✦ Proof of Rafʿ al-Yadayn in Prayer and Rejection of a Fabricated Claim
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Page 345
❖ Background of the Question
Some people ask:
Is it permissible to raise the hands (Rafʿ al-Yadayn) in Ṣalāh?
Certain individuals respond with a false and baseless claim, saying:
“In that time, people would hide idols under their armpits, so Rafʿ al-Yadayn was commanded to expose them.”
This claim is entirely fabricated, without any basis in authentic ḥadīth literature.There is no reliable chain of narration that supports this assertion.
❖ Authentic Ḥadīths Proving Rafʿ al-Yadayn
✦ Prophetic Practice
Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he stood for prayer, raise his hands up to his shoulders; he did the same when he bowed for Rukūʿ and when he rose from Rukūʿ, saying:
‘Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah.’
But he did not do so during Sujūd.”
References:
✔ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 736 (Vol. 1, p. 102)
✔ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 390
✦ Actions of the Companions
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to raise his hands before and after Rukūʿ, saying:
“The Prophet ﷺ did the same.”
Sources:
✔ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 739
✔ Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī (3/21), Ḥadīth 560
✔ Declared ṣaḥīḥ by al-Baghawī
Sālim ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (son of Ibn ʿUmar):
He also practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after Rukūʿ.
(Ḥadīth al-Sirāj, 2/34–35, Ḥadīth 115 — Authentic chain)
ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr and Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنهما:
Both are reported to have performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
(Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 2/73;
al-Dhahabī in al-Madhhab, 2/49, Ḥadīth 1943 — all narrators trustworthy)
❖ Practice of the Tābiʿīn and Successive Generations
ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ (a leading Tābiʿī):
Raised his hands at the beginning of prayer, before and after Rukūʿ.
(Al-Sunan al-Kubrā 2/73; Ibn Ḥajar in al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr, p. 219, Ḥadīth 328 — narrators are reliable)
Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī (student of ʿAṭāʾ):
Practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn in prayer.
(Al-Sunan al-Kubrā 2/73 — authentic chain)
Abū al-Nuʿmān Muḥammad ibn al-Faḍl (student of Ayyūb):
Also practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
(Al-Sunan al-Kubrā 2/73 — authentic chain)
Imām al-Bukhārī (student of Abū al-Nuʿmān):
Authored a dedicated work:
Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn fī al-Ṣalāh— Affirming the perpetual validity and authenticity of the practice
✦ Continuity of the Practice
The act of Rafʿ al-Yadayn remained consistently practiced in:◈ The Prophetic era
◈ The era of the Companions
◈ The Tābiʿīn
◈ The successors of the Tābiʿīn
◈ And beyond, through all major generations
Never interrupted, and never abrogated❖ Refutation of the Fabricated Idol Theory
The claim that Rafʿ al-Yadayn was prescribed to reveal hidden idols under the armpits is:
A baseless myth Found in no authentic source A mockery of the established Sunnah and the practice of the righteous Salaf❖ If It Had Been Abrogated…
Had the practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn been abrogated:
➡ Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه — who led the Muslims in the Prophet’s final days —
would never have practiced it.
Yet it is authentically reported he did.
He led the prayer appointed by the Prophet ﷺ himself — clearly proving the non-abrogation of Rafʿ al-Yadayn.
For Further Study:
Refer to:
"Nūr al-ʿAyn fī Ithbāt Masʾalat Rafʿ al-Yadayn" — pp. 119, 121
Dated: 17 December 2008 Conclusion
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn before and after Rukūʿ is:
◈ Authentically established
◈ Consistently practiced by the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and later generations
◈ A source of reward
◈ Not abrogated or restricted
Any claim to the contrary — especially attributing it to idol exposure — is a fabrication and must be rejected outright.وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
