This excerpt is taken from the book Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿInd al-Rukūʿ wa Baʿdahū fī al-Ṣalāh by the Muḥaddith of the era, Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.
The statements of the great Imams are presented as an understanding of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn, as supporting evidence, and to reassure their followers, so that it becomes clear that the eminent Imams of the Ummah رحمهـم الله also practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn while acting upon authentic aḥādīth.
➊ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī with ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī (2/57)
➋ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī with taḥqīq of Aḥmad Shākir (2/37, under ḥadīth 256)
➌ Ṭarḥ al-Tathrīb by al-ʿIrāqī (2/253–254)
➍ al-Tamhīd by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (9/213, 222–223)
➎ al-Mawḍūʿāt by Ibn al-Jawzī (2/98)
➏ al-Istidhkār (2/124)
➐ Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by al-Nawawī (4/95)
➑ al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab (3/399)
➒ al-Mughnī by Ibn Qudāmah (1/294)
➓ Bidāyat al-Mujtahid by Ibn Rushd (1/133)
⓫ Nayl al-Awṭār (2/180; 4/180)
⓬ Maʿālim al-Sunan by al-Khaṭṭābī (1/193)
⓭ Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī (3/23)
⓮ al-Muḥallā by Ibn Ḥazm (4/87)
⓯ al-Mufhim by al-Qurṭubī (2/19)
All these works mention Imām Mālik’s practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
ʿAbdullāh bin Wahb said:
رأيت مالك بن أنس يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة وإذا ركع وإذا رفع من الركوع
“I saw Mālik bin Anas raising his hands when beginning the prayer, when going into rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ.”
Abū ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad bin Jābir bin Ḥammād al-Marwazī al-Faqīh رحمه الله said:
When I mentioned this to Muḥammad bin ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, he said:
هذا قول مالك وفعله الذي مات عليه وهو السنة وأنا عليه وكان حرملة على هذا
“This was the final view and practice of Mālik upon which he passed away, and it is the Sunnah. I follow it, and Ḥarmalah also followed it.”
It is thus known that Imām Mālik, in his final period until his death, practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ.
Imām al-Khaṭṭābī and Imām al-Baghawī explicitly stated that Rafʿ al-Yadayn was Imām Mālik’s final practice.
Rather, Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī said:
أن الرفع في المواطن الثلاثة هو آخر أقواله وأصحها
“Raising the hands in the three positions is his final and most correct view.”
In contrast, only Saḥnūn narrated abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Mālik, therefore that narration is shādh and rejected.
➋ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (2/37, under ḥadīth 256)
➌ Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by al-Nawawī (4/95)
➍ Iḥkām al-Aḥkām Sharḥ ʿUmdat al-Aḥkām by Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd (1/220)
Rafʿ al-Yadayn is mutawātirly established from Imām al-Shāfiʿī.
➋ Masāʾil al-Imām Aḥmad (p.70)
➌ al-Istidhkār (2/126)
➍ Dhikr Miḥnat al-Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal (pp.110–111)
Imām Abū Dāwūd said:
رأيت أحمد يرفع يديه عند الركوع وعند الرفع من الركوع كرفعه عند افتتاح الصلوة يحاذيان أذنيه...
“I saw Aḥmad raising his hands at rukūʿ and when rising from rukūʿ, just like his raising of the hands at the opening of the prayer, up to his ears. Sometimes he would slightly shorten the raising compared to the opening takbīr.”
I also heard Aḥmad when he was asked:
“A man hears these aḥādīth from the Prophet ﷺ, yet he does not raise his hands—does his prayer become complete?”
He replied:
“I do not know whether his prayer is complete, but it is deficient in itself.”
Thus, Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal رحمه الله regarded the prayer of one who abandons Rafʿ al-Yadayn as deficient.
See also: al-Manhaj al-Aḥmad 1/159.
بلغنا أن من السنة فيما أجمع عليه علماء الحجاز والبصرة والشام أن رسول الله ﷺ كان يرفع يديه حذو منكبيه حين يكبر لافتتاح الصلوة وحين يكبر للركوع وحين يرفع رأسه من الركوع إلا أهل الكوفة فإنهم خالفوا في ذلك أمتهم
“It has reached us that the Sunnah upon which the scholars of the Ḥijāz, Baṣrah, and Shām have consensus is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands to the level of his shoulders at the opening takbīr, at the takbīr for rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ. Only the people of Kūfah opposed the Ummah in this matter.”
When he was asked:
فإن نقص من ذلك شيئا؟
“If someone reduces anything from this?”
He replied:
ذلك نقص من صلاته
“That is a deficiency in his prayer.”
The Great Imams and Rafʿ al-Yadayn
The primary proof is the Qur’an, Sunnah, and consensus (ijmāʿ).The statements of the great Imams are presented as an understanding of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn, as supporting evidence, and to reassure their followers, so that it becomes clear that the eminent Imams of the Ummah رحمهـم الله also practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn while acting upon authentic aḥādīth.
