Weak Hadith About Raf al-Yadayn Refuted

✍ Compiled by: Abu Hamzah Salafi

This article is a research-based rebuttal of the attributed narration in which it is claimed that ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:

“I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, with Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه, and with ʿUmar رضي الله عنه; they did not raise their hands (rafʿ al-yadayn) except at the first takbīr.”

This narration is reported in Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī and al-Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Bayhaqī, but the leading ḥadīth authorities themselves (al-Dāraquṭnī, al-Bayhaqī, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and others) declared it severely weak/denounced, even fabricated, and identified its defect as the weakness of the narrator Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī (and his shaykh Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān).

This article includes:

◈ First: the original text of the ḥadīth, then each critique with Arabic quotation + translation + reference
◈ The technical points of chain defect, solitary transmission (tafarrud), reversal of isnād (qalb al-isnād), confusion (ikhtilāṭ), and prompting (talqīn)
◈ Finally: the conclusion that this narration is not usable as evidence, while authentic Sunnah proves rafʿ al-yadayn at multiple positions

◈ The Original Narration (Text & Chain)​

النص:​

1133 – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عُثْمَانَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَحْمَدَ الْحَنَّاطُ، وَعَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ بْنُ عِيسَى بْنِ أَبِي حَيَّةَ، قَالَا: نَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ أَبِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، نَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَابِرٍ، عَنْ حَمَّادٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ:
«صَلَّيْتُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَمَعَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَمَعَ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، فَلَمْ يَرْفَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ إِلَّا عِنْدَ التَّكْبِيرَةِ الْأُولَى فِي افْتِتَاحِ الصَّلَاةِ.»

Translation:​

It is narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
“I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, with Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه, and with ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, and they did not raise their hands except at the first takbīr at the beginning of the prayer.”

Reference:​

Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī (No. 1133); al-Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Bayhaqī (in the chapters of rafʿ al-yadayn).

Chain Note:​

This narration revolves around Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī and Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. Both have severe criticism from the scholars, as detailed below.

◈ Research Analysis of the Narration​

① Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī (d. 807 AH) — Ikhtilāṭ & Talqīn​

Arabic:
«… وفيه محمد بن جابر الحنفي اليمامي، وقد اختلط عليه حديثه، وكان يُلَقَّن فيَتَلَقَّن.»

Translation:
“In this chain is Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī. His ḥadīth became confused, and he used to be prompted and would accept the prompting (i.e., repeat whatever was put into his mouth).”

Reference:

Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid wa Manbaʿ al-Fawāʾid (Bab: Rafʿ al-Yadayn and its rulings)

② al-Ḏhahabī (d. 748 AH) — Weakness of Muḥammad ibn Jābir & Route Instability​

Arabic:
«محمدُ بن جابرٍ ضعيفٌ، وغير حَمَّادٍ يروونه عن إبراهيم عن عبد الله من قوله، والأول فقيل: إن عبد الرحمن لم يسمع من علقمة.»

Translation:
“Muḥammad ibn Jābir is weak. And other than Ḥammād, they narrate it from Ibrāhīm → ʿAbdullāh as a statement of his (mawqūf), not raised (marfūʿ). And regarding the first route, it was said that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (ibn Yazīd) did not hear from ʿAlqamah.”

Reference:

Reference: al-Dhahabī, Tanqīḥ al-Taḥqīq fī Aḥādīth al-Taʿlīq (Bab: Rafʿ)

③ Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH) — Included in al-Mawḍūʿāt; Severe Criticism​

Arabic:
«… هذا حديثٌ لا يصحُّ عن رسولِ الله ﷺ… أمّا حديثُ ابن مسعود ففيه محمد بن جابر. قال يحيى: ليس بشيء. وقال أحمد بن حنبل: لا يُحدَّث عنه إلا شرٌّ منه. وقال الفلاس: متروك الحديث.»

Translation:
“This ḥadīth is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ… As for the narration of Ibn Masʿūd, it contains Muḥammad ibn Jābir. Yaḥyā said: ‘He is nothing.’ Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said: ‘No one narrates from him except someone worse than him.’ And al-Fallās said: ‘Abandoned in ḥadīth.’”

