The Raf’ul Yadayn Debate: A Historical Encounter Between Shaykh al-Kawtharī and Dr. al-Hilālī
This account presents a fascinating intellectual exchange between two prominent scholars of the 20th century regarding one of the most debated issues in Islamic prayer (Salah) practices: Raf’ul Yadayn (raising the hands during prayer). The incident, documented by Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī (d. 1951) in his work “al-Nukat al-Ṭarīfa” (The Elegant Witticisms, pp. 7-9)[i], details his encounter with Taqī al-Dīn al-Hilālī (d. 1987), a Moroccan writer who had transitioned from being a Mālikī-Tijānī to embracing Salafī methodology.
The discussion centres specifically on whether Muslims should raise their hands at multiple points during prayer (when bowing and rising from bowing) or only at the beginning of prayer. This seemingly minor ritual point represents a larger methodological divide in Islamic jurisprudence between different approaches to ḥadīth interpretation and application.
Al-Hilālī challenged al-Kawtharī on what he considered the Ḥanafī school’s contradiction of authentic ḥadīths regarding raising hands during prayer. Al-Kawtharī’s response illuminated the complexity of ḥadīth analysis, highlighting how scholars like Imāms Mālik and Sufyān al-Thawrī also advocated for not raising hands beyond the initial takbīr, and how reports from some Sahaba (particularly from Ibn Mas’ūd, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ibn ʿUmar and others, may Allah be pleased with them all) supported this position.
This exchange provides valuable insights into how Islamic scholarly debate functioned, the nuanced approaches to evaluating ḥadīth evidence, and the broader implications of methodological differences in Islamic jurisprudence regarding prayer practices that continue to divide Muslim communities today.
Shaykh Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī said:
“Among the strange things that happened to me many years ago was that I was visited by a scholar of Moroccan origin who claimed Hilālī[ii] lineage, and claimed that he had become a Salafī Sunnī after having been a Mālikī Tijānī[iii], showing great delight and pleasure as if he had moved from misguidance to guidance. He surprised me by saying:
“The Ummah has gone astray in all lands by turning away from following hadith and instead following the opinions of men. However, there is no city in the lands of Islam that does not have someone who follows hadith, despite the persecution they face from those who blindly follow the opinions of men, except for your city[iv]. We have not heard of anyone who follows hadith and avoids blindly following men there. I heard that you are among the people of hadith, and among those who follow hadith, so I was pleased and felt it was my duty to visit you.”
He elaborated on this meaning with fervour and enthusiasm while I remained silent. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to leave him with his good opinion of this incapable person, or to be frank with him about my opinion on what he was saying and disturb the mind of this visitor. I saw the first option as deception, which a Muslim rejects, and the second as sincere advice, and religion is sincere advice. So, I said:
“O ustadh (teacher), I see you going to extremes in accusing the Sunni groups of turning away from hadith, and there is not among them—as far as I know—any group that does not devote itself entirely to following hadith. However, understanding hadith and recognizing the defects in hadith is not something easy for everyone, so it is not appropriate to accuse them of turning away without mentioning what hadith they have followed.”
I expressed to him that I was ready to discuss any issue he wished, according to any school of thought he wished, in a matter where the hadith clearly contradicts it, and I asked him for an issue from the Sunni schools of thought where the contradiction with hadith is extremely clear in his view. He said:
“Here is the raising of hands during bowing [rukūʿ], about which authentic hadiths have been established, yet the Ḥanafīs have contradicted them.”
