✿ Source
This excerpt is taken from the book Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿinda al-Rukūʿ wa Baʿdahu fī al-Ṣalāh by Muḥaddith al-ʿAṣr Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله.✔ Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه and Rafʿ al-Yadayn in Prayer
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على رسوله الأمين و رضي الله عن أصحابه أجمعين و رحمة الله على التابعين و من تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين . أما بعد:All praise is for Allah, Lord of all the worlds. May blessings and peace be upon His trustworthy Messenger. May Allah be pleased with all his Companions, and may Allah’s mercy be upon the Tābiʿīn and those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment. To proceed:
① The Ahl al-Sunnah (Ahl al-Ḥadīth) Claim Regarding Rafʿ al-Yadayn
The claim of Ahl al-Sunnah, i.e., Ahl al-Ḥadīth, regarding rafʿ al-yadayn in prayer is as follows:Sayyidunā Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands at the beginning of the prayer, before rukūʿ, and after rukūʿ. And the abrogation, prohibition, or abandonment of this rafʿ al-yadayn in his later life is not established by any authentic and acceptable ḥadīth.
In support of this claim there are many proofs, some of which can be studied in my book “Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Masʾalah Rafʿ al-Yadayn”. At present, keeping in view:
فـعـلـيـكـم بسنتي و سنة الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين .
“So adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Caliphs.”
…an excellent ḥadīth narrated by Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه is presented here with its translation, verification, and meaning. From it, the continuous and uninterrupted practice of rafʿ al-yadayn is established:
② The Report of Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله
أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ : ثنا أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله الصفار الزاهد إملاء من أصل كتابه . قال قال أبو إسماعيل محمد بن إسماعيل السلمي : صليت خلف أبى النعمان محمد بن الفضل فرفع يديه حين افتتح الصلوة و حين ركع و حين رفع رأسه من الركوع . فسألته عن ذلك فقال: صليت خلف حماد بن زيد فرفع يديه حين افتتح الصلوة و حين ركع و حين رفع رأسه من الركوع . فسألته عن ذلك فقال: صليت خلف أيوب السختياني فكان يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة وإذا ركع و إذا رفع رأسه من الركوع . فسألته فقال : رأيت عطاء بن أبى رباح يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة وإذا ركع و إذا رفع رأسه من الركوع . فسألته فقال : صليت خلف عبد الله بن الزبير فكان يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة و إذا ركع و إذا رفع رأسه من الركوع. فسألته فقال عبد الله بن الزبير : صليت خلف أبى بكر الصديق رضى الله عنه فكان يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة وإذا ركع و إذا رفع رأسه من الركوع . وقال أبو بكر : صليت خلف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فكان يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوة و إذا ركع و إذا رفع رأسه من الركوع رواته ثقاتTranslation
Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥāfiẓ informed us (i.e., narrated a ḥadīth to us). He said: Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad bin ʿAbdillāh al-Ṣaffār al-Zāhid narrated to us by dictation from the original of his book. He said: Abū Ismāʿīl Muḥammad bin Ismāʿīl al-Sulamī said:“I performed ṣalāh behind Abū al-Nuʿmān Muḥammad bin al-Faḍl. He raised his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ. I asked him about that, so he said:
‘I performed ṣalāh behind Ḥammād bin Zayd, and he raised his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.’ I asked him about that, so he said:
‘I performed ṣalāh behind Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, and he used to raise his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.’ I asked him about that, so he said:
‘I saw ʿAṭāʾ bin Abī Rabāḥ raising his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.’ I asked him about that, so he said:
‘I performed ṣalāh behind ʿAbdullāh bin al-Zubayr, and he used to raise his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.’ I asked him about that, so ʿAbdullāh bin al-Zubayr said:
‘I performed ṣalāh behind Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه, and he used to raise his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.’ And Abū Bakr said:
‘I performed ṣalāh behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he used to raise his hands when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.’”
“Its narrators are trustworthy.”
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 2/73
③ Statements of the Scholars on Its Authenticity
◈ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī said: رواته ثقاتIts narrators are trustworthy.
Reference: al-Muhadhdhab fī Ikhtiṣār al-Sunan al-Kabīr: 2/49 (Ḥadīth 1943); another edition 1/522 (Ḥadīth 2257)
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī said: و رجاله ثقات
And its men (narrators) are trustworthy.
Reference: al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1/219 (Ḥadīth 328)
④ Summary Statement
It is submitted that the chain of this ḥadīth is completely authentic according to the principles of ḥadīth and the science of narrators. The brief and comprehensive biographies of all its narrators are presented below.① Imām Abū Bakr Aḥmad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله (d. 458 AH)
There is consensus regarding his being trustworthy and truthful, and ten testimonies of the ḥadīth scholars are presented:① Ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Ghāfir bin Ismāʿīl al-Fārisī (d. 529 AH) said:
الإمام الحافظ الفقيه الأصولي الدين الورع ، واحد زمانه فى الحفظ و فرد أقرانه فى الإتقان والضبط .
