Fawāids |Qur'ān | Authentic Sunnah

    Are the hadiths regarding not raising the hands in ruku authentic?

    بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

    Part 1: Evidence of raising the hands when making Rukū and rising from it: https://fawaaids.com/2023/12/20/raising-the-hands-when-bowing-ruku-and-rising-from-bowing/

    Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: “The proof of the one who sees the raising (of the hands) at every bowing and rising from it, is the hadīth of Ibn ‘Umar mentioned in this chapter, and it is an established hadīth that is not disputed by any of the scholars of hadīth.

    And it has been narrated on the authority of the Prophet (ﷺ) – as it was narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (i.e. of raising the hands) – by thirteen men from the Companions of the prophet (ﷺ). A group of compilers and scholars of hadīth have mentioned them. Among them: Abū Dawūd, Ahmad ibn Shu’ayb, Al-Bukhārī, Muslim, and others.” (Tamhīd 6/347-348)

    Ibn al-‘Arabī said: “It was narrated from the Prophet (ﷺ) regarding the raising of the hands in rukū’, and in raising the head from it by fifteen companions. From them Ibn ‘Umar…” (‘Āridatul-Ahwadhī 2/73)

    Part 2: weak narrations used in favour of not raising the hands.

    Hadīth 1.

    ‘Uthmān ibn Abī Shaybah > Waki’ >  Sufyān > ‘Āsim ibn Kulayb > ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn al-Aswad > on the authority of Alqamah:

    قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ أَلاَ أُصَلِّي بِكُمْ صَلاَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ فَصَلَّى فَلَمْ يَرْفَعْ يَدَيْهِ إِلاَّ مَرَّةً

    Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd said: Should I not pray for you the way the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) prayed? He said, so he prayed, raising his hands only once (i.e. at the beginning of the prayer).

    (Abū Dawūd 748, who said “it is not authentic”)

    Hadīth 2.

    Muhammad ibn al-Sabbāh al-Bazzār > Sharīk > Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād > on the authority of Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī Lailah:

    عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ إِذَا افْتَتَحَ الصَّلاَةَ رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى قَرِيبٍ مِنْ أُذُنَيْهِ ثُمَّ لاَ يَعُودُ

    Al-Barā’ narrated:

    When the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) began prayer, he raised his hands up to his ears, then he did not repeat that. (Abū Dawūd 750)

    What about the scholars that authenticated Ibn Mas’ūds narration?

    Answer 1) As for Al-Tirmidhī, he considered (the narration) as authentic. Ahmad Shākir said in Sunan Al-Tirmidhī (41/2): “It is a Sahīh hadīth.” And he said in the checking of “Al-Muhallā” (120/4): “It is a sahīh hadīth, and the hadīths which establish the raising of the hands are more authentic than it, in fact they reach the level of mutawātir. And Ibn Mas’ūd denied raising the hands, and many of the Companions affirmed (the raising of the hands), and that which is affirmed takes precedence over that which is denied. Rather, Ibn Mas’ūd may have related (that which describes) the initial (description of the) prayer (i.e. at the beginning of Islām), just as he related the description of rukū’ which was (later) abrogated”. [this is referring to the placing of the hands in between the knees when making Rukū’, and this is how it was at the beginning of Islām but then it was abrogated and they were commanded with placing the hands on the knees]. (Taken from Awn al-Ma’būd 1/190, Egyptian print)

    Answer 2) Al-Mubārakfūrī said [after explaining why the hadīth of ibn Mas’ūd is not authentic]:

    “So with all of this it is established that the hadīth of ibn Mas’ūd is not neither Sahīh or Hasan, rather it is da’īf and the likes of it is not used as proof.

    As for the declaring of it to be hasan by al-Tirmidhī then that is not to be relied upon due to his leniency in his verdicts (of authenticity).

    As for Ibn Hazm declaring it sahīh, then what is obvious is that his authentication is by way of the sanad (chain of narration), and it is known that the authenticity of the sanad does not necessitate the authenticity of the matn (text). The authentication of ibn Hazm is (also) not to be depended upon in the light of it being declared da’īf by these precise hadīth Masters. So depending upon this weak ḥadīth for leaving the raising of hands and it’s abrogation except when starting (the prayer) is not correct.

    And if we concede and accept that the hadīth of ibn Mas’ūd is sahīh or hasan, then what is obvious is that ibn Mas’ūd forgot about it, as he forgot about many matters.

    Al-Hāfidh az-Zayla’ī said in ‘Nasb ar-Rāyah’ (1/397) quoting from the author of ‘at-Tanqīh’ that, “there is nothing strange in the forgetting of ibn Mas’ūd, for ibn Mas’ūd forgot from the Qurʾān that which the Muslims afterwards did not disagree upon – the mu’awwadhatān (i.e. including them in the Mushaf). He forgot about that which the scholars have agreed as regards to it’s abrogation, like placing hands together (between the knees in rukū’), and how two people stand behind the Imām. He forgot about that which the scholars do not differ about that the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed the subh (morning) prayer at it’s time on the Day of al-Nahr, and he forgot how the Prophet (ﷺ) combined (prayers) on ‘Arafah. He forgot about that which the scholars do not differ about with regards to placing the elbow and the forearm on the floor, and he forgot how the Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite, ‘wa mā khalaqadh-dhakara wa-l unthā’ (Sūrah al-Layl:3). So if it is possible that ibn Mas’ūd forgets the likes of these in prayer, then how is it not possible that he forgets the raising of the hands?”

    And if we accept that ibn Mas’ūd did not forget this, then the ahadīth of raising the hands in the three places takes precedence over the hadīth of ibn Mas’ūd, because it has been narrated by such a large number of Companions to the extent that as-Suyūtī said: ‘the ḥadīth of raising hands (at rukū’) are mutawātir from the Prophet (ﷺ)’ as you have come to know in what has preceded.

    al-Aynī said in ‘Sharh al-Bukhārī’, “the conclusion of this topic of choosing the stronger opinion is that it is upon the number of narrations and the fame of the narrators even if one of two narrations is narrated from one route, and the other by two routes, then the one narrated by two takes precedence in acting upon.”

    And al-Hāfidh al-Hāzimī said in ‘Kitābul I’tibār’ (1/9), “and from what makes one hadīth weightier than another, is the number of narrations of one of them, and this is influential in the section of narrations because it brings one closer to what requires knowledge which is frequency.”

    Furthermore, the hadīth of ibn Mas’ūd does not lend evidence to the abrogation of raising hands except at the beginning (of the prayer). Rather it lends evidence to it not being obligatory. Ibn Hazm said in his discussion of the hadīth of Barā ibn Āzib mentioned previously, “if it is authentic, it is evidence that he (ﷺ) did that (i.e. leave the raising of the hands at rukū’) to explain it’s permissibility, so there is no contraḍīction between it and the hadīth of ibn ʿUmar and others.”

    I say: and all of this is according to the limits of concession, and if not then the hadīth of ibn Mas’ūd is da’īf and is not to be used as proof as you have come to know. (Tuhfatul-Ahwadhī 3/417-418)

    NOTE: there are also other narrations that are used to ‘support’ not raising the hands, such as narrations from ‘Umar, ‘Alī and others but these narrations are not established. See Juz raf al-yadayn of Al-Bukhārī, tuhfat al-ahwadhī of al-Mubārakfūrī.

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