Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 550❖ Question:
Is raising the hands (rafʿ al-yadayn) along with the takbīrs in the Eid prayers established from any authentic ḥadīth?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Performing rafʿ al-yadayn (raising both hands) with every additional takbīr in the Eid prayers is Sunnah, and it is established from authentic narrations of the Prophet ﷺ.
Evidence ①
Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
يَرْفَعُهُمَا فِي كُلِّ تَكْبِيرَةٍ يُكَبِّرُهَا قَبْلَ الرُّكُوعِ حَتَّى تَنْقَضِيَ صَلَاتُهُ۔
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 1, p. 464, ḥadīth no. 722; al-Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah, vol. 3, p. 22; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, vol. 1, p. 288)
Translation:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would raise both his hands with every takbīr that he made before bowing (rukūʿ), until his prayer was completed.”
Authentication and Commentary:
- The muhaddith of Sharḥ al-Sunnah declared the isnād of this ḥadīth to be ṣaḥīḥ (authentic).
- The narrator Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd has been disputed, but the majority declared him trustworthy when narrating from reliable teachers.
- Al-Nasāʾī said: “If he says ḥaddathanā or akhbaranā, he is reliable.” (al-Kāshif, 1/106, no. 626)
- In this ḥadīth, Baqiyyah clearly stated his samaʿ (hearing) from al-Zubaydī, whose full name is Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿĀmir, a trustworthy and firm narrator of both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, p. 322).
- Therefore, this narration is authentic according to the criteria of the scholars of ḥadīth.
Shaykh Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله also regarded Baqiyyah as “ṣadūq” (truthful) and ḥasan al-ḥadīth when he explicitly stated hearing from his teachers (Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah, nos. 4601, 621, 648, 730, 802).
Evidence ②
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَرْفَعُهُمَا فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ وَتَكْبِيرَةٍ كَبَّرَهَا قَبْلَ الرُّكُوعِ، حَتَّى تَنْقَضِيَ صَلَاتُهُ۔
(Musnad Aḥmad, 2/134; al-Muntaqā Ibn al-Jārūd, no. 178, p. 69; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, 1/289)
Translation:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise both his hands in every rakʿah and with every takbīr that he made before bowing (rukūʿ), until his prayer was completed.”
Verification:
- The narrator Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī explicitly stated his hearing (samaʿ) in this narration.
- His student Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Muslim ibn Akhī al-Zuhrī is among the narrators of the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah (Six Authentic Collections) and is regarded by the majority as trustworthy (thiqah) and truthful (ṣadūq).
- Described by al-Dhahabī as: “al-imām al-ʿālim al-thiqah.” (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 8/197)
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said: “He was truthful, though he sometimes made mistakes.” (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb)
Since his narration does not contradict that of stronger narrators, this ḥadīth is ḥasan li-dhātihī, and when supported by the previous narration, it reaches the level of ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrih — authentic by corroboration.
Meaning and Application:
The narrations clearly state that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands with every takbīr before rukūʿ.
Hence, the same applies to the extra takbīrs (takbīrāt-e-zāʾidah) of the Eid prayers, since they occur before rukūʿ.
Therefore, raising the hands with each takbīr in the Eid prayers is Sunnah, and any claim to the contrary is unfounded.
Response to al-Albānī’s Interpretation:
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله accepted the second narration as authentic according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, but he restricted it only to the regular farḍ prayers and not to the additional takbīrs of Eid (Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 3/113, no. 630).
However, this restriction is weak, because:
الْعِبْرَةُ بِعُمُومِ اللَّفْظِ لَا بِخُصُوصِ السَّبَبِ
“Consideration is given to the general wording of a text, not to its specific cause.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī; Taujīh al-Qārī, p. 81, by Shaykh Thanāʾullāh al-Zāhidī)
Since no valid specification exists, the general rule applies — thus, these ḥadīths also include the takbīrs of Eid.
Imām al-Bayhaqī and Ibn al-Mundhir likewise used this ḥadīth as evidence for rafʿ al-yadayn in the Eid takbīrs (Talkhīṣ al-Khabīr, 2/86).
Hence, al-Albānī’s interpretation is rejected.
Statements of the Scholars:
- Imām Mālik رحمه الله was reported (in Aḥkām al-ʿĪdayn by al-Firyābī, p. 83) to have said:
“Raise your hands with every takbīr, although I do not know of any explicit proof regarding it.”
The correct understanding is that Imām Mālik was unaware of a direct ḥadīth at that moment — not that he denied its authenticity. - Al-Awzāʿī رحمه الله (the great ḥadīth scholar of Shām) is reported with a sound chain to have said:
“Raise the hands with all the takbīrs of Eid.” (Aḥkām al-ʿĪdayn by al-Firyābī, p. 182) - ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ رحمه الله (a senior Tābiʿī) held the same view.
(Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, 3/297 — sanad ṣaḥīḥ)
Conclusion:
◈ Performing rafʿ al-yadayn with every takbīr in the Eid prayers is Sunnah, established from authentic narrations of the Prophet ﷺ.
◈ Denying it or labeling it an innovation (bidʿah) is incorrect and contrary to the evidence.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
