Raising the hands (rafa’ al-yadayn) when going into ruku and when rising from ruku is proven by mutawatir (widely transmitted) hadiths.
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 748 AH) described raising the hands as a “sunnah mutawatirah” (a widely transmitted sunnah).
Allama al-Zarkashi writes:
وفي دعوي أن أحاديث الرفع فيما عدا التحريم لم تبلغ مبلغ التواتر نظر، وكلام البخاري في كتاب رفع اليدين مصرح ببلوغھا ذلك.
“The claim that the hadiths on raising the hands, other than at the takbir al-tahrima, have not reached the level of tawatur is open to question; the statement of Imam al-Bukhari in the book (Juz’ Raf’ al-Yadayn) explicitly indicates that they reached that level.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وفي دعوي ابن كثير أن حديث رفع اليدين في أول الصلاة دون حديث رفع اليدين عندالركوع متواتر نظر، فان كل من روي الأول روي الثاني الا اليسير.
“The claim of Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) that the hadith of raising the hands at the beginning of the prayer is mutawatir, while the hadith of raising the hands at ruku is not, is open to question; rather, except for one or two narrators, every narrator who related the first raising of the hands also related the second.”
Those who prohibit raising the hands have no marfu’, sahih and specific proof. Below is an impartial review of the Hanafi arguments.
Proof No. 1
Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
أنه كان يرفع يديه في أول تكبيرة، ثم لا يعود.
“He used to raise his hands at the first takbir, and then he did not repeat it.”
Commentary:
➊ This narration is “da’if” (weak).
In it is Sufyan al-Thawri, who is unanimously agreed to be a “mudallis” (one who commits tadlis). In all of its chains he narrates with “an” (عن), and a clear statement of hearing is not established. It is an established principle that when a “thiqah mudallis” narrates a hadith with the words “an” or “qala” outside of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, that hadith is “da’if”.
Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 181 AH), a narrator of this hadith, asked Imam Hushaym ibn Bashir (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 183 AH): why do you commit tadlis? He replied:
ان كبيريك قد دلسا الأعمش وسفيان.
“The two great imams before you, Imam al-A’mash and Imam Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on them both), also committed tadlis.”
Imam al-Ayni, a Hanafi, writes:
سفيان من المدلسين، والمدلس لا يحتج بعنعنته الا أن يثبت سماعه من طريق آخر.
“Sufyan is among the mudallis narrators, and the ‘an’an of a mudallis narrator is not taken as proof, unless his hearing is established through another chain.”
➋ This “da’if” narration is general, whereas the hadiths about raising the hands when going into ruku and rising from ruku are specific; the specific is given precedence over the general, so this hadith cannot be proof for the establishment of not raising the hands.
➌ Let those who prohibit raising the hands state why, while disregarding this hadith, they themselves raise the hands in witr and Eid prayers other than at the first takbir?
The hadith of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in the view of the muhaddithin
① Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لم يثبت عندي حديث ابن مسعود.
“In my view, the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud is not established.”
② Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him), after mentioning this hadith, says:
وليس ھو بصحيح علي ھذا اللفظ.
“This hadith is not sahih with these words.”
③ Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ھذا خطأ.
“This is an error.”
④ Imam al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وليس قول من قال: ثم لم يعد محفوظا.
“The narration of the narrator who said the words ‘he did not raise his hands again’ is not preserved.”
⑤ Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ھو في الحقيقة أضعف شئ يعول عليه، لأن له عللا تبطله.
“In reality, this is the weakest thing that one can rely upon, because it has several defects that render it baseless.”
Note:
If someone says that Imam al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) graded this hadith as “hasan”, the reply is that the reliable books of the Hanafi school state:
“Ibn Dihya, in his book al-‘Ilm al-Mashhur, said that Imam al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him), in his book, graded as “hasan” many hadiths with “mawdu'” (fabricated) and “da’if” chains.”
Proof No. 2
Sayyidina Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
خرج علينا رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم، فقال: مالي أراكم رافعي أيديكم كأنھا أذناب خيل شمس؟ اسكنوا في الصلاة!
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us and said, “What is wrong with me that I see you raising your hands as if they were the tails of unruly horses? Be still in prayer!”
Commentary:
➊ In this “Sahih” hadith there is no negation of raising the hands when going into ruku and when rising from ruku. Rather, the scholars of hadith are unanimous that it relates to the tashahhud and the salam, not to standing. The same narration of Tamim bin Tarafah appears in abridged form in Musnad Imam Ahmad
, in which the words “wahum qu’ud” (while the Companions were sitting in the tashahhud) occur. This is made clear and confirmed by another narration, in the words of Sayyidina Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him):
كنا اذا صلينا مع رسول الله صلی الله عليه وسلم قلنا: السلام عليكم ورحمه الله، السلام عليكم ورحمة الله، وأشار بيده الي الجانبين، فقال رسول الله صلی الله عليه وسلم: علام تؤمون بأيديكم كأنھا أذناب خيل شمس؟ انما يكفي أحدكم أن يضع يده علي فخذه، ثم يسلم علي أخيه من علي يمينه وشماله.
“When we prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (in congregation), we would say, ‘As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, as-salamu alaykum wa rahmah,’ and he gestured with his hand to both sides. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Why do you gesture with your hands as if they were the tails of unruly horses? It is sufficient for one of you to place his hand on his thigh, then give salam to his brother on his right and on his left.'”
This narration also clarifies the meaning of the earlier one, and the understanding of the muhaddithun is, as they say, gold on top of gold. Therefore, it is not befitting for the people of truth to claim that this hadith abrogates raising the hands; no muhaddith has presented this hadith as evidence for not raising the hands. How can a believer accept that when the Prophet ﷺ himself used to do an action, and then he saw his Companions doing the same action, he compared it to the movement of unruly horses’ tails?
Regarding this hadith, the Deobandi “Shaykh al-Hind” Mahmud al-Hasan Deobandi says: “Answering with the hadith of the tails of horses is not correct in terms of fairness, because it is about salam.”
Regarding this hadith, Janab Muhammad Taqi Usmani Hayati Deobandi says:
“But in fairness, the Hanafi argument from this hadith is doubtful and weak, because in the presence of the explicit mention of the time of salam in the narration of Ibn al-Qibtiyyah, the apparent and immediate meaning is that this hadith of Sayyidina Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) concerns raising at the time of salam. Treating the two hadiths as separate, when both have the same narrator and nearly the same text, is not free from distance. The truth is that it is one hadith and it concerns raising at the time of salam. The route of Ibn al-Qibtiyyah is detailed and the other is brief and general, so the second route should be understood in terms of the first. Perhaps this is the reason why Hadrat Anwar Shah Sahib Kashmiri, may Allah illuminate his grave, did not mention this hadith among the Hanafi evidences.”
