Misuse of a Qur’anic Verse to Deny Rafʿ al-Yadayn – Refutation of a False Interpretation
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Some people use the following verse to argue against rafʿ al-yadayn (raising the hands in prayer). What is the ruling on this?
❀ Allah Almighty says:
﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ .﴾
(al-Nisāʾ: 77)
“(O Prophet!) Have you not seen those to whom it was said: Restrain your hands and establish prayer.”
❖ Answer:
This verse was revealed regarding jihad, and has no connection whatsoever with the acts of prayer or rafʿ al-yadayn. To use this verse as evidence for the abrogation of rafʿ al-yadayn is a distortion of its meaning and a false interpretation. None of the exegetes or hadith scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah ever used this verse to negate rafʿ al-yadayn.
Scholarly Explanation
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله, d. 774H) said:
هذه الآية إنما نزلت فى الجهاد، لا فى رفع الأيدي فى الصلاة بالكلية ، فالتمسك بها فى هذا المقام إغراق فى النزع ، وإبعاد فى النجعة، فإنها لم ينزل فى هذا بالكلية . ثم هي دالة على عدم الرفع مطلقا، فى الابتداء وغيره، فإن قال : خرج الابتداء بما ورد فيه من الأحاديث الصحيحة، قلنا : وكذلك يخرج رفع اليدين عند الركوع والرفع منه بما ثبت فيه من الأحاديث الصحيحة .
“This verse was revealed regarding jihad, not about raising the hands in prayer at all. To use it in this context is a baseless and far-fetched argument, for it was never revealed concerning this issue. Moreover, if (hypothetically) it were taken to indicate the prohibition of raising the hands, then it would indicate prohibition of all forms of raising the hands, including the initial takbīr. If one says: the initial raising of the hands is excluded due to authentic ahadith, then we say: likewise, raising the hands at rukūʿ and upon rising from it is also excluded due to the authentic ahadith established for them.”
(Kitāb al-Aḥkām al-Kabīr: 3/276)
Conclusion:The verse of Sūrah al-Nisāʾ (77) has no link with rafʿ al-yadayn. Using it as evidence to negate or abrogate this Sunnah is a false and baseless interpretation. Authentic ahadith clearly establish rafʿ al-yadayn in prayer.
