Raf al-Yadayn and Ruku Method Proven from Sunnah

This excerpt is taken from the book Ṣaḥīḥ Ṣalāh Nabawī ﷺ, authored by al-Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAzīz, published by Maktabah Dār al-Andalus.

The Issue of Rafʿ al-Yadayn​

When going into rukūʿ, raise both hands up to the shoulders—meaning perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn. This is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, which he continued practicing until the last period of his blessed life, and the Companions رضي الله عنهم continued practicing this Sunnah after him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, nor any Companion, ever performed Ṣalāh without it. However, some people abandoned this mutawātir Sunnah purely due to partisanship, and they claim that there is no authentic ḥadīth about Rafʿ al-Yadayn; sometimes they say it was permissible earlier but later it was prohibited. In reality, there is no authentic ḥadīth proving that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn, nor that he forbade any imām from doing it, nor that it was abrogated after being practiced—rather, the aḥādīth regarding Rafʿ al-Yadayn are ṣaḥīḥ, clear, and mutawātir, and its proof is found from the Prophet’s ﷺ final years and from the practice of the Companions after him.

Now the evidences for Rafʿ al-Yadayn are presented:

Mutawātir Ḥadīth​

❀ Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:

أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرفع يديه حذو منكبيه إذا افتتح الصلاة وإذا كبر للركوع وإذا رفع رأسه من الركوع رفعهما كذلك أيضا

Translation:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands level with his shoulders when he began the prayer, when he said the takbīr for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ, he would raise them likewise.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 735; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 390

This ḥadīth has been declared mutawātir in al-Azhār al-Mutanāthirah fī al-Akhbār al-Mutawātirah, Naẓm al-Mutanāthir min al-Ḥadīth al-Mutawātir, al-Muḥallā, and Tadrīb al-Rāwī. Imām Ibn Qudāmah mentioned it in al-Mughnī under Bāb Ṣifat al-Ṣalāh, Mas’alah Rafʿ al-Yadayn fī al-Ṣalāh (1/574), and Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Fayrūzābādī considered it similar to mutawātir in Safar al-Saʿādah (34). Among Ḥanafī scholars, ʿAllāmah Anwar Shāh al-Kashmīrī accepted it as mutawātir.

Reference: al-ʿUrf al-Shadhī 1/124

Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar نقلًا عن his teacher Ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Faḍl in Fatḥ al-Bārī (2/220), and ʿAllāmah al-ʿIrāqī in Taqrīb al-Asānīd (9), stated: “The number of Companions who narrated Rafʿ al-Yadayn is fifty.” These narrations can be seen in the ḥadīth collections.

Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله said:
Translation: “Rafʿ al-Yadayn has been narrated by such a large group of Companions that perhaps no other ḥadīth has been narrated by a greater number.”

Reference: Nayl al-Awṭār 2/3/9

❀ Imām al-Ḥākim and Imām Abū al-Qāsim Ibn Mandah رحمهما الله stated:

Translation:
“We do not know of any Sunnah regarding which all four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Ten Given Glad Tidings, and other senior Companions—despite being spread across distant lands—are unanimously agreed upon in narrating from the Prophet ﷺ, except this Sunnah (Rafʿ al-Yadayn).”

Reference: Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/417–418; Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/220

ʿAllāmah Mujaddid al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Fayrūzābādī رحمه الله (581–729 AH), after mentioning Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the opening takbīr, while going into rukūʿ, and while rising from rukūʿ, said:

Translation:
“It is established that Rafʿ al-Yadayn at these three places is proven, and due to the abundance of narrations it resembles mutawātir. In this issue, four hundred narrations and the practices of the Companions are established, and the Ten Given Glad Tidings also narrated it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained upon it until he left this world. Nothing besides this is established.”