Reference:

Reference: Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿāt

④ Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH) — Ruling: Fabricated; Defect: al-Yamāmī​

Arabic:
«… رواه إسماعيل، حدثنا محمد بن جابر اليمامي، حدثنا حماد… عن ابن مسعود: صليتُ مع النبي ﷺ ومع أبي بكر وعمر… موضوع. آفته اليمامي.»

Translation:
“This narration is fabricated; its defect is Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī.”

Reference:

Reference: al-Suyūṭī, al-Laʾālīʾ al-Maṣnūʿa fī al-Aḥādīth al-Mawḍūʿa

⑤ Imām al-Dāraquṭnī (d. 385 AH) — Tafarrud & Weakness; Other Routes are Mursal​

Arabic:
«… تَفَرَّدَ به محمدُ بنُ جابر وكان ضعيفًا، عن حمادٍ عن إبراهيم، وغيرُ حمادٍ يرويه عن إبراهيم مرسلاً.»

Translation:
“Muḥammad ibn Jābir was alone in narrating it, and he was weak, from Ḥammād from Ibrāhīm. And other than Ḥammād narrate it from Ibrāhīm as mursal.”

Reference:

Reference: Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, note after ḥadīth 1133

⑥ Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Būṣīrī (d. 840 AH) — Muḥammad ibn Jābir is Weak​

Arabic:
«… الذي في السنن من حديثه: “ألا أصلي بكم صلاة رسول الله ﷺ؟ فلم يرفع يديه إلا عند التكبيرة الأولى”؛ محمد بن جابر ضعيف.»

Translation:
“The report found in the Sunan through his route… ‘Shall I not lead you in the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’ then he only raised his hands at the first takbīr—Muḥammad ibn Jābir is weak.”

Reference:

Reference: al-Būṣīrī, Iṭḥāf al-Khiyarah al-Maharah bi Zawāʾid al-Masānīd al-ʿAsharah

⑦ ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrating from his father — Munkar, Strong Rejection​

Arabic:
«ذكرتُ لأبي حديثَ محمدِ بنِ جابر عن حمّاد عن إبراهيم عن علقمة عن عبد الله في الرفع، فقال: هذا ابنُ جابر أيش حديثه؟ هذا حديثٌ منكرٌ، أنكره جدًّا.»

Translation:
“I mentioned to my father the ḥadīth of Muḥammad ibn Jābir from Ḥammād… regarding rafʿ. He said: ‘This Ibn Jābir—what is his ḥadīth? This is a denounced (munkar) ḥadīth; I reject it severely.’”

Reference:

Reference: al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl by Ibn Aḥmad (No. 716)

⑧ Imām al-ʿUqaylī (d. 322 AH) — Counted among His Munkar Narrations​

Arabic:
«… محمد بن جابر اليمامي، له مناكير، منها حديث: صليت مع النبي ﷺ ومع أبي بكر وعمر فلم يرفعوا أيديهم إلا عند الافتتاح…»

Translation:
“Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī has denounced narrations, among them is the report: ‘I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, and they did not raise their hands except at the opening…’”

Reference:

Reference: al-ʿUqaylī, al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr (Biography of Muḥammad ibn Jābir)

⑨ Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿIrāqī (d. 806 AH) — Defect: Muḥammad ibn Jābir​

Arabic:
«[حديث] ابن مسعود: صليت مع النبي ﷺ ومع أبي بكر وعمر فلم يرفعوا أيديهم إلا عند الافتتاح؛ من طريق محمد بن جابر اليمامي، وهو آفته.»

Translation:
“The ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd… is through the route of Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī, and he is its defect.”

Reference:

Reference: al-ʿIrāqī, Tanzīh al-Sharīʿah al-Marfūʿah ʿan al-Akhbār al-Shanīʿah al-Mawḍūʿah (1/75)

⑩ al-Bayhaqī نقلًا عن al-Ḥākim (d. 405 AH) — Reversed Isnād; Not Narrated by Ḥammād’s Famous Students​

Arabic:
«قال الحاكم أبو عبد الله: هذا إسناد مقلوب، لا نعلم أحدًا من أصحاب حماد بن أبي سليمان المشهورين بالأخذ عنه رواه، ولو كان محفوظًا لبادر بروايته أبو حنيفة وسفيان الثوري، إذا كان يوافق مذهبهما. فأما محمد بن جابر بن سيار السحيمي فإنه قد تكلّم فيه أئمة الحديث.»