“The famous Hanafi, Imam Ibn Abi al-Izz (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 792 AH), writes about this hadith…:
وما استدل به من حديث جابر بن سمرة رضي الله عنه قال: خرج علينا رسول الله ﷺ فقال: مالي أراكم رافعي أيديكم كأنھا أذناب خيل شمس؟ اسكنوا في الصلاة! رواه مسلم، وأن الأمر بالسكون في الصلاة ينافي الرفع عندالركوع والرفع منه لا يقوي، لأنه قد جاء في رواية أخري لمسلم عنه، قال: صلينا مع رسول الله ﷺ، فكنا اذا سلمنا، قلنا بأيدينا: السلام عليكم، فنظر الينا رسول الله ﷺ، فقال: ما لكم تشيرون بأيديكم كأنھا أذناب خيل شمس، اذا سلم أحدكم فليلتفت الي صاحبه، ولا يؤمي بيده۔ وأيضا فلا نسلم أن الأمر بالسكون في الصلا ينافي الرفع عند الركوع والرفع منه، لأن الأمر بالسكون ليس المراد منه ترك الحركة في الصلاة مطلقا، بل الحركة المنافية للصلاة بدليل شرع الحركة للركوع والسجود ورفع اليدين عند تكبيرة الافتتاح وتكبير القنوت وتكبيرات العيدين، فان قيل: خرج ذلك بدليل، قيل: وكذلك خرج الرفع عند الركوع والرفع منه بدليل، فعلم أن المراد منه الاشارة بالسلام باليد.
As for what is cited from the Sahih Muslim hadith of Sayyidina Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade raising the hands like the tails of unruly horses and ordered stillness in prayer, and the statement that the command to stillness in prayer contradicts raising the hands at ruku and when rising from ruku, is not a strong point, because in another narration of Sahih Muslim from Jabir himself, it is: We (the Companions) used to pray with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (in congregation); when we gave salam, we would say ‘As-salamu alaykum’ with our hands (gesturing); the Noble Messenger ﷺ looked at us and said, ‘What is wrong with you that you gesture with your hands as if they were the tails of unruly horses? When one of you gives salam, let him turn to his companion (beside him) and not gesture with the hand.’
Likewise, we do not accept that the command to stillness in prayer negates raising the hands at ruku and when rising from ruku, because the meaning of the command to stillness is not that all movement in prayer be completely abandoned, but the negation of the movement that is contrary to prayer. The proof is that raising the hands is prescribed with ruku, sujud, takbir tahrimah, the takbir of qunut and the takbirat of the two Eids (that too is movement).
If someone says that this movement has been excluded from the prohibition by evidence, then the same answer will be given: the raising at ruku and when rising from ruku has also been excluded from the prohibition by evidence.
It is known that what is meant by this (the Sahih Muslim hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him)) is gesturing with the hand at the time of salam.”
After such clarification, if anyone still presents this hadith against the beloved Sunnah of raising the hands of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, then it is a pity on him, for he speaks such distant and strange things based on ignorance!
Hafiz Ibn al-Mulaqqin (may Allah have mercy on him) (723–804 AH) writes about this hadith:
وھو حديث جابر بن سمرة، فجعله معارضا لما قدمناه من أقبح الجھالات لسنة سيدنا رسول الله ﷺ، لأنه لم يرد في رفع الأيدي في الركوع والرفع منه، وانما كانوا يرفعون أيديھم في حالة السلام من الصلاة ويشيرون بھا الي الجانبين، يريدون بذلك السلام علي من علي الجانبين، وھذا لا اختلاف فيه بين أھل الحديث، ومن له أدني اختلاط بأھله، وبرھان ذلك أن مسلم بن الحجاج رواه في صحيحه من طريقين.
“It is the hadith of Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him). To make it contrary to our presented narrations (raising of the hands) is the most ugly ignorance of the Sunnah of our Noble Messenger ﷺ, because this hadith is not about going into ruku and rising from ruku. The real matter is that the Companions, at the time of turning away from prayer with salam, would raise their hands and gesture to both sides; by this they intended to give salam. There is no disagreement about this among the muhaddithun and those who have even a slight association with them. The proof of this is that Imam Muslim narrated this hadith in his Sahih with two chains…”
Hafiz Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), commentator of Muslim (d. 676 AH), writes:
وأما حديث جابر بن سمرة، فاحتجاجھم به من أعجب الأشياء، وأقبح أنواع الجھالة بالسنة، لأن الحديث لم يرد في رفع الأيدي في الركوع والرفع منه، ولكنھم كانوا يرفعون أيديھم في حالة السلام من الصلاة ويشيرون بھا الي الجانبين، يريدون بذلك السلام علي من عن الجانبين، وھذا لا خلاف فيه بين أھل الحديث ومن له أدني اختلاط بأھل الحديث، ويبينه أن مسلم بن الحجاج رحمه الله رواه في صحيحه من طريقين.
“As for the hadith of Sayyidina Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), their (the Hanafis’) use of it as evidence is a great wonder and the most ugly example of ignorance of the Sunnah of the Messenger. This is because the hadith is not about raising the hands at going into ruku and rising from it, but rather the Companions, at the time of turning away from prayer with salam, would raise their hands and gesture with them to both sides; their intention was to give salam to both sides. There is no disagreement about this among the muhaddithun and those who have even a slight connection with them. This is clarified by the fact that Imam Muslim bin al-Hajjaj (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this hadith in his Sahih with two chains.”
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 354 AH) set up a chapter on this hadith thus:
ذكر الخبر المقتضي للفظة المختصرة التي تقدم ذكرنا لھا، بأن القوم انما بالسكون في الصلاة عند الاشارة بالتسليم دون رفع اليدين عند الركوع.
“Mention of the hadith which requires that the abridged wording mentioned earlier be understood as meaning that the Companions were commanded to stillness only in prayer when gesturing the salam, and not when raising the hands at ruku.”