An Imām, Ḥāfiẓ, jurist, scholar of uṣūl, religious and pious—unique in his era in memorization, and unmatched among his peers in precision and exactness (trustworthiness).
Reference: al-Ḥalqah al-Ūlā min Tārīkh Nīsābūr, al-Muntakhab min al-Siyāq: p.127, no.231
② Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH) said:
و كان واحد زمانه فى الحفظ والإتقان ، حسن التصنيف
He was unmatched in his time in memorization and precision, and was excellent in writing.
Reference: al-Muntaẓam: 6/97 (Deaths of 458 AH)
③ Abū al-Qāsim Zāhir bin Ṭāhir al-Shiḥāmī (d. 533 AH) said:
الشيخ الإمام الحافظ أبو بكر أحمد بن الحسين بن على البيهقي رحمه الله
Reference: Muqaddimah al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 1/2
④ Abū Saʿd ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Samʿānī (d. 562 AH) said:
كان إماما فقيها حافظا جمع بين معرفة الحديث و فقهه...
He was an Imām, jurist, Ḥāfiẓ; he combined knowledge of ḥadīth and understanding of it…
Reference: al-Ansāb: 1/438 (Bayhaq)
⑤ Ibn Nuqṭah al-Baghdādī (d. 629 AH) said:
الحافظ الإمام
The Ḥāfiẓ, the Imām.
Reference: al-Tanqīd: 1/147, biography 157
⑥ Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī (d. 626 AH) said:
و هو الإمام الحافظ الفقيه فى أصول الدين... أوحد الدهر فى الحفظ و الإتقان
He was the Imām, Ḥāfiẓ, jurist in uṣūl al-dīn… unmatched in his age in memorization and precision…
Reference: Muʿjam al-Buldān: 1/538 (Bayhaq)
⑦ Historian Ibn Khallikān (d. 681 AH) said:
الفقيه الشافعي الحافظ الكبير المشهور ، واحد زمانه...
The Shāfiʿī jurist, the great famous Ḥāfiẓ; unmatched in his time…
Reference: Wafayāt al-Aʿyān: 1/75
Note: “Shāfiʿī” does not necessarily mean “a blind follower (muqallid),” as will come later, inshā’Allāh.
⑧ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī said:
هو الحافظ العلامة الثبت الفقيه ، شيخ الإسلام
He is the Ḥāfiẓ, the erudite scholar, firmly reliable jurist—Shaykh al-Islām.
Reference: Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ: 18/163
⑨ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (d. 774 AH) said:
وكان واحد زمانه فى الإتقان والحفظ و التصنيف ، فقيها محدثا أصوليا
He was unmatched in his era in precision, memorization, and authorship; a jurist, muḥaddith, and scholar of uṣūl.
Reference: al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah: 13/165 (Deaths of 458 AH)
⑩ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Dimashqī said:
كان واحد زمانه... وثقة و عمدة وهو شيخ خراسان
He was unmatched in his time… trustworthy, relied upon, and the Shaykh of Khurāsān…
Reference: Shadharāt al-Dhahab: 3/304–305
Thus, no criticism is established against Imām al-Bayhaqī regarding narration; therefore, there is consensus upon his trustworthiness.
✔ Response to the Claim: “Imām al-Bayhaqī Was a Muqallid of Imām al-Shāfiʿī”
The response is that Imām al-Bayhaqī was not a blind follower, and ten proofs are presented:① He wrote regarding the judge:
فإنه غير جائز له أن يقلد أحدا من أهل دهره
It is not permissible for him to imitate anyone from the people of his own era…
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 10/113
② He transmitted with an authentic chain the verdict of ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
لا تقلدوا دينكم الرجال
Do not imitate men in your religion…
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 2/10
(and:
Reference: Dīn meṅ Taqlīd kā Masʾalah: p.35
)③ He transmitted with a ḥasan li-dhātih chain the directive of ʿUmar رضي الله عنه that one should not turn to people against the Book of Allah.
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 10/115
④ He was a great scholar, and being a blind follower is impossible for a scholar, because a muqallid is ignorant. A Deobandī scholar Sarfarāz Khān wrote:
“اور تقلید جاہل ہی کیلئے ہے”
“And taqlīd is only for the ignorant.”
Reference: al-Kalām al-Mufīd fī Ithbāt al-Taqlīd: p.234
⑤ It is not established from Imām al-Bayhaqī that he ever said: “I am a muqallid.”
⑥ It is not established from any of his students that he was a muqallid.
⑦ Calling someone “Shāfiʿī” is not proof that he is a blind follower. For example, it is narrated from Abū Bakr al-Qaffāl, Abū ʿAlī, and Qāḍī Ḥusayn al-Shāfiʿī that they said:
لسنا مقلدين للشافعي، بل وافق رأينا رأيه
We are not blind followers of al-Shāfiʿī; rather, our opinion coincided with his opinion.