I said:
“But with them is Mālik,[v] the scholar of the people of Madina, and Sufyān al-Thawrī, the competitor of Abū Ḥanīfa in Kufa, and all of these say there should be no raising of hands.[vi] In fact, no hadith has been authenticated at all about raising hands except the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar[vii], and the defects of the other hadiths are explained in ‘al-Jawhar al-Naqī’[viii] [The Pure Jewel], ‘Naṣb al-Rāya’[ix] [Raising the Banner],[x] and others. As for the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar about raising hands, he himself did not follow it according to the narration of Mujāhid and ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥaḍramī from him, and a Companion narrator’s abandonment of acting upon his own narration is a discrediting defect in it according to the early critics.[xi] This is not just the Ḥanafī school’s position, as you can find the details of that in ‘Sharḥ ʿIlal al-Tirmidhī’ [Explanation of Tirmidhī’s Defects] by Ibn Rajab. As for Ibn Masʿūd, the narrators have agreed that he narrated the hadith about not raising hands and acted upon it, which is the hadith: ‘Shall I pray for you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him? So he prayed and did not raise his hands except in the first instance,’ as is found in the Sunan of al-Nasā’ī, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī,[xii] and many hadiths with this meaning, including the hadith of al-Barā’ in Abū Dāwūd[xiii]: ‘When the Prophet, peace be upon him, began the prayer, he would raise his hands to near his ears, then he would not do so again.'”
My companion said: “But the wording ‘then he would not do so again’ was narrated exclusively by Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, who is considered mukhtalit [one whose narrations became confused later in life].”
I said: “There are those who say this, but he was corroborated by al-Ḥakam bin ʿUtaybah and ʿĪsā bin Abī Laylā, in Abū Dāwūd, al-Ṭaḥāwī, and al-Bayhaqī, and they are both reliable. Similarly, Sharīk the narrator from Yazīd was corroborated by Hushaym, Ismāʿīl bin Zakariyyā, and Yūnus. Thus, Abū Dāwūd’s discrediting of the hadith based on its being narrated by only one person is a clear mistake, as mentioned in ‘al-Jawhar al-Naqī’ and elsewhere.” I showed him texts from “al-Bināyah” by Badr al-ʿAynī and the treatise of the scholar al-Itqānī[xiv] in refutation of al-Subkī[xv], and I said: “These contain apparent arguments for not raising the hands, even if he exaggerated in relying on an anomalous narration in ‘al-Lu’lu’iyyāt[xvi].'”
“Perhaps you now understand that not raising the hands does not contradict the authentic, explicit hadiths. Rather, the evidence is almost equal on both sides—raising and not raising—as Ibn al-Qayyim inclines toward in some of his books, despite his exaggeration in matters. So, you are more extreme than him when you consider not raising the hands among the clearest issues of contradiction, while the evidence actually requires giving the choice. In fact, Ibn Abī Shayba did not mention this issue among those in which Abū Ḥanīfa contradicted hadith, yet you go to this extreme.” He said: “I was the one who worked on publishing Ibn Abī Shayba’s book in India.”[xvii]
I said: “If you had worked on publishing ‘al-Muṣannaf’ in its entirety instead of publishing just one chapter of it for a special purpose, you would have done a work worth mentioning.”
So, he learned that I am not among those who follow hadith like his colleagues who resemble the common people, accepting the first hadith they encounter without reviewing all that has been reported on the subject, or researching it, or considering the practice inherited in the cities of Muslims from successive generations. If this advocate for following hadith and abandoning inherited jurisprudence were fair in the matter, he would have said that one has the choice between raising and not raising the hands, considering the evidence of both sides, and would have ended the dispute instead of biasing against not raising the hands, which may be the stronger argument as we say.
It is strange that I later learned that this visitor who worked on printing Ibn Abī Shayba’s treatise in India was disturbed both in the Ḥijāz and in India, until he settled in a country[xviii] where he could not find anyone to discuss Islamic issues with him. I do not know whether he managed to keep the crown of Islām on his head. We ask Allāh for safety.”
Footnotes:
[i] It was also quoted in the work known as al-Imām Ibn Mājah wa Kitābuhu al-Sunan by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rashīd al-Nu’mānī (pp. 317-320), available here – https://archive.org/details/ibnmaja_201712/mode/2up
[ii] Meaning Taqī al-Dīn al-Hilālī (d. 1987).
[iii] Meaning a Maliki in following the well-known legal school and Tijani in terms of following the Tijani Sufi tariqa (path).
[iv] Meaning Istanbul, Turkiye.
