Question
Is the abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn (raising the hands) proven from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (رضي الله عنهما)?
Answer
The abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not proven from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (رضي الله عنهما).
The Report Attributed to Sayyiduna Ibn Masʿud (رضي الله عنه)
It is narrated:
صليت مع النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم ومع أبى بكر ومع عمر، فلم يرفعوا أيديهم إلا عند التكبيرة الأولى فى افتتاح الصلاة.
“I prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ), Abu Bakr, and Umar (رضي الله عنهما). They did not raise their hands except at the first Takbīrah when beginning the prayer.”
(Sunan al-Dāraqutnī 1/295, ḥadīth 1120; Musnad Abī Yaʿlā 5039)
This narration is very weak.
Reasons for Weakness
① Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī is weak according to the majority of Hadith critics.
- Ḥāfiẓ al-Mizzī رحمه الله:
هو ضعيف عند الجمهور
“According to the majority, he is weak.” (Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 5/191) - Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī رحمه الله:
ضعفه الجمهور
“The majority declared him weak.” (Maḥajjat al-Qurab, p.185)
He was declared weak by: Imām Aḥmad, Imām al-Bukhārī, Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Imām Falās, Imām al-Nasāʾī, Imām al-Tirmidhī, Imām al-Jawzajānī, Imām al-Dāraqutnī, and others رحمهم الله.
- Imām al-Dāraqutnī رحمه الله:
تفرد به محمد بن جابر اليمامي وكان ضعيفا
“Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī is alone in narrating this, and he was weak.” (Sunan al-Dāraqutnī 1/295) - Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله:
هذا ابن جابر إيش حديثه؟ هذا حديث منكر، أنكره جدا
“What is this ḥadīth of Ibn Jābir? This ḥadīth is munkar, and I strongly reject it.” (al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl 1/117) - Imām al-ʿUqaylī رحمه الله:
لا يتابع محمد بن جابر على هذا الحديث ولا على عامة حديثه
“No one has followed Muḥammad ibn Jābir in this narration nor in most of his narrations.” (al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr 4/42) - Imām al-Ḥākim رحمه الله: Declared its chain weak. (Maʿrifat al-Sunan wa’l-Āthār 2/424)
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله:
هذا حديث لا يصح عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
“This ḥadīth is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).” (al-Mawḍūʿāt 2/96) - Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī رحمه الله:
حديثه عن حماد، فيه اضطراب
“His narrations from Ḥammād are disturbed.” (al-Jarḥ wa’l-Taʿdīl 7/219)
Since he narrated this from his teacher Ḥammād, this criticism applies directly.
Further Points
② If this narration were authentic, then why is Rafʿ al-Yadayn proven in Witr Qunūt and in the ʿĪd prayers?
③ This narration is not only weak but also general. On the other hand, the narrations proving Rafʿ al-Yadayn at going into rukūʿ and rising from it are specific. The specific is given precedence over the general.
④ From Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه), Rafʿ al-Yadayn is authentically established.
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī 2/73)
Note on the Report Attributed to Sayyiduna Ibn Masʿud (رضي الله عنه)
Imām Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī رحمه الله said:
كان عبد الله لا يرفع يديه فى شيء من الصلاة إلا فى الافتتاح
“ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿud (رضي الله عنه) did not raise his hands in any part of the prayer except at the beginning.”
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 1/236; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār 1/227)
But this chain is weak.
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله:
لا يثبت
“This is not established.” (al-Sunan al-Kubrā 2/81) - Al-Nakhaʿī was a mudallis and did not state hearing. The chain is also broken, since Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī never met Ibn Masʿud (رضي الله عنه). He was born after Ibn Masʿud’s death.
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله:
أصل قوله إن إبراهيم لو روى عن على وعبد الله لم يقبل منه، لأنه لم يلق واحدا منهما
“If Ibrāhīm narrates from ʿAlī or Ibn Masʿud (رضي الله عنهما), it is not accepted, for he did not meet either of them.” (Ikhtilāf al-Ḥadīth 8/635) - Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Mulaqqin رحمه الله:
إبراهيم النخعي لم ير ابن مسعود، والحديث منقطع
“Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī did not see Ibn Masʿud, and this ḥadīth is disconnected.” (al-Badr al-Munīr 3/478) - Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله:
رواية إبراهيم عن عبد الله منقطعة، لا شك فيها
“Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī’s narration from Ibn Masʿud is disconnected, without any doubt.” (al-Sunan al-Kubrā 8/76)
In fact, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī did not hear from any Companion at all. (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, p.270)
Additional Benefit
Al-Aʿmash رحمه الله said:
قلت لإبراهيم : إذا حدثت فأسند، قال : إذا قلت لك : قال عبد الله، فلم أقل ذلك حتى حدثنيه عن عبد الله غير واحد...
“I said to Ibrāhīm: when you narrate, please mention the chain. He said: when I say ‘ʿAbdullāh said,’ I do not say it until more than one person has narrated it to me from Ibn Masʿud...”
(Sharḥ Mushkil al-Āthār 14/519)
This report is also weak, as Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī himself expressed doubt in its chain.
Even if accepted, it does not prove the authenticity of Ibrāhīm’s mursal reports, since the transmitters from whom he claimed multiple reports remain unknown.
Conclusion of al-Ḥākim رحمه الله
هذا هو المحفوظ، وإبراهيم النخعي لم ير ابن مسعود، والحديث منقطع، والعجب من محمد بن جابر أنه لم يرض بأن وصل هذا المنقطع، حتى زاد أيضا فى متنه السند...
“This is the preserved narration: Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī never saw Ibn Masʿud, so the ḥadīth is disconnected. The strange thing is that Muḥammad ibn Jābir was not satisfied with this disconnected report, so he further inserted an isnād, attributing it to the Prophet (ﷺ), and even added the mention of Abu Bakr and Umar (رضي الله عنهما).”
(al-Khilāfiyyāt lil-Bayhaqī 2/365)
Therefore, the abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not authentically proven from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (رضي الله عنهما). On the contrary, authentic reports establish that Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
