should not be recited at all in prayer, not even silently.”
◈ According to al-Mudawwanah al-Kubrā, Imām Mālik considered folding the hands in prayer to be makrūh.
[vol. 1, p. 76]
What is your view regarding these issues?
