The Number of Times Hands Are Raised in Salah
✍ Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
① At Takbīrat al-Taḥrīmah (opening takbīr)
② When going into rukūʿ
③ When rising from rukūʿ
④ When rising for the third rakʿah after the second tashahhud
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raising both hands (up to the ears) when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.”
[Bukhārī: 737; Muslim: 391; Aḥmad: 3/346; Dārimī: 1/285; Bayhaqī: 2/71; Abū Dāwūd: 745; Nasā’ī: 2/123; Ibn Mājah: 859]
“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ stood for prayer, he would raise his hands to the level of his shoulders, then say the takbīr.”
[Bukhārī: 736; Muslim: 390; Muwaṭṭaʾ: 1/75; Aḥmad: 1/147; Dārimī: 1/285; Abū Dāwūd: 721; Ibn Mājah: 858]
“When Ibn ʿUmar (RA) began prayer, he would say the takbīr and raise his hands. He would do the same when bowing, when saying ‘Samiʿa Allahu liman ḥamidah’, and when standing for the third rakʿah. He attributed all of this to the Prophet ﷺ.”
[Bukhārī: 739; Abū Dāwūd: 741; Aḥmad: 2/100; Nasā’ī: 2/122]
Imām Bukhārī mentioned that raising hands during rukūʿ and after rising from rukūʿ is narrated by 17 companions.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/257]
– He authored a treatise titled "Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn", wherein he quoted from Imām al-Ḥasan (RA) and Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl (RA):
“All the companions used to perform rafʿ al-yadayn.”
Imām al-Ḥasan (RA) did not exempt any companion.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/112; Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1/220]
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) of the Ummah on performing rafʿ al-yadayn at the opening takbīr.
As for the other positions, there is ikhtilāf (difference).
[Sharḥ Muslim: 2/330]
Apart from the scholars of Kūfah, the ʿUlamā of all other regions agreed upon the validity of raising hands during and after rukūʿ.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/257]
– According to the majority of companions and successors (ṣaḥābah & tābiʿīn), raising hands is prescribed not just at takbīrat al-taḥrīmah, but also before rukūʿ, after rukūʿ, and upon standing for the third rakʿah.
– Supported by:
Imām al-Shāfiʿī said:
“This practice has been reported by so many companions that perhaps no other narration has been transmitted in greater number.”
– They consider raising hands only at takbīrat al-taḥrīmah to be Sunnah.
– For rukūʿ and after rukūʿ, they either see it as non-Sunnah, abrogated, or optional.
References:
– [Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī: post-ḥadīth 256]
– [Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/113]
– [Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/692]
– [Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh: 2/871]
– [al-Umm by al-Shāfiʿī: 1/216]
– [al-Ḥāwī: 2/116]
– [al-Mabsūṭ: 1/14]
– [Rawḍat aṭ-Ṭālibīn: 1/338]
– [Kashshāf al-Qināʿ: 1/346]
– [Sharḥ Muslim: 2/331]
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn in all four positions of the prayer is firmly established through numerous authentic narrations.
✔ The practice is supported by the majority of the companions and classical scholars.
✔ Claims of abrogation or restriction to takbīrat al-taḥrīmah only are unsupported by strong ḥadīth evidence and go against the collective practice of early Muslims.
✍ Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Points in Salah Where Rafʿ al-Yadayn (Raising Hands) Is Performed:
① At Takbīrat al-Taḥrīmah (opening takbīr)
② When going into rukūʿ
③ When rising from rukūʿ
④ When rising for the third rakʿah after the second tashahhud
✿ Authentic Evidence from the Companions
➊ Narration of Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith (RA):
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raising both hands (up to the ears) when he began the prayer, when he bowed for rukūʿ, and when he raised his head from rukūʿ.”
[Bukhārī: 737; Muslim: 391; Aḥmad: 3/346; Dārimī: 1/285; Bayhaqī: 2/71; Abū Dāwūd: 745; Nasā’ī: 2/123; Ibn Mājah: 859]
➋ Narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA):
“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ stood for prayer, he would raise his hands to the level of his shoulders, then say the takbīr.”
[Bukhārī: 736; Muslim: 390; Muwaṭṭaʾ: 1/75; Aḥmad: 1/147; Dārimī: 1/285; Abū Dāwūd: 721; Ibn Mājah: 858]
➌ Report via Nāfiʿ from Ibn ʿUmar (RA):
“When Ibn ʿUmar (RA) began prayer, he would say the takbīr and raise his hands. He would do the same when bowing, when saying ‘Samiʿa Allahu liman ḥamidah’, and when standing for the third rakʿah. He attributed all of this to the Prophet ﷺ.”
[Bukhārī: 739; Abū Dāwūd: 741; Aḥmad: 2/100; Nasā’ī: 2/122]
✿ Scholarly Endorsements and Commentary
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (RA):
Imām Bukhārī mentioned that raising hands during rukūʿ and after rising from rukūʿ is narrated by 17 companions.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/257]
Imām al-Bukhārī (RA):
– He authored a treatise titled "Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn", wherein he quoted from Imām al-Ḥasan (RA) and Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl (RA):
“All the companions used to perform rafʿ al-yadayn.”
Imām al-Ḥasan (RA) did not exempt any companion.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/112; Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1/220]
Imām al-Nawawī (RA):
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) of the Ummah on performing rafʿ al-yadayn at the opening takbīr.
As for the other positions, there is ikhtilāf (difference).
[Sharḥ Muslim: 2/330]
Muḥammad ibn Naṣr al-Marwazī (RA):
Apart from the scholars of Kūfah, the ʿUlamā of all other regions agreed upon the validity of raising hands during and after rukūʿ.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/257]
Majority Position (Jumhūr):
– According to the majority of companions and successors (ṣaḥābah & tābiʿīn), raising hands is prescribed not just at takbīrat al-taḥrīmah, but also before rukūʿ, after rukūʿ, and upon standing for the third rakʿah.
– Supported by:
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī (RA)
- Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (RA)
- Imām Mālik (RA) (in several narrations)
Imām al-Shāfiʿī said:
“This practice has been reported by so many companions that perhaps no other narration has been transmitted in greater number.”
Ḥanafī and Mālikī View (in some narrations):
– They consider raising hands only at takbīrat al-taḥrīmah to be Sunnah.
– For rukūʿ and after rukūʿ, they either see it as non-Sunnah, abrogated, or optional.
References:
– [Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī: post-ḥadīth 256]
– [Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/113]
– [Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/692]
– [Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh: 2/871]
– [al-Umm by al-Shāfiʿī: 1/216]
– [al-Ḥāwī: 2/116]
– [al-Mabsūṭ: 1/14]
– [Rawḍat aṭ-Ṭālibīn: 1/338]
– [Kashshāf al-Qināʿ: 1/346]
– [Sharḥ Muslim: 2/331]
Conclusion:
✔ Rafʿ al-Yadayn in all four positions of the prayer is firmly established through numerous authentic narrations.
✔ The practice is supported by the majority of the companions and classical scholars.
✔ Claims of abrogation or restriction to takbīrat al-taḥrīmah only are unsupported by strong ḥadīth evidence and go against the collective practice of early Muslims.