The Amir al-Mu’minin fil-Hadith, Faqih al-Ummah, Sayyidina Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 256 AH), writes about this hadith of Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him):
فانما كان ھذا التشھد، لا في القيام، كان يسلم يعضھم علي بعض، فنھي النبي ﷺ عن رفع الأيدي في التشھد، ولا يحتج بھذا من لا حظ من العلم، ھذا معروف مشھور، لا اختلاف فيه، ولو كان كما ذھب اليه لكان رفع الأيدي في أول التكبيرة وأيضا تكبيرات صلاة العيدين منھيا عنھا، لأنه لم يستثن رفعا دون رفع، وقد بينه حديث.
“That hadith was about the tashahhud, not about standing. The Companions (while raising their hands) would give salam to one another, so the Prophet ﷺ forbade raising the hands in the tashahhud. No one who has been granted some share of knowledge would take evidence from this hadith for the prohibition of raising the hands; this is well known and famous, with no disagreement about it. If the matter were as he claimed, then raising the hands at the first takbir and the takbirat of the Eid would also have had to be forbidden, because (in this hadith) the Prophet ﷺ did not exempt any occasion of raising the hands. Then (another) hadith has also clarified this.”
➋ If raising the hands contradicts stillness in prayer, then why is raising the hands done at the start of prayer, and also in the witr and the Eid prayers? The raising at the start of prayer is part of the prayer, as narrated from Sayyidina Malik bin Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him): كان اذا كبر رفع يديه. “When the Prophet ﷺ said Allahu Akbar, he would raise his hands.”
It is agreed that the prayer begins with the takbir tahrimah.
Summary:
The hadith of Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) is, without disagreement, related to salam. Those who do not raise the hands on this basis are, according to Imam Bukhari, Hafiz Nawawi and Hafiz Ibn al-Mulaqqin (may Allah have mercy on them), ignorant, and according to Mahmud al-Hasan Deobandi and Taqi Usmani Deobandi, unjust.
Proof No. 3
Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates:
رأيت رسول الله ﷺ، اذا افتتح الصلاة رفع يديه حذو منكبيه واذا أراد أن يركع وبعد ما يرفع رأسه من الركوع فلا يرفع ولا بين السجدتين.
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: when he began the prayer, he would raise his hands level with his shoulders… and when he went into ruku and after raising his head from ruku, he did not raise his hands.”
Commentary:
➊ Only someone who is shameless and guilty of academic dishonesty would present this hadith as proof of not raising the hands. No muhaddith has ever presented this hadith as proof for not raising the hands.
In fact, the words “لا يرفعھما” were connected to the following words “بين السجدتين“. The original reads: “ولا يرفعهما بين السجدتين” — “and he did not raise them between the two prostrations.”
Some people have tried to attach these words to the preceding text by dropping the waw at their beginning, yet this waw is present in other manuscripts of Musnad Abi Awanah.
➋ From the narrator of this report, Imam Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him), six of his trustworthy students relate this same report with the words “and he did not raise his hands between the two prostrations”.
➌ Imam Abu Awanah (may Allah have mercy on him) himself states that some narrators have related the words ”ولا يرفعهما بين السجدتين“, while the meaning is one, namely that he did not raise his hands between the two prostrations.
➍ Imam Abu Awanah (may Allah have mercy on him) has set up a chapter on this hadith as follows:
بيان رفع اليدين في افتتاح الصلاة قبل التكبير بحذاء منكبييه وللركوع ولرفع رأسه من الركوع، وانه لا يرفع بين السجدتين.
“The chapter on raising the hands at the beginning of the prayer before the takbir, for ruku and for raising the head from ruku, and the explanation that he did not raise them between the two prostrations.”
How is it possible that a muhaddith sets up a chapter proving raising the hands and then brings a hadith that negates raising the hands? This is like a goldsmith displaying a meat and vegetable board in his shop.
➎ Imam Abu Awanah (may Allah have mercy on him) himself explains that the reports of Imam Shafi’i and Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on them both) in which raising the hands at the time of going into ruku and raising the head is proven, are like this report; therefore this hadith is a top-rank proof for the establishment of raising the hands.
Proof No. 4
Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates:
رأيت رسول الله صلی الله عليه وسلم، اذا افتتح الصلاة رفع يديه حذو منكبيه واذا أراد أن يركع وبعد ما يرفع رأسه من الركوع فلا يرفع ولا بين السجدتين.
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: when he began the prayer, he would raise his hands level with his shoulders, and when he intended to go into ruku and when he raised his head from ruku, he did not raise his hands, nor did he do so between the two prostrations.”
Commentary:
Taking proof of not raising the hands from this hadith is contrary to academic honesty, because the copy of Musnad al-Humaydi from which this report is cited is a fabricated copy, published with the research of Habib al-Rahman A’zami Deobandi.
We are astonished that two early, very fine and reliable manuscripts are set aside: the Zahiriyya manuscript of 603 AH, whose copyist is the muhaddith Ahmad ibn Abd al-Khaliq, and the second Zahiriyya manuscript of 689 AH, whose copyist is Ahmad ibn Nadr al-Daquqi. Instead, reliance has been placed on a distorted copy in which not a single page is free of errors.
This same hadith of Ibn Umar from Musnad al-Humaydi is present in al-Musnad al-Mustakhraj ‘ala Sahih al-Imam Muslim by Abu Nu’aym al-Isbahani
with the following words: “On the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: when he began the prayer, he would raise his hands level with his shoulders, and when he intended to go into ruku and after raising his head from ruku, and he would not raise them between the two prostrations,” the wording being that of al-Humaydi.
That is, Imam Abu Nu’aym (may Allah have mercy on him) has narrated this report with the words of Imam al-Humaydi, but in it there is an affirmation of raising the hands when going into ruku and when raising the head from ruku. This report is a very powerful proof against Habib al-Rahman A’zami sahib. No muhaddith or Hanafi imam, before these Deobandis, presented this report as proof for not raising the hands. Why? Even though Musnad al-Humaydi has always been in circulation in every era.
It is thus established that the hadith of Musnad al-Humaydi is a powerful proof for the affirmation of raising the hands, not its negation.
Proof No. 5
Sayyidina Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
ان رسول الله ﷺ كان اذا افتح الصلاة رفع يديه الي قريب من أذنيه، ثم لا يعود.
“Verily, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he began the prayer, would raise his hands up to near his ears, and then he would not repeat it.”
Commentary:
➊ Its chain is “da’if” (weak).
