❖ Repeating the Words of Duʿāʾ Three Times – 5 Clear Evidences from Authentic Hadiths ❖
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Volume 1, Page 232
Is repeating the words of duʿāʾ three times proven from the purified Sunnah?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
This practice is proven in both Ṣaḥīḥayn (Bukhārī and Muslim), as well as in Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ (Vol. 2, p. 523), narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"O Allah, take hold of (punish) Quraysh."
He repeated this supplication three times.
The narrator adds:
“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ, he would do so three times, and whenever he asked for something, he would ask three times.”
References:
❀ al-Majmaʿ (Vol. 10, p. 151)
❀ Fatḥ al-Bārī (Vol. 11, p. 161)
Here, “making duʿāʾ three times” refers to repeating the words of the duʿāʾ three times, not the act of raising hands three times.
The repetition of raising hands during duʿāʾ is found only once in an authentic Hadith. It is narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Vol. 1, p. 313) in Kitāb al-Janāʾiz, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
"Then the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands three times."
This incident occurred during the visitation of graves.
Duʿāʾ is considered the most virtuous act of worship, as stated in the Hadith reported by Imām Aḥmad and al-Tirmidhī:
"الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ الْعِبَادَةُ"
“Duʿāʾ is worship.”
❀ Worship is based on tawqīf (divinely revealed instruction) and ittibāʿ (following the Prophet ﷺ), not on innovation or personal desire.
Accordingly, justifying collective duʿāʾ after obligatory or Sunnah prayers is not correct — as clarified in previous detailed research.
He said:
"What is authentically transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ after obligatory prayers are the well-known adhkār mentioned in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections, Sunan, and Musnads."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Vol. 22, pp. 512, 514)
He further stated:
"There is no established proof of the Prophet ﷺ making a collective duʿāʾ with the imām and congregation after obligatory prayer.
Had such a thing occurred, the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) would have transmitted it, and the Tābiʿīn and scholars would have recorded it — just as they preserved and transmitted other Hadiths."**
❀ There are approximately 100 authentic Hadiths regarding raising hands during duʿāʾ, as mentioned in Qawāʿid al-Taḥdīth by al-Qāsimī (p. 146).
Zabīdī mentioned in his treatise that raising hands after obligatory prayers is permissible, but:
The Hadiths he quoted are not authentic.
References:
❀ al-Silsilah (Vol. 3, p. 13)
❀ Hayʾat Kibār al-ʿUlamāʾ (Vol. 1, p. 245)
❀ al-Sunan wa al-Mubtadaʿāt (Vol. 1, p. 70)
❀ Zād al-Maʿād (Vol. 1, p. 87)
✔ Repeating the words of duʿāʾ three times is a Sunnah, as proven by multiple authentic narrations.
✔ Raising the hands during duʿāʾ is also established from many Hadiths, but not necessarily three times.
Collective duʿāʾ after obligatory prayers — especially with raised hands — is not supported by authentic evidence.
✔ True worship is based on the Prophet’s practice, not on societal norms or innovations.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Volume 1, Page 232
❖ Question:
Is repeating the words of duʿāʾ three times proven from the purified Sunnah?
❖ Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
❖ Repeating the Words of Duʿāʾ Thrice:
This practice is proven in both Ṣaḥīḥayn (Bukhārī and Muslim), as well as in Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ (Vol. 2, p. 523), narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"O Allah, take hold of (punish) Quraysh."
He repeated this supplication three times.
The narrator adds:
“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ, he would do so three times, and whenever he asked for something, he would ask three times.”
References:
❀ al-Majmaʿ (Vol. 10, p. 151)
❀ Fatḥ al-Bārī (Vol. 11, p. 161)
Here, “making duʿāʾ three times” refers to repeating the words of the duʿāʾ three times, not the act of raising hands three times.❖ Raising Hands Three Times During Duʿāʾ:
The repetition of raising hands during duʿāʾ is found only once in an authentic Hadith. It is narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Vol. 1, p. 313) in Kitāb al-Janāʾiz, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
"Then the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands three times."
This incident occurred during the visitation of graves.❖ The Status of Duʿāʾ:
Duʿāʾ is considered the most virtuous act of worship, as stated in the Hadith reported by Imām Aḥmad and al-Tirmidhī:
"الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ الْعِبَادَةُ"
“Duʿāʾ is worship.”
❀ Worship is based on tawqīf (divinely revealed instruction) and ittibāʿ (following the Prophet ﷺ), not on innovation or personal desire.
Accordingly, justifying collective duʿāʾ after obligatory or Sunnah prayers is not correct — as clarified in previous detailed research.
❖ Clarification from Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله):
He said:
"What is authentically transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ after obligatory prayers are the well-known adhkār mentioned in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections, Sunan, and Musnads."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Vol. 22, pp. 512, 514)
He further stated:
"There is no established proof of the Prophet ﷺ making a collective duʿāʾ with the imām and congregation after obligatory prayer.
Had such a thing occurred, the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) would have transmitted it, and the Tābiʿīn and scholars would have recorded it — just as they preserved and transmitted other Hadiths."**
❖ Hadiths on Raising Hands in Duʿāʾ:
❀ There are approximately 100 authentic Hadiths regarding raising hands during duʿāʾ, as mentioned in Qawāʿid al-Taḥdīth by al-Qāsimī (p. 146).
❖ Is It Permissible to Raise Hands After Obligatory Prayers?
Zabīdī mentioned in his treatise that raising hands after obligatory prayers is permissible, but:
The Hadiths he quoted are not authentic.References:
❀ al-Silsilah (Vol. 3, p. 13)
❀ Hayʾat Kibār al-ʿUlamāʾ (Vol. 1, p. 245)
❀ al-Sunan wa al-Mubtadaʿāt (Vol. 1, p. 70)
❀ Zād al-Maʿād (Vol. 1, p. 87)
❖ Conclusion:
✔ Repeating the words of duʿāʾ three times is a Sunnah, as proven by multiple authentic narrations.
✔ Raising the hands during duʿāʾ is also established from many Hadiths, but not necessarily three times.
Collective duʿāʾ after obligatory prayers — especially with raised hands — is not supported by authentic evidence.✔ True worship is based on the Prophet’s practice, not on societal norms or innovations.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
