Raf‘ al-Yadayn at Bowing and Rising from Bowing in Light of Hadith
Taken from Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
What is the ruling on raising the hands (raf‘ al-yadayn) when going into rukūʿ and when rising from it?
Answer:
Raising the hands when going into rukūʿ and when rising from it is a Sunnah, proven by mutawātir aḥādīth.
Hadith Evidences
① ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) reported:
إن 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 وكان لا يفعل ذلك فى السجود
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise his hands up to his shoulders when he began the prayer, when he bowed, and when he rose from bowing. But he did not do so between the prostrations.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 735, 736, 738; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 390]② Abū Qilābah (رحمه الله) narrated:
إنه رأى مالك بن الحويرث رضى الله عنه إذا صلى كبر ورفع يديه، وإذا أراد أن يركع رفع يديه، وإذا رفع رأسه من الركوع رفع يديه، وحدث أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صنع هكذا
“He saw Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith (رضي الله عنه) pray: he said takbīr and raised his hands, when he intended to bow he raised his hands, and when he rose from bowing he raised his hands — and he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did likewise.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 738; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 391]Statements of the Scholars
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī (رحمه الله, 597 AH):
This agreed-upon ḥadīth cannot be rejected. It is also in al-Bukhārī and Muslim from Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما). Around thirty Companions — including ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Abū Mūsā, Abū Qatādah, Sahl ibn Saʿd, Abū Hurayrah, and Anas (رضي الله عنهم) — narrated this Sunnah of raising the hands. It is the view of the majority of Companions and Followers. The opponents have no authentic ḥadīth.
[Refer: Ibn al-Jawzī]
- Ḥāfiẓ Khaṭṭābī (رحمه الله, 388 AH):
The authentic aḥādīth affirming raf‘ al-yadayn at bowing and rising are stronger than the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه). Affirmation is stronger than negation.
[Kashf al-Mushkil: 2/44]
Thus, raf‘ al-yadayn at rukūʿ and upon rising is a confirmed Sunnah, practiced by the Prophet ﷺ and narrated by a large group of Companions.