There is a consensus and agreement among the hadith scholars who are memorisers (huffaz) on the “weakness” of this hadith. Its narrator Yazid bin Abi Ziyad is, according to the majority, “da’if” (weak) and “sayyi’ al-hifz” (poor in memory); moreover he is a “mudallis” (concealer of defects) and a “mukhtalit” (confused in later years), and he also accepted talqin (being taught narrations).
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
ضعيف، كبر، فتغير، وصار يتلقن وكان شيعيا.
“He is a weak narrator; in his old age his memory deteriorated and he began to accept talqin; he was also a Shi’i.”
He further writes:
والجمھور علي تضعيف حديثه.
The majority of hadith scholars consider his hadith weak.
Busiri writes:
يزيد بن أبي زياد أخرج له مسلم في المتابعات وضعفه الجمھور.
“Yazid bin Abi Ziyad’s hadith was narrated by Imam Muslim in the mutaba’at (supporting narrations), and the majority has declared him weak.”
Imam al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لا يخرج منه في الصحيح، ضعيف، يخطئ كثيرا.
“No hadith of his will be narrated in any authentic book; he is weak and used to make many mistakes.”
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وليس ھو بالمتقن، فلذا لم يحتج به الشيخان.
“He is not a firm (meticulous) narrator, and for this reason the two Shaykhs
did not take proof from him.”
He is not a narrator of Sahih Muslim; Imam Muslim narrated from him only in conjunction (muqaranan) with others.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ولم يكن يزيد بن أبي زياد بالحافظ، ليس بذالك.
“Yazid bin Abi Ziyad was not a memoriser (hafiz); he was not fit to narrate hadith.”
Imam Abu Hatim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بالقوي.
“He was not strong.”
Imam Abu Zur’a al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لين، يكتب حديثه، ولا يحتج به.
“He is a weak narrator; his hadith is written down, but it is not taken as proof.”
Imam al-Jowzjani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
سمعتھم يضعفون حديثه.
“I heard the hadith scholars declaring his hadith weak.”
Imam al-Nasa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بالقوي.
“He is not strong.”
Imam Yahya bin Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ولا يحتج بحديث يزيد بن أبي زياد.
“A hadith of Yazid bin Abi Ziyad is not taken as proof.”
Imam Waki’ (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بشئ.
“He (in hadith) is nothing.”
Imam Ali bin al-Madini (may Allah have mercy on him) also declared him “da’if”.
Imam Shu’bah (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
كان يزيد بن ابي زياد رفاعا.
“Yazid bin Abi Ziyad was a rafa’ (one who turns mawquf narrations into marfu’).”
Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ارم به.
“Throw it away (abandon it).”
Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ويزيد من شيعة أھل الكوفة، مع ضعفه يكتب حديثه.
“Yazid is among the Shi’a of the people of Kufa; along with his weakness, his hadith is written down.”
Therefore, the saying of Imam al-Ajli
and Imam Ibn Sa’d
that he is “thiqah” (trustworthy), and Imam Ibn Shahin’s mention of him in al-Thiqat
, are not worthy of consideration in the face of the majority’s declaration of weakness.
Moreover, the statement of Ahmad bin Salih al-Misri regarding his authentication is not established.
In sum:
This hadith is “da’if” by the consensus of the hadith scholars; along with its weakness, Yazid bin Abi Ziyad also narrated it after his confusion (ikhtilat).
➋ This narration, along with being weak, is also general (‘amm), whereas the evidence for raising the hands at bowing (ruku’) is specific (khass); therefore the specific will be given precedence over the general.
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) writes about this hadith:
ھذا خبر عول عليه أھل العراق في نفي رفع اليدين في الصلاة عندالركوع وعند رفع الرأس منه، وليس في الخبر: ثم لم يعد، وھذه الزيادة لقنھا أھل الكوفة يزيد بن أبي زياد في آخر عمره، فتلقن، كما قال سفيان بن عيينه: انه سمعه قديما بمكة يحدث بھذا الحديث باسقاط ھذه اللفظة، ومن لم يكن العلم صناعته لا يذكر له الاحتجاج بما يشبه ھذا من الأخبار الواھية.
“This is the hadith on which the people of Iraq relied for negating raising the hands when going into ruku’ and when raising the head from it in the prayer, whereas the hadith does not contain the words ”ثم لم يعد.“ (he did not repeat it). This addition was taught to Yazid bin Abi Ziyad in his last years by the people of Kufa, and he accepted it. Just as Imam Sufyan bin Uyayna reports, he heard him narrate this very hadith in Makkah in an earlier period without these words. A person who is not an expert in the science of hadith is not right to cite such weak narrations as evidence.”
Khatib al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ذكر ترك العود الي الرفع ليس بثابت عن النبي ﷺ، فكان يزيد بن أبي زياد يروي ھذا الحديث قديما ولا يذكره، ثم تغير وساء حفظه فلقنه الكوفيون ذلك، فتلقنه ووصله بمتن الحديث.
(After raising the hands at the takbir of commencement) Abandoning raising the hands again is not established from the Prophet ﷺ. Yazid bin Abi Ziyad used to narrate this hadith at first, but he did not mention these words; then his memory deteriorated, and the people of Kufa taught him these words, he accepted them and joined them to the text.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
واتفق الحفاظ علي أن قوله: ثم لم يعد، مدرج في الخبر من قول يزيد بن أبي زياد.
“The memorising hadith scholars are agreed that the words thumma lam ya’ud (then he did not repeat it) in this hadith are mudraj (inserted), and they are Yazid bin Abi Ziyad’s own statement.”
Proof No. 6
Sayyidina Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
رأيت رسول الله ﷺ رفع يديه حين افتتح الصلاة، ثم لم يرفعھما حتي انصرف.
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: when he began the prayer he raised his hands, then he did not raise them again until he finished (turned to salam).”
Commentary:
Its chain is weak.
Its narrator Ibn Abi Layla is, according to the majority, “da’if” (weak).
Regarding this hadith:
Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ھذا الحديث ليس بصحيح.
“This hadith is not sahih.”
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ابن أبي ليلي كان سيء الحفظ.
“Ibn Abi Layla was one with poor memory.”
Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ومحمد بن عبدالرحمن بن أبي ليلي لا يحتج بحديثه، وھو أسوأ حالا عند أھل المعرفة بالحديث من يزيد بن أبي زياد.
“The hadith of Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla is not taken as proof, and his condition among the hadith scholars was worse than that of Yazid bin Abi Ziyad.”