Reference: Safar al-Saʿādah: 34

Consensus of the Companions​

ʿAbdullāh ibn Qāsim رحمه الله said that people were praying in al-Masjid al-Nabawī when Sayyidunā ʿUmar al-Fārūq رضي الله عنه arrived and said:
Translation: “Come to me, I will lead you in prayer as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to teach you and command you to pray.”
Then ʿUmar رضي الله عنه stood and raised his hands up to the shoulders, then said the takbīr; then while going into rukūʿ and while raising the head from rukūʿ, he performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn. All the people said:
Translation: “Yes! This is how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to lead us in prayer.”

Reference: Khilāfiyyāt al-Bayhaqī; Naṣb al-Rāyah (Bāb Ṣifat al-Ṣalāh): 176

Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAṭā’ رحمه الله said that Sayyidunā Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī رضي الله عنه was sitting among ten Companions and said:
Translation: “I know the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ better than you.”
They said: “Explain it.”
He described the Prophet ﷺ raising his hands at the start of the prayer, before rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ, and the Companions said:
Translation: “You have spoken the truth; this is exactly how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray.”

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 730

Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه said to the Companions:
Translation: “Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?”
He then demonstrated the prayer and performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the opening, at rukūʿ, and on rising from rukūʿ—then said:
Translation: “Do like this.”
And he did not raise the hands in the prostrations.

Reference: Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī 1/292, ḥadīth: 1111

Sayyidunā Wā’il ibn Ḥujr, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr رحمهم الله stated, without exception:
Translation: “All the Companions used to perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the beginning of prayer, while going into rukūʿ, and while rising from rukūʿ.”

Reference: Juz’ Rafʿ al-Yadayn: 34–49; al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī 2/75 (ḥadīth: 2524, 2525)

Imām Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله said:
Translation: “All the Companions used to perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn.”

Reference: al-Muḥallā 2/580

Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:
Translation: “It is not authentically established from even a single Companion that he did not perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn with a chain more authentic than the narrations that affirm Rafʿ al-Yadayn.”

Reference: Juz’ Rafʿ al-Yadayn: 56; al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī 2/74 (ḥadīth: 2523)

Practical Continuity​

It is not the case that the Ummah abandoned Rafʿ al-Yadayn after the Companions. Rather, just as this practice reached us through continuous, mutawātir chains in narration, it also reached us generation after generation in practical implementation.

Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Sulamī رحمه الله said that he prayed behind Abū al-Nuʿmān Muḥammad ibn Faḍl, who performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the beginning, at rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ. When asked, he said he prayed behind Ḥammād ibn Zayd; then behind Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī; then behind ʿAṭā’ ibn Abī Rabāḥ; then behind ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما; then behind Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه—who said he prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he used to perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the beginning, at rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ.

Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī (Bāb Rafʿ al-Yadayn ʿinda al-Rukūʿ wa ʿinda Rafʿ al-Ra’s minhu): 2519

Consensus of the Scholars of the Ummah​

In every era, large numbers narrated and practiced Rafʿ al-Yadayn. After the Companions, the names of major Tābiʿīn include: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, ʿAṭā’, Ṭāwūs, Mujāhid, Nāfiʿ, Sālim, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr رحمهم الله.

Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: 256

And among others: Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, Abū Qilābah, Nuʿmān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, Qāsim ibn Muḥammad, ʿAṭā’ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, Ḥasan ibn Muslim, ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār, Ibn Abī Laylā, Qays ibn Saʿd رحمهم الله.

Reference: Juz’ Rafʿ al-Yadayn (Imām al-Bukhārī): 56–64

Among the great Imāms and jurists: Imām Mālik, Maʿmar, al-Awzāʿī, Ibn ʿUyaynah, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh, al-Layth ibn Saʿd, Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā, Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Taẓalī رحمهم الله.

Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: 256; al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī (Bāb Rafʿ al-Yadayn): 2/256

Historical Evidences for the Establishment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn​

Sayyidunā Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه came to Madīnah in Rajab, 9 AH with a companion, learned the religion, and when returning, the Prophet ﷺ said:

ارجعوا إلى أهليكم فعلموهم ومروهم وصلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي

Translation:
“Return to your families, teach them, command them, and pray as you have seen me praying.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 6008

He also said:

أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا كبر رفع يديه حتى يحاذي بهما أذنيه، وإذا ركع رفع يديه حتى يحاذي بهما أذنيه، وإذا رفع رأسه من الركوع فقال سمع الله لمن حمده فعل مثل ذلك

Translation:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the takbīr, he raised his hands until they were level with his ears; when he went into rukūʿ he raised his hands until they were level with his ears; and when he raised his head from rukūʿ and said Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah, he did the same.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 391

Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه himself also performed Rafʿ al-Yadayn.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 737; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 390

Likewise, Sayyidunā Wā’il ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه is also from the later Companions; ʿAllāmah بدر الدين عيني حنفي رحمه الله stated he accepted Islam in 9 AH.

Reference: ʿUmdat al-Qārī 3/9

He said:

ثم حبت بعد ذلك فى زمان فيه برد شديد فرأيت الناس عليهم جلود الشياه تحرك أيديهم تحت الثياب

Translation:
“Then I came again later at a time of severe cold, and I saw people wearing thick coverings, and their hands would move under their garments when performing Rafʿ al-Yadayn.”

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 727 (Ṣaḥīḥ)

This shows Rafʿ al-Yadayn remained established up to 10 AH, and the Prophet ﷺ passed away at the beginning of 11 AH. There is no authentic narration proving that the Prophet ﷺ abandoned Rafʿ al-Yadayn at the end of 10 AH or the beginning of 11 AH, nor that he forbade it.

Rafʿ al-Yadayn in the View of the Scholars​

❀ Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:
Translation: “Rafʿ al-Yadayn is the adornment of prayer.”

❀ ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه said:
Translation: “Performing Rafʿ al-Yadayn once in prayer earns the reward of ten good deeds.”

Reference: Fatḥ al-Bārī (Bāb Rafʿ al-Yadayn): under ḥadīth 735

❀ Imām Ibn Sīrīn رحمه الله said:
Translation: “Rafʿ al-Yadayn in prayer is a cause of completing the prayer.”

Reference: Juz’ Rafʿ al-Yadayn (al-Bukhārī): 17; al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 28

❀ Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, and Ibn al-Qayyim رحمهم الله said:
Translation: “Whoever does not perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn while going into rukūʿ and while rising from rukūʿ is a person who abandons the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ.”

Reference: Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn (Urdu): 1/523

❀ Imām ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī رحمه الله said:
Translation: “Due to this ḥadīth (of Ibn ʿUmar), it is obligatory upon all Muslims to perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn.”

Reference: Juz’ Rafʿ al-Yadayn (al-Bukhārī)

❀ Imām Ibn Khuzaymah رحمه الله said:
Translation: “Whoever abandons Rafʿ al-Yadayn in prayer has indeed left a pillar of prayer.”

Reference: al-ʿAynī 3/7

Rafʿ al-Yadayn in the View of Ḥanafī Scholars​

❀ Shāh Walīullāh Muḥaddith Dihlawī رحمه الله said:

Translation:
“When one intends to go into rukūʿ, he should raise his hands to the shoulders or ears, and when he raises his head from rukūʿ, he should also raise his hands. I consider the one who performs Rafʿ al-Yadayn better than the one who does not, because the narrations for Rafʿ al-Yadayn are more numerous and very authentic.”

Reference: Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah 2/434

❀ Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Lakhnawī رحمه الله said:

Translation:
“The proof for Rafʿ al-Yadayn from the Prophet ﷺ is very abundant and extremely strong. Those who claim it is abrogated—this claim is baseless; they possess no satisfactory evidence.”

Reference: al-Taʿlīq al-Mumajjad: 91

Conclusion​

Thus, Rafʿ al-Yadayn is a mutawātir Sunnah—from the era of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ until today, scholars have issued fatwā upon it and it has continued in practice. Therefore, all Muslims should act upon this Sunnah and should not abandon it in the name of schools or blind partisanship, otherwise there is a danger of misguidance.

❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:

لو تركتم سنة نبيكم لضللتم

Translation:
“If you abandon the Sunnah of your Prophet ﷺ, you will surely go astray.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 654

Method of Rukūʿ​

❀ Go into rukūʿ while saying Allāhu Akbar.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 803; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 392

❀ Place the palms on the knees and hold them firmly.
❀ Keep the fingers spread, and keep the arms extended like a bow.
❀ Keep the back completely straight—no bend at all. The head should be parallel: neither raised too high nor lowered too much.

❀ Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī رضي الله عنه said:

فإذا ركع أمكن كفيه من ركبتيه وفرج بين أصابعه ثم هصر ظهره غير مقنع رأسه ... وفي رواية: ووتر يديه فتجافى عن جنبيه

Translation:
“When he ﷺ bowed, he placed his palms firmly on his knees, spread his fingers, then bent his back such that his head was neither raised nor dropped… and in another narration: he strengthened his arms and kept them away from his sides.”

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 731, 734; Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: 260 (Ṣaḥīḥ)

❀ Perform rukūʿ with calmness. The Prophet ﷺ said:

ثم اركع حتى تطمئن راكعا

Translation:
“Then bow until you are at ease in rukūʿ.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 793; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 397

❀ The Prophet ﷺ said:

لا تجزئ صلاة الرجل حتى يقيم ظهره فى الركوع والسجود

Translation:
“A man’s prayer is not sufficient until he straightens his back in rukūʿ and sujūd.”

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 855 (Ṣaḥīḥ)

Supplications in Rukūʿ​

❀ Recite any of the following:

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا وَبِحَمْدِكَ اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي
Translation: “O Allah, our Lord! You are pure, with Your praise—O Allah forgive me.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 794; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 484

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ
Translation: “Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 772

سُبْحَانَكَ وَبِحَمْدِكَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Translation: “You are pure and praised; none has the right to be worshiped except You.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 485

اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ رَكَعْتُ وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ...
Translation: “O Allah! For You I have bowed, in You I have believed, to You I have submitted…”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 771

سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَبُّ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ
Translation: “Most Glorious, Most Holy, Lord of the angels and the Spirit.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 487

سُبْحَانَ ذِي الْجَبَرُوتِ وَالْمَلَكُوتِ...
Translation: “Glory be to the One Who possesses might, dominion, greatness, and majesty.”

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 873 (Ṣaḥīḥ)

Recitation of Qur’an in Rukūʿ and Sujūd​

❀ Reciting Qur’an in rukūʿ and sujūd is prohibited. The Prophet ﷺ said:

أَلَا وَإِنِّي نُهِيتُ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ رَاكِعًا أَوْ سَاجِدًا

Translation:
“Behold! I have been forbidden from reciting the Qur’an while bowing or prostrating.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 479

However, reciting a Qur’anic verse as a duʿā’ is not prohibited, as proven from Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه regarding repeating the verse:

إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ...

Reference: al-Mā’idah: 118

Reference: Musnad Aḥmad: 21386 (Ṣaḥīḥ)

Statement Regarding Qawmah (Standing After Rukūʿ)​

❀ While rising from rukūʿ, perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn (raise both hands to the shoulders).
❀ While rising, say:

سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 735; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 865/139

❀ Stand completely upright with calmness. The Prophet ﷺ said:

ثم ارفع حتى تعتدل قائما

Translation:
“Then rise until you stand upright.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 793

❀ Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه said:

كان رسول الله ﷺ إذا قال سمع الله لمن حمده قام حتى نقول قد أوهم

Translation:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah, he would stand until we thought that perhaps he had forgotten (to proceed).”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 473

Supplications of Qawmah​

❀ In the standing after rukūʿ, recite any one of the following:

رَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا طَيِّبًا مُبَارَكًا فِيهِ
Translation: “Our Lord! For You is all praise—abundant, pure, and blessed.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 799

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ مِلْءَ السَّمَاوَاتِ...
Translation: “O Allah, our Lord! For You is all praise—filling the heavens and the earth…”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 476

رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ... أَهْلَ الثَّنَاءِ وَالْمَجْدِ...
Translation: “Our Lord! For You is all praise… O Possessor of praise and majesty…”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 477