[v] Al-Mudawwana al-Kubrā (1/165) of al-Qāḍī Saḥnūn (d. 240 AH) mentioned the following from Imam Mālik: On Raising the Hands During Bowing and the Initial Takbīr (Opening of Prayer):
He said: And Mālik said: “I do not recognize raising the hands in any of the takbīrs of prayer, neither when lowering nor when rising, except in the opening of the prayer where one raises their hands slightly. And the woman in this is in the same position as the man.”
Ibn al-Qāsim said: “According to Mālik, raising the hands was considered weak (i.e., not recommended) except in the takbīrat al-iḥrām (the opening takbīr of prayer).”
A few lines later he mentioned the following proofs:
Ibn Wahb and Ibn al-Qāsim narrated from Mālik, from Ibn Shihāb, from 1/165 Sālim ibn ‘Abdillāh, from his father, “that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to raise his hands level with his shoulders when he began the takbīr for prayer.” Wakī’ said, from Sufyān al-Thawrī, from ‘Āṣim, from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad and ‘Alqama, who both said: “‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd said: ‘Shall I not pray with you the prayer of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ?’ He then prayed and did not raise his hands except once.'” Wakī’ said, from Ibn Abī Laylā, from his brother ‘Īsā and al-Ḥakam, from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib, that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ “used to raise his hands when he began the prayer, then would not raise them again until he finished.” Wakī’ said, from Abū Bakr ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn Qaṭṭāf al-Nahshalī, from ‘Āṣim ibn Kulayb, from his father, that ‘Alī used to raise his hands when he began the prayer and then would not do so again. He said: He had witnessed Ṣiffīn with him, and the companions of Ibn Mas’ūd would raise in the first [takbīr] and then not repeat it, and Ibrāhīm al-Nakha’ī used to do this.
Note, in the work known as Al-Jāmiʿ li-Masāʾil al-Mudawwana by Imam Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūnus al-Tamīmī al-Ṣiqillī (d. 451 AH) he mentioned the following (2/496):
“From al-Mudawwana, Mālik, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: ‘I do not recognize raising the hands in any of the takbīrs of prayer, neither when lowering nor when rising, except in the opening of prayer.”
Meaning: He does not recognize the practice of it.’
[vi] In the Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al-‘Ulama’ (Summary of the Differences of the Scholars) by Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn ‘Ali al-Jassas (d. 370 AH) based on the original work by Imam Abu Ja’far al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH), it mentioned the following (1/199): Our companions (Hanafis), Ibn Abi Layla, al-Thawri, and al-Hasan ibn Hayy said that one does not raise his hands except during the opening takbīr.
Mālik said: “I do not recognize raising the hands in any of the takbīrs of prayer, neither when lowering nor when raising.”
He said: “And at the opening of prayer, one raises slightly, if one raises at all.”
Ibn al-Qāsim said: “According to Mālik, raising the hands in everything is weak (i.e., not recommended).” This is the narration of Ibn al-Qāsim. Ibn Wahb related from him (Mālik) that one raises his hands for bowing and after raising his head from bowing. Ashhab narrated from him that one does not raise except in the first takbīr.
Ashhab also narrated from him that the Imam raises his hands when he says “Sami’a Allāhu liman hamidah” [Allah hears those who praise Him].
Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash said: “I have not seen a jurist raising his hands except in the first takbīr.”
It is reported from ‘Ali and Ibn ‘Umar that they would not raise their hands except in the opening of prayer.
Al-Shāfi’ī said: “One raises his hands at the opening of prayer, when saying takbīr for bowing, and when raising his head from it, but does not raise during any of the prostrations or when standing up from them.”
Imam Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī said in his ʿUmdat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (5/272):
“And according to Abū Ḥanīfa and his companions: one does not raise his hands except in the first takbīr [saying “Allāhu Akbar” at the beginning of prayer], and this was stated by al-Thawrī, al-Nakha’ī, Ibn Abī Laylā, ‘Alqamah ibn Qays, al-Aswad ibn Yazīd, ‘Āmir al-Sha’bī, Abū Isḥāq al-Sabī’ī, Khaythama, al-Mughīra, Wakī’, ‘Āṣim ibn Kulayb, and Zufar. And it is the narration of Ibn al-Qāsim from Mālik, and it is the well-known position of his school and the practice among his companions.”