Translation:
“Al-Ḥākim Abū ʿAbdillāh said: ‘This chain is reversed. We do not know any of the well-known students of Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān who narrated it. If it were preserved, Abū Ḥanīfah and Sufyān al-Thawrī would have hastened to narrate it from their shaykh Ḥammād, since it accords with their view. As for Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sayyār al-Suḥaymī, the ḥadīth imams have spoken strongly against him.’”

Reference:

Reference: al-Bayhaqī, Mukhtaṣar al-Khilāfiyyāt (Bab: Rafʿ al-Yadayn)

⑪ Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) — Disconnected; Not Authentic​

Arabic:
«… وكحديثه الآخر: صليت مع رسول الله ﷺ وأبي بكر وعمر فلم يرفعوا إلا عند افتتاح الصلاة؛ وهو منقطع لا يصح.»

Translation:
“And his other narration: ‘I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar; they did not raise (their hands) except at the opening of prayer’—it is disconnected and not authentic.”

Reference:

Reference: Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Manār al-Munīf fī al-Ṣaḥīḥ wa al-Ḍaʿīf (p. 142)

⑫ Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014 AH) — Mentioned among Fabrications​

Arabic:
«… وكحديثه الآخر: صليت مع رسول الله ﷺ وأبي بكر وعمر فلم يرفعوا إلا عند افتتاح الصلاة؛ وهو منقطع لا يصح.»

Translation:
“And his other narration… is disconnected and not authentic.”

Reference:

Reference: Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿah fī al-Akhbār al-Mawḍūʿah

⑬ Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir al-Maqdisī (d. 507 AH) — In Tadhkirat al-Mawḍūʿāt​

Arabic:
«… حديث ابن مسعود في الرفع؛ فيه محمد بن جابر، ليس بشيء.»

Translation:
“The narration of Ibn Masʿūd on rafʿ contains Muḥammad ibn Jābir; he is nothing.”

Reference:

Reference: Ibn Ṭāhir al-Maqdisī, Tadhkirat al-Mawḍūʿāt (1/27)

⑭ al-Shawkānī (d. 1250 AH) — Fabricated; Accused: Muḥammad ibn Jābir​

Arabic:
«حديث: صليت مع النبي ﷺ ومع أبي بكر وعمر فلم يكونوا يرفعون أيديهم إلا عند افتتاح الصلاة؛ رواه الحاكم عن ابن مسعود مرفوعًا؛ وهو موضوع، والمتهم به محمد بن جابر اليمامي.»

Translation:
“The ḥadīth: ‘I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar; they only raised their hands at the opening’—al-Ḥākim narrated it from Ibn Masʿūd as marfūʿ; it is fabricated, and the accused is Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī.”

Reference:

Reference: al-Shawkānī, al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿah fī al-Aḥādīth al-Mawḍūʿah (p. 59)

◈ Research Conclusion​

① The Core Chain​

Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Yamāmī → Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān → Ibrāhīm → ʿAlqamah → Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه

② Criticism of the Ḥadīth Scholars​

✔ Muḥammad ibn Jābir: weak, confused, abandoned, accepts prompting, “nothing”
✔ Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān: weak in ḥadīth, among the people of opinion, makes mistakes in narration

③ Defects (ʿIlal) of the Narration​

① Tafarrud of Muḥammad ibn Jābir
② مخالفة الثقات: the reliable narrators report it as mursal
③ Qalb al-isnād: as stated by Imām al-Ḥākim
④ Disconnection: as stated by Ibn al-Qayyim and Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī

④ Final Ruling​

◈ Multiple scholars (Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Suyūṭī, Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Shawkānī, Ibn Ṭāhir) declared it fabricated (mawḍūʿ)
◈ Others (Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, al-Dāraquṭnī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Ḏhahabī, al-Būṣīrī) called it munkar / severely weak

◈ Final Summary​

This narration is not authentic; rather it is fabricated/denounced. Authentic Sunnah—through multiple narrations (in al-Bukhārī and Muslim)—establishes that the Prophet ﷺ performed rafʿ al-yadayn at several positions: at the beginning of prayer, when going into rukūʿ, and when rising from rukūʿ. Therefore, using this narration as evidence contradicts the principles of ḥadīth methodology.