✦ Clarification of Three Instances of Rafʿ al-Yadayn in
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Page 354
❖ Question
What does Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik say about Rafʿ al-Yadayn (raising the hands) in prayer?
❖ Scholarly Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd:
✦ Clarification Regarding Narrations in Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik
✿ 1. Narration of Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه
The narration of Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith, which affirms Rafʿ al-Yadayn, is not found in Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik. Rather, it is documented in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
✿ 2. Narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
However, Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik does include a narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar regarding Rafʿ al-Yadayn:
Narration:
Mālik narrated from Ibn Shihāb, from Sālim ibn ʿAbdullāh, from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he began the prayer, would raise his hands up to his shoulders. And when he raised his head from Rukūʿ, he would raise them likewise, and would say: “Samiʿa Allāhu liman ḥamidah, Rabbanā wa laka al-ḥamd.” He did not do that during Sujūd.
Source: Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik, p. 13, Ḥadīth: 59 (Narration of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim)
❖ Three Confirmed Instances of Rafʿ al-Yadayn in the Ḥadīth
From the above narration, Rafʿ al-Yadayn is clearly established at three places in prayer:
① At the beginning of the prayer
② Before Rukūʿ
③ After rising from Rukūʿ
➡ These three instances are explicitly stated in Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik.
❖ Comparison with the Narration of Imām al-Bukhārī
The same narration has been recorded by Imām al-Bukhārī in his Ṣaḥīḥ, with identical wording and chain of narration.
➡ There is no difference between the narration recorded by the Imām of Madinah (Imām Mālik) and the Imām of Bukhārā (Imām al-Bukhārī) in both matn (text) and sanad (chain).
Conclusion
The practice of Rafʿ al-Yadayn at three points in the prayer is authentically established in Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik through the narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما. This evidence is reinforced by its agreement with the narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
(Shahādat — December 2001)