Note: I have seen a manuscript copy of Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah, Cairo, no. 16787) mentioning the views attributed to Imām Mālik on raising the hands in Ṣalāh. Surprisingly, this manuscript mentioned a unique report from Imām al-Shāfiʿī that supports what Ibn al-Qāsim mentioned from Mālik. The manuscript mentioned the following:
وَرُوِيَ الشَّافِعِي عَنْ مَالِك أَنَّهُ كَانَ لَا يَرْفَعُ
“And al-Shāfiʿī narrated from Mālik that he would not raise [his hands during prayer].”
Ibn al-Turkmānī said in his al-Jawhar al-Naqī (2/75-76, https://app.turath.io/book/1184?page=419):
Al-Bayhaqī said: “And we have narrated it from Ibn al-Zubayr and Mālik ibn Anas.” I say: The custom is that when Ibn al-Zubayr is mentioned without qualification, what is meant is ʿAbdullāh, and al-Bayhaqī has already mentioned him earlier, so this is repetition without benefit. And the narration of Ibn al-Qāsim from Mālik is that he does not raise [his hands] except in the first takbīr.
And Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said: “And I do not raise [my hands] except at the beginning [of prayer] according to the narration of Ibn al-Qāsim.” And in the commentary on Muslim by al-Qurṭubī, it is the well-known position in Mālik’s school. And in the “Rules” [Qawāʿid] of Ibn Rushd, it is the school of Mālik because practice conforms to it.
[vii] Meaning: What was reported by al-Bukhārī (735), Muslim (390), from him Ibn ʿUmar (ra),: That the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, used to raise his hands to the level of his shoulders when he began the prayer, when he said the takbīr for bowing, and when he raised his head from bowing he would also raise them likewise, and he would say: “Allah hears those who praise Him. Our Lord, to You belongs all praise.” And he would not do that during prostration. This is the wording of al-Bukhārī.
[viii] By ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Turkmānī (d. 750 AH).
[ix] By Jamāl al-Dīn al-Zaylaʿī (d. 762 AH).
[x] (2) See: “Al-Jawhar al-Naqī” by Ibn al-Turkmānī 2: 68-76 in the margin of “Sunan al-Bayhaqī,” and “Naṣb al-Rāya” by al-Zaylaʿī 1: 407-418.
[xi] Imam Zayn al-Dīn Qāsim ibn Quṭlūbughā (d. 879 AH) said in his Khulāṣat al-Afkār Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar al-Manār (The Summary of Thoughts: A Commentary on the Abridged al-Manār), p. 143: Similarly, the narrator’s abandonment of acting according to the hadith, as Ibn Umar narrated: “The Prophet ﷺ used to raise his hands at bowing and when raising his head from it” as found in the two Sahihs (Bukhari and Muslim), but he abandoned that practice, as Muhammad (ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani) reported in his “Muwatta” and elsewhere from Abd al-Aziz ibn Hakim who said: “I saw Ibn Umar raising his hands to the level of his ears in the first takbir at the beginning of prayer, and he did not raise them in anything else,” and from Mujahid who said: “I prayed behind Ibn Umar and he did not raise his hands except in the first takbir of prayer.”
Imam Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855 AH) said in his Nukhab al-Afkār fī Tanqīḥ Mabānī al-Akhbār fī Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār (Selected Thoughts on Revising the Foundations of Reports in Explaining the Meanings of Traditions), 4/179-180:
Text: As for the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar, may Allāh be pleased with them both, what we have mentioned from the Prophet, peace be upon him, has been narrated from him, but then it was narrated that after the Prophet, peace be upon him, he acted contrary to that, as Ibn Abī Dāwūd narrated to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Yūnus told us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh told us, from Ḥuṣayn, from Mujāhid who said: “I prayed behind Ibn ʿUmar, may Allāh be pleased with them both, and he would not raise his hands except in the first takbīr of prayer.” Abū Jaʿfar (al-Tahawi), may Allāh have mercy on him, said: Here is Ibn ʿUmar who saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, raising his hands, then he himself abandoned raising after the Prophet, peace be upon him, and this would only happen if it was proven to him that what he had seen the Prophet, peace be upon him, doing was abrogated, and the evidence was established against them by that.