Proof No. 7
Sayyidna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
كان رسول الله ﷺ اذا افتتح الصلاة رفع يديه حتي يحاذي منكبيه، لا يعود يرفعھما حتي يسلم من صلاته.
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began the prayer, he would raise his hands up to his shoulders, and he would not raise them again until he finished his prayer with the salam.”
Commentary:
This chain is the most severely “da’if” (weak). In it, Abu Hanifa Nu’man bin Thabit is “da’if” by the consensus of the muhaddithin. No authentic (sahih) chain from any trustworthy imam contains even the slightest word of praise (tawthiq) for him. The one who makes a claim must provide evidence.
Proof No. 8
Sayyidna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
صليت مع النبي ﷺ ومع أبي بكر و مع عمر، فلم يرفعوا أيديھم الا عند التكبيرة الأولي في افتتاح الصلاة.
“I prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr and Umar, and they raised their hands only at the first takbir at the beginning of the prayer.”
Commentary:
This narration is the most severely “da’if”, because
➊ Its narrator Muhammad bin Jabir al-Yamami is “da’if” according to the majority of the muhaddithin.
Hafiz al-Haythami says:
وھو ضعيف عند الجمھور.
This is “da’if” according to the majority of the muhaddithin.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imam Bukhari, Imam Yahya bin Mu’in, Imam Amr bin Ali al-Fallas, Imam Nasa’i, Imam Jozjani, Imam Daraqutni and others (may Allah have mercy on them) have called him “majruh” and “da’if”.
Imam Daraqutni, after mentioning this hadith, writes:
تفرد به محمد بن جابر اليمامي وكان ضعيفا.
“Muhammad bin Jabir al-Yamami is alone in narrating it, and he was weak.”
Imam Ahl al-Sunnah Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ھذا ابن جابر ايش حديثه؟ ھذا حديث منكر، أنكره جدا.
“This is Muhammad bin Jabir. What is his hadith? This is a munkar hadith; I consider it extremely munkar.”
Imam Uqayli (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لا يتابع محمد بن جابر علي ھذا الحديث ولا علي عامة حديثه.
“Muhammad bin Jabir has not been followed in this hadith, nor in his general narrations.”
Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) has called its chain “da’if”.
Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi says:
ھذا حديث لا يصح عن رسول الله ﷺ.
“This hadith is not authentically established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وحديثه عن حماد، فيه اضطراب.
“His hadith from Hammad bin Abi Sulayman is mudtarib (inconsistent).”
This narration is also narrated by him from his teacher Hammad, therefore the criticism is explicit (jarh mufassar).
Note:
Muhammad bin Jabir al-Yamami says:
سرق أبوحنيفة كتب حماد مني.
“Abu Hanifa stole the books of Hammad bin Abi Sulayman from me.”
Now a strange confusion arises: if Muhammad bin Jabir al-Yamami is “thiqah”, then the accusation of theft falls on Imam Sahib; and if we save Imam Sahib, then we must give up this narration!
➋ If this hadith is sahih, then why do some people perform raising of the hands in qunut of witr and in the two Eids?
➌ This narration, besides being da’if, is general (‘amm), whereas the evidences for raising the hands when going into ruku and when rising from ruku are specific (khass). Therefore the specific is given precedence over the general. Some people are unable to understand even this much!
➍ Raising the hands by Sayyidna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) is established through a sahih chain.
Proof No. 9
قال الامام ابن أبي شيبة: حدثنا ابن فضيل عن عطاء عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس قال: ترفع الأيدي في سبعة مواطن: اذا قام الي الصلاة، واذا رأي البيت، وعلي الصفا والمروة، وفي عرفات، وفي جمع وعند الجمار.
Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that raising of the hands is done in seven places: when one stands for the prayer, when one sees the House of Allah, on Safa and Marwah, at Arafat, at Muzdalifah, and near the jamarat.
Commentary:
➊ The chain of this statement of Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is “da’if”, because Ata bin al-Sa’ib (hasan al-hadith) was “mukhtalit” (confused in later life), and Ibn Fudayl narrated from him after his confusion.
Imam Yahya bin Mu’in (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Ata bin al-Sa’ib, the narrator, was “mukhtalit”.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi
and Imam Daraqutni
(may Allah have mercy on them) have described him as “mukhtalit”.
Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi says:
وما روي عنه ابن فضيل، ففيه غلط واضطراب.
“Whatever Ibn Fudayl has narrated from Ata bin al-Sa’ib contains errors and inconsistency.”
This is an explicit criticism (jarh mufassar), so the chain is “da’if”. This statement also makes no mention of raising the hands in qunut of witr or in the Eids; why is it done?
➋ Abu Hamza (Imran bin Abi Ata al-Qassab, thiqah according to the majority) says:
رأيت ابن عباس يرفع يديه اذا افتتح الصلاة واذا ركع واذا رفع رأسه من الركوع.
“I saw Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) raising his hands when beginning the prayer, when going into ruku, and when raising his head from ruku.”
Two things are established from this narration:
[a] Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) held the view of raising the hands in the prayer.
[b] His (Ibn Abbas’s) raising of the hands after the death of the Prophet ﷺ is clear evidence that it is not abrogated.
Benefit:
This narration is also narrated in a marfu’ form, but its chain too is “da’if”. In it, the narrator Ibn Abi Layla is, according to the majority of muhaddithin:
ضعيف، سيء الحفظ.
“Weak, of poor memory.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
ضعيف، سيء الحفظ.
He is “da’if” and has poor memory.
Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:
محمد بن عبدالرحمن بن أبي ليلي سيء الحفظ، لا يحتج به عند أكثرھم.
Ibn Abi Layla had poor memory and, according to most muhaddithin, is not acceptable as evidence.
Imam Tahawi al-Hanafi has described him as “mudtarib al-hadith jiddan”.
Anwar Shah Kashmiri Deobandi says:
فھو ضعيف عندي كما ذھب اليه الجمھور.
“He is also da’if in my view, as is the position of the majority.”
➋ In its chain, the narrator al-Hakam bin Utaybah is a “mudallis”, and he narrates with “an” (an-‘an). Imam Ayni al-Hanafi also called him a “mudallis”.
See also:
Proof No. 10
It is narrated from Abbad bin Zubair:
ان رسول الله ﷺ كان اذا افتتح الصلاه رفع يديه في أول الصلاة، ثم لم يرفعھما في شيء حتي يفرغ.
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began the prayer, he would raise his hands, and then he would not raise them in any part of the prayer until he finished.”
