Raf' al-Yadayn Is Necessary and Established by Clear Proofs

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.

Rafʿ al-Yadayn Is Necessary​

Evidence No. ①​

The narrations establishing Rafʿ al-Yadayn are found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and other authentic collections, while not a single authentic narration exists establishing the abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn. Therefore, the practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is proven.

Evidence No. ②​

Abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ, neither with an authentic chain nor with a ḥasan chain.
All narrations regarding abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn are weak and defective.

Evidence No. ③​

Some Companions commanded the performance of Rafʿ al-Yadayn.

Reference: Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī 1/292, Ḥadīth 1111 (Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ)

Evidence No. ④​

The aḥādīth concerning Rafʿ al-Yadayn are mutawātir.

Evidence No. ⑤​

Rafʿ al-Yadayn is established with authentic and ḥasan chains from numerous Companions, while abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn is not established from even a single Companion.

Evidence No. ⑥​

Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to throw pebbles at those who did not perform Rafʿ al-Yadayn, whereas no Companion ever struck anyone for performing Rafʿ al-Yadayn.

Evidence No. ⑦​

Numerous scholars have described Rafʿ al-Yadayn as the adornment of prayer.
Not a single scholar has described abandoning Rafʿ al-Yadayn as the adornment of prayer.

Evidence No. ⑧​

Reliable scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah authored books in favor of performing Rafʿ al-Yadayn, such as Imām al-Bukhārī and others.
No reliable scholar ever authored a book advocating abandonment of Rafʿ al-Yadayn.

Evidence No. ⑨​

With every Rafʿ al-Yadayn, a good deed or rank is recorded for every finger.

Imām al-Ṭabarānī narrates:

حدثنا بشر بن موسى: ثنا أبو عبدالرحمن المقري عن ابن لهيعة: حدثني ابن هبيرة أن أبا المصعب مشرح بن هاعان المعافري حدثه أنه سمع عقبة بن عامر الجهني يقول: إنه يكتب فى كل إشارة يشيرها الرجل بيده فى الصلوة بكل إصبع حسنة أو درجة

Sayyidunā ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه said:
“For every (prescribed) gesture a man makes with his hand during prayer, a good deed or a rank is written for each finger.”

Reference: al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr 17/297, Ḥadīth 819 (Isnād Ḥasan)

Verification of the Chain​

◈ ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir is a well-known Companion رضي الله عنه.
He was the governor of Egypt and a learned jurist.

Reference: Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 4641

Introduction of Musharriḥ bin Hāʿān​

➊ Yaḥyā bin Maʿīn declared him trustworthy.
➋ Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal said: Well-known.
➌ Ibn al-Qaṭṭān declared him trustworthy.
➍ al-Dhahabī said: Ṣadūq, and also said: Trustworthy.
➎ al-Tirmidhī graded one of his narrations Ḥasan Gharīb.
➏ ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Ishbīlī said: Its chain is ḥasan.
➐ Ibn ʿAdī said: I hope there is no harm in him.
➑ Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī graded his ḥadīth ḥasan.
➒ al-Ḥākim declared his narration Ṣaḥīḥ al-Isnād.
➓ Ibn Taymiyyah graded his narration ḥasan.

Note:
Although Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him in both al-Thiqāt and al-Majrūḥīn, this contradiction nullifies his criticism. Ibn Ḥibbān himself included Musharriḥ’s narration from ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, proving that his criticism is abrogated.

Second Angle​

➊ Although Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī reportedly said lā yuḥtajj bihi, he also explicitly graded Musharriḥ’s narration as “bi-isnād jayyid”, which constitutes his authentication. Thus, the earlier remark is abrogated.

➋ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dārimī said: “Not problematic; he is ṣadūq.”

It is therefore clear that the overwhelming majority of muḥaddithīn considered him trustworthy, and the criticism is rejected.

Issue of the Catapult Against the Kaʿbah​

This incident is fabricated and baseless.
Mūsā bin Dāwūd merely said “It reached me” (balaghanī) without providing any chain. Without a chain, the report is invalid.

Religion is based on chains of transmission. Even al-Dhahabī hinted at the rejection of this claim by using “qīla” in Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl.
Can an unsourced statement be used to declare a trustworthy narrator weak?
Thus, Musharriḥ bin Hāʿān is innocent of this allegation.

Remaining Narrators​

➌ ʿAbdullāh bin Hubayrah — trustworthy

Reference: Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 3678

➍ ʿAbdullāh bin Lahīʿah al-Miṣrī — disputed narrator.
Some declared him trustworthy; others weak. He was a mudallis and experienced memory issues in later life. However, Imām ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Azdī stated:

إذا روى العبادلة عن ابن لهيعة فهو صحيح: ابن المبارك وابن وهب والمقري

“When the ʿAbādilah narrate from Ibn Lahīʿah—namely Ibn al-Mubārak, Ibn Wahb, and al-Muqriʾ—then it is authentic.”

This is detailed authentication, which takes precedence over general criticism.

➎ Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbdullāh bin Yazīd al-Muqriʾ — trustworthy
➏ Bishr bin Mūsā — trustworthy and trustworthy custodian

Thus, this chain is strong.

Ḥāfiẓ Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī said:

رواه الطبراني وإسناده حسن

“Ṭabarānī narrated it, and its chain is ḥasan.”

Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 2/103

Meaning of the Ḥadīth​

➊ Imām al-Bayhaqī narrated with an authentic chain from Isḥāq bin Rāhawayh that:

“When Rafʿ al-Yadayn is performed before and after rukūʿ, ten good deeds are granted for every gesture.”

Reference: Maʿrifat al-Sunan wa al-Āthār 1/225 (manuscript)

➋ Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal said regarding Rafʿ al-Yadayn:

“It is narrated from ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir that for Rafʿ al-Yadayn in prayer, ten good deeds are granted for every gesture.”

Reference: Masāʾil Aḥmad (riwāyah ʿAbdullāh) 1/237; al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr 1/220

➌ Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī also cited this narration under the chapter of Rafʿ al-Yadayn.

In contrast, ʿAlī al-Muttaqī al-Hindī (Ḥanafī) placed it under the chapter of indicating with the finger during tashahhud.
However, Imām Isḥāq bin Rāhawayh, Imām Aḥmad, Imām al-Bayhaqī, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī all considered it related to Rafʿ al-Yadayn, and their research is stronger and preferred.

Moreover, this narration applies to both Rafʿ al-Yadayn and the finger indication in tashahhud.

Evidence No. ⑩​

Many reliable scholars have declared the prayer of one who abandons Rafʿ al-Yadayn to be deficient, such as Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal and Imām al-Awzāʿī.
Not a single reliable scholar has declared the prayer of one who performs Rafʿ al-Yadayn to be deficient.

Conclusion​

It is thus established that Rafʿ al-Yadayn is the stronger and correct position, and it should be performed.

وما علينا إلا البلاغ

Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī
Ṣafar 1410 AH
(After revision: Rajab 1427 AH)