Commentary: This is an answer to the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar, which is one of the evidences of the proponents of the first opinion, and it is the ḥadīth narrated by al-Zuhrī, from Sālim, from his father who said: “I saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he began the prayer, he would raise his hands until they were parallel to his shoulders, and when he wanted to bow, and after he rose [from bowing], but he would not raise between the two prostrations.” This ḥadīth was narrated by the group [of ḥadīth scholars] (1), and it is a sound ḥadīth without disagreement, but it is abrogated. The evidence for this is what Mujāhid narrated when he said: “I prayed behind Ibn ʿUmar and he would not raise his hands except in the first takbīr of prayer.” We have recently mentioned that when a narrator acts contrary to what he narrated or gives a legal ruling contrary to it, this indicates that he believes the first ruling was abrogated, otherwise he would not have contradicted it.
Al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated it with an authentic chain according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs [Bukhārī and Muslim]: from Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Dāwūd al-Burlusī, from Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Yūnus al-Kūfī, the Shaykh of the two Shaykhs and others, from Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh ibn Sālim al-Kūfī al-Muqriʾ, from Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī al-Kūfī, from Mujāhid ibn Jabr al-Makkī.
Footnote: (1) Narrated by al-Bukhārī (1/258 no. 705), Muslim (1/292 no. 390), Abū Dāwūd (1/249 no. 721), al-Tirmidhī (2/35 no. 255), al-Nasāʾī (2/121 no. 876), and Ibn Mājah (1/279 no. 858).
Ibn Abī Shayba narrated it in his “Muṣannaf”: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh told us, from Ḥuṣayn, from Mujāhid who said: “I never saw Ibn ʿUmar raise his hands except at the beginning when he started [prayer].”
Text: If someone says: This is an objectionable ḥadīth. We would say to him: What indicates that to you? You will find no way to that. If he says: Ṭāwūs has mentioned that he saw Ibn ʿUmar doing what corresponds to what was narrated from him from the Prophet, peace be upon him. We would say to them: Ṭāwūs mentioned that, but Mujāhid contradicted him. It is possible that Ibn ʿUmar, may Allāh be pleased with them both, did what Ṭāwūs reported him doing before the evidence of its abrogation was established for him, then when the evidence of its abrogation was established, he abandoned it and did what Mujāhid mentioned about him. This is how narrations about them should be understood, and doubt should be removed from them until it is verified, otherwise most narrations would be invalidated. End of quote.
[xii] This narration was also authenticated by some recent Salafi type writers as follows:
- Aḥmad Muḥammad Shākir – who affirmed Raf’ul yadayn, also declared the Ḥadīth of Ibn Mas’ūd in his editing of Jāmi’ al-Tirmidhī to be Ṣaḥīḥ – and he clarified that there is no hidden defect (‘Illa) in that narration as some of the Ḥadīth scholars claimed in early times. He also affirmed it to be Ṣaḥīḥ in line with Ibn Ḥazm – while editing his Muḥallā (4/88, Masā’il no. 442)
- Nāṣirud-Din al-Albānī (d. 1999) – an advocate of Raf’ul yadayn – also declared the Ḥadīth of Ibn Mas’ūd to be Ṣaḥīḥ in at least 2 places: in his Taḥqīq to Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ (1/254, no. 809, fn. 3) and in his “Ṣaḥīḥ” Sunan Abū Dāwūd (1/143, no. 683).
- ‘Abdal Qādir al-Arnā’ūṭ (d. 2004) in his taḥqīq to Imām Ibn al-Athīr’s Jāmi’ al-Uṣūl fī Aḥādīth al-Rasūl authenticated it
- Ḥussain Salīm Asad in his taḥqīq to Musnad Abū Ya’lā (3/220) said it is Ṣaḥīḥ, and also mentioned Ibn Ḥazm declaring it Ṣaḥīḥ. Asad also said there is no ‘Illa in the ḥadīth of Ibn Mas’ūd (3/221)
- ‘Ādil ibn Yūsuf al-‘Azāzī and Aḥmad ibn Farīd declared it Ṣaḥīḥ in their editing of the Musnad of Ibn Abī Shayba (1/219, no. 323) – and they also mentioned Aḥmad Shākir’s view.
