Raising the hands during prayer

The hadeeth to which the questioner refers was narrated by
al-Bukhaari (735) and Muslim (390) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with them both), who said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to raise his hands to shoulder
level when he started to pray, when he said “Allaahu akbar” before bowing in
rukoo’, and when he raised his head from rukoo’. 

The majority of scholars
followed this hadeeth and said that it is mustahabb for the worshipper to
raise his hands at the points mentioned in the hadeeth. 

Imaam al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote a
separate book on this issue which he called Juz’ fi Raf’ al-Yadayn
(Section on Raising the Hands), in which he proved that the hands should be
raised at these two points on the prayer, and he strongly denounced those
who go against that. He narrated that al-Hasan said: “The Companions of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
raise their hands during prayer when they bowed and when they stood up (from
bowing).” Al-Bukhaari said, “Al-Hasan did not exclude any of the Sahaabah
from that, and it was not proven that any one among the Sahaabah did not
raise his hands.” 

See al-Majmoo’ by al-Nawawi, 3/399-406. 

We do not know whether
the ahaadeeth about raising the hands reached Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have
mercy on him) or not, but they did reach his followers. But they did not
follow them because they had other ahaadeeth and reports which said that the
hands should not be raised except when saying “Allaahu akbar” at the
beginning of the prayer. 

These ahaadeeth include the following:  

The hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood (749) from al-Baraa’ ibn
‘Aazib, which says that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to raise his hands almost to his ears when he
started to pray, then he did not repeat (this action). 

The hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood (748) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “Shall I not lead you in
prayer as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did?” Then he prayed and he only raised his hands once. 

See Nasb al-Raayah by al-Zayla’i, 1/393-407. 

But these ahaadeeth were classed as da’eef (weak) by the
imams of hadeeth. 

The hadeeth of al-Baraa’ was classed as da’eef by Sufyaan ibn
‘Uyaynah, al-Shaafa’i, al-Humaydi the shaykh of al-Bukhaari, Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma’een, al-Daarimi, al-Bukhaari, and others. 

The hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood was classed as da’eef by
‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhaari, al-Bayhaqi,
al-Daaraqutni and others. Similarly, the reports which were narrated from
some of the Sahaabah about not raising the hands are all da’eef. We have
quoted above the words of al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him): “…it
was not proven that any one among the Sahaabah did not raise his hands.” 

See Talkhees al-Habeer by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar,
1/221-223. 

Once it is proven that these ahaadeeth and reports which say
that the hands should not be raised are weak, then the ahaadeeth which say
that the hands should be raised remain strong with no opposing reports.
Hence the believer should not fail to raise his hands at the points in
prayer described in the Sunnah. He should strive to make his prayer like the
prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who
said, “Pray as you have seen me praying.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 631).
Hence ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni, the shaykh of al-Bukhaari, said: “It is the duty
of the Muslims to raise their hands when they bow in rukoo’ and when they
stand up from rukoo’.” Al-Bukhaari said: “ ‘Ali was the most knowledgeable
of the people of his time.” 

Once the Sunnah has been
explained clearly, no one has the right to ignore it, following whoever
among the scholars said that.  Imaam al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said: “The scholars are agreed that if the Sunnah of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becomes clear to a person, it is
not permissible for him to ignore it in favour of the opinion of anyone.” 

Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 2/335. 

“If a man is following Abu Haneefah or Maalik or al-Shaafa’i
or Ahmad, and he sees that the view of another madhhab concerning a given
matter is stronger, and he follows that, then he has done well, and that
does not detract from his religious commitment or good character. There is
no scholarly dispute on this point. Rather this is more in accordance with
the truth and is more beloved by Allaah and His Messenger.” 

(Said by Shaykh al-Islam – may Allaah have mercy on him – in
al-Fataawa, 22/247). 

The scholars who said that the hands should not be raised
based on their own ijtihaad are to be excused, for they will be rewarded for
their ijtihaad and their seeking the truth, as the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a judge passes judgement based on
his own ijtihaad and he is correct, he will have two rewards; if he passes
judgement based on his own ijtihaad and he makes a mistake, he will have one
reward.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7352; Muslim, 1716). See Raf’
al-Malaam ‘an al-A’immah al-A’laam by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah.

Note: 

There is a fourth place where it is mustahabb to raise the
hands during prayer; that is when standing up after the first Tashahhud for
the third rak’ah. See question no. 3267. 

May Allaah help us all to know the truth and follow it. 

And Allaah knows best.  May Allaah send blessings and peace
upon our Prophet Muhammad.