Commentary:
This hadith is mawdu’ (fabricated).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
وھو موضوع.
“This hadith is mawdu’ (fabricated).”
➊ The identity of the Tabi’i Abbad is required: who is he? Several narrators are named Abbad bin Zubair, so it is wrong to take it to mean Abbad bin Abdullah bin Zubair.
➋ The identification of the narrator Muhammad bin Ishaq is required.
➌ In its chain, Hafs bin Ghiyath is a mudallis who narrates with “an” (عن), and no clear statement of hearing (sama’) is established, so the chain is da’if.
➍ Why do some people raise their hands in the qunut of Witr and in the Eid prayers?
➎ This mawdu’ (fabricated) narration is general, whereas the hadiths about raising the hands when going into ruku’ and when raising the head from ruku’ are specific; in case of conflict, the specific is given precedence over the general.
Proof No. 11
[قال الإمام أبو بكر البيهقي: أخبرنا أبو سعيد سعيد بن محمد بن أحمد الشعيبي العدل، حدثني أبو عبد الله محمد بن غالب من حفظه ببغداد، ثنا أحمد بن محمد بن خالد البراثي، ثنا عبد الله بن عون الخراز، ثنا مالك، عن الزهري، عن سالم، عن ابن عمر، أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلاة، ثم لا يعود]
Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ used to raise his hands at the beginning of the prayer, and did not raise them again.
Commentary:
This hadith is batil, mawdu’ and shadh.
After quoting this narration, Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
[هٰذا باطل موضوع لا يجوز أن يذكر إلا علىٰ سبيل التعجب أو القدح فيه، فقد روينا بالأسانيد الزاهرة عن مالك بخلاف هٰذا، ومالك بن أنس رحمه الله يبرأ إلى الله تعالىٰ من هٰذه الرواية]
This hadith is batil and mawdu’. This narration may only be mentioned as a matter of astonishment or as a criticism of it, because we have received from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), through very excellent chains, narrations contrary to this. Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) is innocent of this narration before Allah.
Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) is the narrator of this hadith; he himself has decided that this hadith is batil and mawdu’, so there is no room left to say anything about it, because if the muhaddithun did not know the defects of hadith, then who else is there who knows the defects of hadith?
However, some people take the hadith that Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned, but do not accept his ruling on this hadith, and they have ill feelings towards him, claiming that the Imam’s statement that this hadith is batil and mawdu’ is without evidence.
Our belief is that if a hadith’s chain is apparently sahih or hasan, but a trustworthy imam and muhaddith has called it da’if or batil, we will set aside its apparent soundness and declare the imam’s view correct, because the leading muhaddithun were well aware of the defects of hadith and did not criticise a hadith without a defect.
Moreover, it is entirely correct that Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) called this hadith batil and mawdu’, because
① In its chain, Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ghalib is majhul (unknown). It is not far-fetched that the hadith of unknown narrators is batil and mawdu’, because a narrator whose whereabouts are unknown at all could narrate any kind of hadith, could he not? Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) and others call the narration of a majhul “mawdu'” and “batil”.
② Imam al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) is a mudallis; he did not state his hearing explicitly.
③ This hadith is shadh, because the marfu’ and mutawatir hadith of Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and others establishes raising the hands. Likewise, raising the hands by Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) is also established.
Moreover, Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to throw pebbles at those who did not raise their hands.
④ Raising the hands is established as mutawatir from the narrator of the hadith, Imam Malik bin Anas (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is also recorded in the Muwatta.
⑤ Allamah al-Zayla’i al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted this hadith from Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) and also quoted Imam al-Bayhaqi’s criticism of it, but did not object to Imam al-Bayhaqi; rather, he maintained the criticism.
⑥ Until now, no muhaddith has claimed the soundness of this hadith against Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him), nor has anyone opposed Imam al-Bayhaqi regarding this hadith.
Sometimes a chain appears sahih and includes great imams, yet the muhaddithun call it false, because at times a text is fabricated and then a sahih chain is attached to it. Allah created the muhaddithun for hadith; they knew it thoroughly and were well aware of its apparent and hidden defects.
Hafiz al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
[لا يقف عليه إلا الحذاق من أهل الحفظ، فقد يزل الصدوق فيما يكتبه فيدخل له حديث في حديث، فيصير حديث روي بإسناد ضعيف مركبا علىٰ إسناد صحيح، وقد يزل القلم ، ويخطيء السمع ويخون الحفظ، فيروي الشاذ من الحديث عن غير قصد، فيعرفه أهل الصنعة الذين قيضهم الله تعالى لحفظ سنن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، على عباده بكثرة سماعه وطول مجالسته أهل العلم به ومذاكرته إياهم]
Only experts and huffaz are informed of this (error), because sometimes a truthful (sadiq) narrator also makes a mistake in writing, and one hadith enters into another hadith; thus it becomes a hadith whose original chain is da’if, but which was later narrated with a sahih chain (of another hadith). Because sometimes a mistake occurs in writing, sometimes a hearing error occurs, and sometimes memory deceives, so the narrator unintentionally narrates a shadh hadith. But the experts of the field know this mistake through their abundant hearing, their long sittings with the people of knowledge, and their discussions with them; Allah has chosen these experts to protect the Sunnah of the Messenger for His servants.
Dear readers! Even if the chain of the hadith under discussion were completely sahih and all its narrators were trustworthy and truthful, Imam al-Bayhaqi’s calling it mawdu’ and batil would still make this hadith batil and mawdu’, because Imam al-Bayhaqi is an expert muhaddith and he is well aware of its apparent and hidden defects. But the apparent chain of this hadith is not even established, as we have explained above; then how can it be presented as proof for not raising the hands?
It should be remembered that the hadith belong to the muhaddithun, and the authoritative verification of them is also theirs. Later people have no right to create the suspicion regarding the muhaddithun that the narrators of the hadith are trustworthy, yet the muhaddithun are still calling it fabricated!
Proof No. 12
[قال الإمام أبو عبد الله محمد بن حارث الخشني: حدثني عثمان بن محمد قال: قال لي عبيد الله بن يحيى: حدثني عثمان بن سوادة بن عباد عن حفص بن ميسرة عن زيد بن أسلم عن عبد الله بن عمر قال: كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بمكة نرفع أيدينا في بدء الصلاة وفي داخل الصلاة عند الركوع فلما هاجر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المدينة ترك رفع يدين في داخل الصلاة عند الركوع وثبت على رفع اليدين في بدء الصلاة]
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that we used to be with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Makkah, and we would raise our hands at the beginning of the prayer and also during the prayer at the time of bowing (ruku). Then when the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Madinah, he stopped raising the hands during the prayer at the time of ruku and continued raising them at the beginning of the prayer.
