And ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said,
By Allah Almighty, I will make it difficult for a man who relates a hadith different from it (the ‘amal (ie sunnah))
And keep in mind:
Every Hadith is not a Sunnah, but Generally every Sunnah is also a Hadith …. therefore we should only follow hadiths, that have the stamp of approval from the early muslims (the actual Salaf period) in the Khairul-Quroon (the best era) – ie the 1st, 2nd & 3rd generations.
Imam Abu Hanifa, is a decond generation muslims ie actual salaf…
Many 20th-century Salafis and Ahle Hadees claim that Imam Abu Hanifa may not have known about the hadeeth of Rafa Yadain, which refers to the practice of raising hands, as Salafis do. Ahl-e-Hadith,…
This is not the case; rather, this is a way to belittle and dismiss Imam Abu Hanifa, the esteemed Tabi (a person who has met the noble Sahabah).
Imam Abu Hanifa knew that a hadith for Rafa Yadain, constantly raising the hands in Salah, existed (reported in Bukhari)
And Imam Abu Hanifa also knew of hadiths in which the Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ مُحَمَّد, raised his hands only at the start of Salah (and did not repeat this in the rest of the Salah).
When Imam Abu Hanifa established the Hanafi School of Thought, Sahih al-Bukhari had not yet been compiled. Imam Bukhari is from a period much later than Imam Abu Hanifa.
In the era of Imam Abu Hanifa (Khairul-Quroon means the best of eras), there was “Living Islam”, meaning there were many Sahabah and Tabi’in alive.
Therefore, the dean of the Hanafi Madhhab is directly brought from the traditions and practices of the Sahabah and Tabi’een.
In the Khairul-Quroon period, primarily the actions, methods, practices, and traditions of the Muslim masses (scholars and righteous ancestors) were taken as literal Islam, the Al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem (The Straight Path).
If a Hadith existed and supported Muslim traditions, it would be accepted.
If, on the other hand, a hadith existed and it contradicted the practices of the early Muslims (Sahabah & Tabian), then that hadith was rejected.
And ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said;
By Allah Almighty, I will make it difficult for a man who relates a hadith different from it (the ‘amal (ie sunnah))
Imam Abu Hanifa’s stance was that, during the period of Khairul-Quroon (the best era), so close to the Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ مُحَمَّد, the Muslim population could not have deviated from the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ مُحَمَّد, Al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem (The Straight Path). Therefore, their way is the Messenger of Allah’s way.
Listen to Shaykh Mumtaz ul Haq Hafizullah’s beautiful response…
The issue of drawing a conclusion from a hadith is not simple and straight forward, but rather very complicated… That’s why fiqh and fuqaha exist as guides for the Ummah to follow.
The early scholars, like Imam Abu Hanifa, looked at many hadiths to draw a conclusion as to which practice was the Sunnah, the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ مُحَمَّد
Hadith for NOT raising hands, i.e., Rafa Yadain
The Hadith narrated by Abu Dawud (749) from Al-Bara’ ibn `Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to raise his hands almost to his ears when he started to pray, and then he did not repeat (this action).
The Hadith narrated by Abu Dawud (748) from `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “Shall I not lead you in prayer as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did?” Then he prayed, and he only raised his hands once. (See Nasb Ar-Rayah by Az-Zayla`i, 1/393-407)
Ibn Mas’ud [ra] says, I prayed with the Messenger of Allah [ﷺ], Abu Bakr (ra), and Umar (ra).’ They did not raise their hands except at the beginning of the prayer.
The narrations that mention that the Prophet (ﷺ) raised his hands before going into ruku’ and after rising from ruku’ refer to the earlier portion of the life of our Prophet (ﷺ). Later in his lifetime, the Prophet (ﷺ) abandoned this practice, and hence this practice became Mansukh (cancelled). Therefore, it was no longer sunnah to raise one’s hands before going into ruku’ and after rising from ruku’.
An additional proof is that Ali (Radiyallahu Anhu) did not raise his hands before going into ruku’ and after getting up from ruku’, although he had narrated that the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) did it. This is because Ali (ra) knew that the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) only did this in the earlier part of his life and that later on he abandoned it.
Hadith in Favor of Rafa Yadain
The Hadith to which the questioner refers was narrated by Al-Bukhari (735) and Muslim (390) from `Abdullah ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to raise his hands to shoulder level when he started to pray, when he said “Allahu akbar” before bowing in Ruku `when he raised his head from Ruku`.