Reference: Taqrīrāt al-Rāfiʿī, al-Taqrīr wa al-Takhmīr: 3/453
(and:
Reference: Dīn meṅ Taqlīd kā Masʾalah: p.46
)⑧ He stated that he presented everyone’s statements to the Qur’an, Sunnah, and āthār, and found al-Shāfiʿī the most aligned in following them.
Reference: Maʿrifat al-Sunan wa al-Āthār: 1/125–126
⑨ He نقل from Imām al-Shāfiʿī:
و لا تقلدوني
“Do not imitate me.”
Reference: Manāqib al-Shāfiʿī lil-Bayhaqī: 1/473
⑩ The innovation of taqlīd began in the 4th century hijrī.
Reference: Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn by Ibn al-Qayyim: 2/208
Reference: al-Radd ʿalā man Akhlada ilā al-Arḍ: p.133
Reference: Dīn meṅ Taqlīd kā Masʾalah: p.32
He also wrote a chapter showing rafʿ al-yadayn when standing after two rakʿahs:
باب رفع اليدين عند القيام من الركعتين
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 2/136
② Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥāfiẓ (al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī, author of al-Mustadrak)
His authentication and praise are established from the following scholars:✿ al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī
✿ Ibn al-Jawzī
✿ al-Dhahabī
✿ Ibn Kathīr
✿ Abū Saʿd al-Samʿānī
✿ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar
✿ ʿAbd al-Ghāfir al-Fārisī
✿ ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Subkī
✿ Abū al-Khayr Muḥammad al-Jazarī
✿ al-Bayhaqī
Therefore, the criticism of Muḥammad bin Ṭāhir al-Maqdisī is rejected.
(And the claim of “inclination to Shīʿism” attributed to Ibn al-Falakī, as well as the statement attributed to Abū Ismāʿīl al-Harawī, is not established with an authentic chain—hence rejected.)
③–⑩ Remaining Narrators
Likewise, the text establishes authentication and praise for:③ Muḥammad bin ʿAbdillāh al-Ṣaffār al-Zāhid
④ Muḥammad bin Ismāʿīl al-Sulamī al-Tirmidhī
⑤ Abū al-Nuʿmān Muḥammad bin al-Faḍl (ʿĀrim)
⑥ Ḥammād bin Zayd
⑦ Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī
⑧ ʿAṭāʾ bin Abī Rabāḥ
⑨ ʿAbdullāh bin al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما
⑩ Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه
(Each with detailed references and responses to objections.)
✔ خلاصة التحقيق (Conclusion of Verification)
From this research it is established that the continuously transmitted ḥadīth of rafʿ al-yadayn narrated via Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه is completely authentic in terms of:◈ principles of ḥadīth
◈ narrator-criticism (asmāʾ al-rijāl)
◈ chain and text
✔ Explanation of the Ḥadīth: What Is Proven
① The Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands at the start of prayer, before rukūʿ, and after rukūʿ.② After him, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه did so.
③ After him, ʿAbdullāh bin al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما did so.
④ After him, ʿAṭāʾ bin Abī Rabāḥ رحمه الله did so.
⑤ After him, Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī رحمه الله did so.
⑥ After him, Ḥammād bin Zayd رحمه الله did so.
⑦ After him, Abū al-Nuʿmān al-Sadūsī رحمه الله (d. 224 AH) did so.
Thus it is known that from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ up to the third hijrī century, among the best generations, the practice of raising the hands before and after rukūʿ remained continuous and uninterrupted among the prominent Imāms of Ahl al-Sunnah and the trustworthy narrators of ḥadīth.
Therefore, considering rafʿ al-yadayn as abrogated, prohibited, or abandoned is false and invalid.
✔ Objections Raised by Some People and Their Answers
① The allegation that Imām al-Bayhaqī was a strict muqallid and wrote to prevent al-Juwaynī from leaving taqlīd is rejected; it is a clear lie and contradicts what is in Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah.② The claim that Imām al-Ḥākim was a “rāfiḍī khabīth” or extreme Shīʿī is false and rejected.
③ The objection that al-Ṣaffār’s hearing from al-Sulamī is not established is refuted by the explicit narration:
ثنا أبو إسماعيل محمد بن إسماعيل
Reference: al-Mustadrak: 1/117 (Ḥadīth 403)
④ The objection that al-Sulamī is “spoken against” is rejected due to the authentication of the majority of ḥadīth scholars.
⑤ The issue of Abū al-Nuʿmān’s later confusion (ikhtilāṭ) does not affect this narration, as explained.
⑥–⑦ The statements implying only one person in Basrah practiced rafʿ al-yadayn are baseless; asking a teacher about a practice does not imply the ummah was contrary.
And those who attempt to answer this authentic ḥadīth by presenting weak and rejected narrations (such as from Maymūn al-Makkī, a مجهول) are fundamentally invalid in principle.
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
And upon us is only to convey.
(29 May 2010)