Commentary:
It is a false narration.
① Its fabricator is Uthman bin Muhammad bin Yusuf, al-Azdi, al-Quri, Abu Asbagh. Regarding him, the Hafiz Abu al-Walid, Ibn al-Faradi (d. 403 AH), writes:
[كان كذابا]
He is a liar of the lowest degree.
It is not correct to call him Uthman bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Mudrik, because the author of the book
has specified about this Uthman bin Muhammad by describing him as al-Quri. Therefore he is al-Quri, not al-Qabri, because among the teachers of Uthman bin Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Quri is Ubaidullah bin Yahya.
This is clear proof that the narrator in this chain is al-Quri, not al-Qabri. That Uthman bin Muhammad bin Yusuf is a “liar” (kadhdhab).
② Uthman bin Sawadah is “unknown” (majhul). The statement of authentication attributed to Ubaidullah bin Yahya about him is narrated by this same Uthman bin Muhammad al-Quri, the liar, therefore it has no weight.
③ The muhaddith Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Harith al-Khushani (d. 361 AH) writes:
[كان يحدث بحديث رواه مسندا في رفع اليدين، وهو من غرائب الحديث، وأراه من شواذها]
He narrates a marfu’ hadith about raising the hands, which is munkar, and I consider it among the shadhdh (anomalous) narrations.
Indeed, this is a shadh narration. It is contrary to the mutawatir hadiths and reports.
Proof No. 13
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says:
[ترفع الأيدي في سبعة مواطن: إذا قام إلى الصلاة، وإذا رأى البيت، وعلى الصفا والمروة، وفي عرفات، وفي جمع وعند الجمار]
Raising the hands should be done at seven places: when one stands for prayer, when one sees the House (Kaaba), on Safa and Marwah, at Arafat, at Muzdalifah, and near the Jamarat.
Commentary:
① The chain is “da’if” (weak). Ata bin al-Sa’ib (hasan al-hadith) was “mukhtalit” (confused in memory due to old age), and Ibn Fudayl narrated from him after his confusion.
Imam Yahya bin Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the narrator Ata bin Sa’ib was “mukhtalit”.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi
and Imam al-Daraqutni
(may Allah have mercy on them) have declared him “mukhtalit”.
Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi says:
[ما روى عنه ابن فضيل، ففيه غلط واضطراب]
Whatever Ibn Fudayl has narrated from Ata bin Sa’ib contains errors and confusion.
This criticism is specific (mufassir), so the chain is “da’if”. In this statement there is also no mention of raising the hands in the witr qunut and in the Eid prayers; why is it done?
② Abu Hamzah (Imran bin Abi Ata al-Qassab, thiqah according to the majority) (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
[رأيت ابن عباس يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلاة وإذا ركع وإذا رفع رأسه من الركوع]
I saw Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) raising his hands when he began the prayer, when he went into ruku, and when he raised his head from ruku.
From this, two things are established:
① Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was of the view that raising the hands in prayer is valid.
② That he continued raising his hands after the passing of the Prophet ﷺ is clear proof that it has not been abrogated.
Benefit:
This narration is also reported marfu’, but its chain is also “da’if”; in it the narrator Ibn Abi Layla is, according to the majority of muhaddithun, ”ضعیف، سیئ الحفظ“ (weak, of poor memory). Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
[ضعيف، سيء الحفظ]
He is weak and has poor memory.
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
[محمد بن عبد الرحمٰن بن أبي ليلى سيء الحفظ، لا يحتج به عند أكثرهم]
Ibn Abi Layla has poor memory; according to most muhaddithun he is not acceptable as evidence.
Allama Tahawi Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) has called him ”مضطرب الحدیث جداً“.
Janab Anwar Shah Kashmiri Deobandi Sahib says:
[هو ضعيف عندي كما ذهب إليه الجمهور]
In my view as well he is weak, as the view of the majority is.
Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
[تفرد ابن أبي ليلىٰ بروايته، وقد اتفق أئمة الحديث علىٰ ترك الاحتجاج بروايته]
Ibn Abi Layla is alone in narrating it; the imams of hadith are agreed that no argument is to be taken from its narration.
② Hakam bin Utaybah is a “mudallis” (concealer of defects); he did not state hearing explicitly, and Allama Ayni Hanafi also called him a “mudallis”.
Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
[هٰذا حديث واه من أوجوه كثيرة]
This hadith is weak for many reasons.
A speculative argument:
The Shaykh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, Janab Anwar Shah Kashmiri Sahib says:
I have an objection to this, which I have written for some time, and no one among the Shafi’is has transmitted a reply to it. It is that in the rulings of Hajj it is stated that one should say takbir when ascending a height and tasbih when descending. Therefore, just as in Hajj there is no takbir when descending, in prayer too the takbir with raising the hands should not be made when going into ruku. As for the fact that without raising the hands when going into ruku, the Hanafis also say takbir, the answer to this is upon everyone, and we will present the transmission from the Lawgiver, and that is sufficient. And it is established from Hadrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he did not recite takbir when descending during a journey.
Commentary:
Dear readers! From the Shaykh’s own words it can well be understood that those who hold the view of not raising the hands have no sound proof, so an analogy (qiyas) is being presented against an explicit text.
Raising the hands is a mutawatir practice of the Prophet ﷺ. No Companion’s abandoning of raising the hands is established. From Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), raising the hands is established through tawatur.
Mufti Muhammad Shafi Deobandi writes:
I asked (Sayyid Anwar Shah Sahib): “Hazrat, how are you?” He said: “Yes, all is well. Brother, what do you ask about my state? I have wasted my life.” He said: “The sum and substance of our age, our speeches, and all our striving has been to establish the preference of Hanafiyyah over other schools, to seek out the evidences for the rulings of Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him). This has been the axis of all our efforts, our speeches and our scholarly life. Now when I reflect, I see: in what did I waste my life?”
Maulana Sarfaraz Khan Safdar Sahib says:
Hadrat Sayyid Anwar Shah Sahib Kashmiri (may Allah have mercy on him)
states that the issue of raising the hands (rafe yadain) and its omission is a matter of what is preferable (afdal), non-preferable (ghair afdal), and what is better (awla) and less better (ghair awla).