① Imām Mālik bin Anas رحمه الله
The practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn by Imām Mālik is mentioned in the following books:➊ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī with ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī (2/57)
➋ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī with taḥqīq of Aḥmad Shākir (2/37, under ḥadīth 256)
➌ Ṭarḥ al-Tathrīb by al-ʿIrāqī (2/253–254)
➍ al-Tamhīd by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (9/213, 222–223)
➎ al-Mawḍūʿāt by Ibn al-Jawzī (2/98)
➏ al-Istidhkār (2/124)
➐ Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by al-Nawawī (4/95)
➑ al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab (3/399)
➒ al-Mughnī by Ibn Qudāmah (1/294)
➓ Bidāyat al-Mujtahid by Ibn Rushd (1/133)
⓫ Nayl al-Awṭār (2/180; 4/180)
⓬ Maʿālim al-Sunan by al-Khaṭṭābī (1/193)
⓭ Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī (3/23)
⓮ al-Muḥallā by Ibn Ḥazm (4/87)
⓯ al-Mufhim by al-Qurṭubī (2/19)
All these works mention Imām Mālik’s practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
ʿAbdullāh bin Wahb said:
رأيت مالك بن أنس يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة وإذا ركع وإذا رفع من الركوع
“I saw Mālik bin Anas raising his hands when beginning the prayer, when going into rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ.”
Reference: Tārīkh Dimashq by Ibn ʿAsākir 55/34 (Isnād Ḥasan)
Abū ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad bin Jābir bin Ḥammād al-Marwazī al-Faqīh رحمه الله said:
When I mentioned this to Muḥammad bin ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, he said:
هذا قول مالك وفعله الذي مات عليه وهو السنة وأنا عليه وكان حرملة على هذا
“This was the final view and practice of Mālik upon which he passed away, and it is the Sunnah. I follow it, and Ḥarmalah also followed it.”
Reference: Tārīkh Dimashq 55/133 (Isnād Ḥasan)
It is thus known that Imām Mālik, in his final period until his death, practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after rukūʿ.
Imām al-Khaṭṭābī and Imām al-Baghawī explicitly stated that Rafʿ al-Yadayn was Imām Mālik’s final practice.
Reference: Maʿālim al-Sunan 1/67 (under ḥadīth 236); Sharḥ al-Sunnah 3/23
Rather, Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī said:
أن الرفع في المواطن الثلاثة هو آخر أقواله وأصحها
“Raising the hands in the three positions is his final and most correct view.”
Reference: Ṭarḥ al-Tathrīb 1/254; al-Mufhim 2/19
In contrast, only Saḥnūn narrated abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn from Imām Mālik, therefore that narration is shādh and rejected.
② Imām Muḥammad bin Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله
➊ al-Umm by al-Shāfiʿī (1/104)➋ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (2/37, under ḥadīth 256)
➌ Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by al-Nawawī (4/95)
➍ Iḥkām al-Aḥkām Sharḥ ʿUmdat al-Aḥkām by Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd (1/220)
Rafʿ al-Yadayn is mutawātirly established from Imām al-Shāfiʿī.
③ Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal رحمه الله
➊ Sunan al-Tirmidhī (2/37, under ḥadīth 256)➋ Masāʾil al-Imām Aḥmad (p.70)
➌ al-Istidhkār (2/126)
➍ Dhikr Miḥnat al-Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal (pp.110–111)
Imām Abū Dāwūd said:
رأيت أحمد يرفع يديه عند الركوع وعند الرفع من الركوع كرفعه عند افتتاح الصلوة يحاذيان أذنيه...
“I saw Aḥmad raising his hands at rukūʿ and when rising from rukūʿ, just like his raising of the hands at the opening of the prayer, up to his ears. Sometimes he would slightly shorten the raising compared to the opening takbīr.”
I also heard Aḥmad when he was asked:
“A man hears these aḥādīth from the Prophet ﷺ, yet he does not raise his hands—does his prayer become complete?”
He replied:
“I do not know whether his prayer is complete, but it is deficient in itself.”
Reference: Masāʾil Aḥmad, riwāyah Abī Dāwūd p.33
Thus, Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal رحمه الله regarded the prayer of one who abandons Rafʿ al-Yadayn as deficient.
See also: al-Manhaj al-Aḥmad 1/159.
④ Imām al-Awzāʿī رحمه الله
Imām Abū ʿAmr ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī, a trustworthy jurist, said:بلغنا أن من السنة فيما أجمع عليه علماء الحجاز والبصرة والشام أن رسول الله ﷺ كان يرفع يديه حذو منكبيه حين يكبر لافتتاح الصلوة وحين يكبر للركوع وحين يرفع رأسه من الركوع إلا أهل الكوفة فإنهم خالفوا في ذلك أمتهم
“It has reached us that the Sunnah upon which the scholars of the Ḥijāz, Baṣrah, and Shām have consensus is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands to the level of his shoulders at the opening takbīr, at the takbīr for rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ. Only the people of Kūfah opposed the Ummah in this matter.”
When he was asked:
فإن نقص من ذلك شيئا؟
“If someone reduces anything from this?”
He replied:
ذلك نقص من صلاته
“That is a deficiency in his prayer.”
Reference: al-Ṭabarī, cited by al-Tamhīd 9/226 — Isnād of al-Ṭabarī is authentic