Maulana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Sahib says:
Alas! Despite the abundance of explicit hadiths on raising the hands, they take shelter behind the Imam’s position, and say that it is not our Imam’s view. And if they see a non-muqallid raising his hands, they order his expulsion from the mosque, so that the prayers of those nearby are not spoiled. And on this issue (the second congregation), they do not accept the Imam’s words, make all sorts of excuses, and use hadith as a pretext, although the hadith contains neither explicit statement nor full support.
It should be remembered that there is an explicit hadith on the permissibility of a second congregation in a mosque.
Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahib writes:
Exaggerating the differences among the mujtahid imams is also a serious mistake. There are many issues in which the imams differ on what is preferable (afdal) and non-preferable (ghair afdal), not on what is permissible or impermissible, or lawful or unlawful. For example: should the hands be raised at the time of bowing in prayer or not? Should “Amin” be said quietly or loudly? Should the hands be placed on the chest or on the navel? In all these matters, the difference among the mujtahid imams is merely in preferability; otherwise, all these methods are permissible in everyone’s view. Therefore, pushing these differences to the level of lawful and unlawful and creating discord in the Ummah is in no way permissible.
He also says:
As far as the proof of raising the hands is concerned, the Hanafis do not deny it.
He further says:
The Shafi’is present many other narrations to establish their school, among which the narrations of Malik bin Huwairith (may Allah be pleased with him), Abu Humaid al-Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) and Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) are especially noteworthy. But we have no need to debate them or answer them, because we do not deny the proof of raising the hands; however, we have preferred the narrations of not raising the hands for many reasons.
He also writes:
Since the Hanafis accept that raising the hands is established, they do not criticise the narrations of raising the hands. Therefore, the purpose of our following discussion on the issue of raising the hands is not to prove that raising the hands is impermissible or not established from the hadiths, but rather our purpose is merely to prove that the omission of raising the hands is also established from the hadiths, and that this method is the preferred and better one.
Comment:
According to the principles of the muhaddithin, no authentic hadith establishing the omission of raising the hands is proven, as you have seen. The hadiths are of the muhaddithin, and it was the muhaddithin who declared the narrations of omission to be da’if. Rather, they wrote independent books on the proof of raising the hands. We are the followers of the muhaddithin, and we have complete trust in their research.
Therefore, how can an issue on which the hadiths are declared da’if by the muhaddithin be the preferred and better one?
Furthermore, it is known that according to Janab Anwar Shah Kashmiri Sahib, Janab Sarfaraz Safdar Sahib and Janab Taqi Sahib, raising the hands (rafa’ al-yadain) is not abrogated.
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi Sahib says:
A non-muqallid person swore allegiance (bay’ah) to Hazrat Haji (Imdadullah Muhajir Makki) (may Allah have mercy on him), and stipulated that he would not be a muqallid but would remain a non-muqallid. Hazrat (Imdadullah) said: “What harm is there?” After the bay’ah, when the time for prayer came, he neither said “Amin” aloud nor raised his hands. Someone mentioned to Hazrat Haji Sahib: “Hazrat! Your influence has become apparent: such-and-such person, who was a non-muqallid, has become a muqallid.” Hazrat Haji Sahib called that non-muqallid man and said: “Brother, why did you do it? Has your research changed, or did you do it only because of me? If you did it because of me, I do not want to bear the burden of abandoning a Sunnah on my neck. But if your research itself has changed, there is no harm.”
There is a lesson in this story for those of our friends who invite others to change their school without research. Are they perhaps taking upon their own necks the burden of abandoning some Sunnah?
Maulana Muhammad Ashiq Ilahi Meerthi writes:
Shah Ismail Shaheed was entirely a Hanafi. However, after he wrote a treatise proving raising the hands (rafa’ al-yadayn), many Ahl-e-Hadith and many innovators came to the wrong impression. The real situation was this: some Hanafis had started declaring the Ahl-e-Hadith, that is (in their own opinion) the non-muqallid scholars of the time, to be disbelievers over raising the hands, and this was a most severe mistake and a great error. How can it be permissible to declare disbelievers those who act upon this practice, when the Prophet ﷺ’s act is present in the ahadith, but in our research it has been abrogated? Declaring Imam al-Shafi’i, Imam Ahmad and Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on them) and all their followers to be disbelievers was no small matter. Among the Imams of mujtahids, all of them derive their evidence from the Qur’an and Hadith in their own research in a strong manner; it is a difference of preferred and non-preferred (rajih and marjuh) opinions. If a Hanafi raises his hands at some time, no one can declare his prayer invalid; if a Shafi’i performs his prayer without raising the hands, no Shafi’i can declare his prayer invalid. This is not a difference between truth and falsehood; it is a difference of preference. Therefore, for complete reform, Shah Sahib wrote a treatise on raising the hands on the basis of knowledge, and in practice he also occasionally raised his hands.
Our Hanafi brethren keep making various kinds of claims on this matter. Sometimes they speak of what is superior (afdal) and what is not superior, and sometimes they claim abrogation. Yet there is contradiction and conflict between the two positions.
① If they say that the Prophet ﷺ never raised his hands at all, then what is the answer to the mutawatir ahadith on raising the hands?
② If they say that raising the hands has been abrogated, then in claiming abrogation it is necessary to know the time and date: until when did he continue doing it, and when was it abrogated? One should prove one’s claim through authentic evidence along with the explicit statements of the imams of hadith.
③ The authority to determine abrogating and abrogated (nasikh and mansukh) rulings belongs to the muhaddithun; they know their evidence better. No one has the right, in opposition to the muhaddithun, to claim abrogation in any matter.
Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (d. 1340 AH) writes:
Even granting that the ahadith of raising the hands are preferred, after all raising the hands is not obligatory according to anyone; at the very most it will be considered a recommended matter (mustahab).
An Invitation to Reflection
Brothers and sisters in faith! We have set out the evidences of both sides with complete honesty. Now it is your religious duty to read the evidences of both sides impartially and with fairness, and then, fearing Allah, decide with whom the truth lies. Those who, fearless of the punishment of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and in enmity to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, say: show us the command for raising the hands; let the ahadith of raising the hands be declared “sahih” by Allah and His Messenger; show the affirmation of ten and the negation of eighteen; let the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself have called it a Sunnah; and so on and so forth….
Such people are completely devoid of knowledge, reason and transmission. They have abandoned the path of the believers and are travelling on some other path.