[xiii] Imam Badr al-Dīn al-‘Aynī said the following in his Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Commentary on the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd), 3/348-351:
732 – Muhammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ al-Bazzāz told us, saying: Sharīk told us, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from al-Barā’, that the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, “when he began the prayer, would raise his hands close to his ears, then would not do it again.” [1}
Commentary: Meaning he would not return to raising his hands after that. This contains two issues: First, that raising the hands is done up to near the ears. Second, that it is only done in the opening takbīr, and what has been narrated otherwise is abrogated, as we have mentioned repeatedly.
Note: (1) Only Abū Dāwūd narrated it.
Abū Dāwūd said: “This hadith was narrated by Hushaym, Khālid, and Ibn Idrīs from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, but they did not mention ‘then would not do it again.'”
Commentary: That is, Hushaym ibn Bashīr al-Wāsiṭī, Khālid ibn Mihrān al-Ḥadhdhā’, and ‘Abdullāh ibn Idrīs. Abū Dāwūd points out with this statement that Sharīk was alone in narrating this addition. That’s why al-Khaṭṭābī said: “No one mentioned ‘then would not do it again’ in this hadith except Sharīk.” He also pointed to the weakness of the hadith. Therefore, al-Shāfi’ī said: “Sufyān went indicating the error of Yazīd.” In the “History (Tarīkh) of Ibn ‘Asākir” from al-Awzā’ī: “It contradicts the Sunnah.”
Abū ‘Umar said in “al-Tamhīd”: “Yazīd was alone in this narration, and when the preservers narrated it from him, none of them mentioned the phrase ‘then would not do it again.'” Al-Bazzār said: “The hadith of Yazīd about raising the hands ‘then would not do it again’ is not authentic.” Al-Dūrī reported from Yaḥyā: “It does not have a sound chain.” Al-Bayhaqī reported from Aḥmad: “This is a weak hadith. Yazīd used to narrate it without mentioning ‘then would not do it again,’ but then he was prompted and began to include it.” Al-Bukhārī said: “Ibn Abī Laylā narrated this from his memory.”
A group said: “Yazīd changed in his later years and began accepting prompting.” They justified this by saying he denied the addition, as al-Dāraquṭnī reported from ‘Alī ibn ‘Āṣim: Muḥammad ibn Abī Laylā told us, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib, who said: “I saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he stood for prayer, he would say takbīr and raise his hands until they were level with his ears.” I said: “Ibn Abī Laylā informed me that you said ‘then he would not do it again.'” He said: “I do not recall this.” Then he was asked again and said: “I do not remember it.”
Al-Bayhaqī said: “I heard al-Ḥākim Abū ‘Abdullāh saying: ‘Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād was known for his memory, but when he grew older his memory deteriorated, and he would mix up chains of narration, add to the texts, and could not distinguish properly.'”
They also claimed contradiction with the narration of Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār, from Sufyān, who said: Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād told us in Makka, from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib, who said: “I saw the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, when he began the prayer he would raise his hands, and when he wanted to bow, and when he raised his head from bowing.” Sufyān said: “Then when I came to Kufa, I heard him [Yazīd] saying: ‘He would raise his hands when he began the prayer, then would not do it again’ so I thought they had prompted him.” This was narrated by al-Ḥākim and then by al-Bayhaqī from him.
Al-Ḥākim said: “I do not know anyone who related this text with this addition from Sufyān ibn ‘Uyayna other than Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār al-Ramādī, who is trustworthy, from the first level of Ibn ‘Uyayna’s companions, having accompanied Ibn ‘Uyayna for over forty years.” Al-Bukhārī narrated it in his book “Raf’ al-Yadayn”: al-Ḥumaydī told us, Sufyān told us, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, with wording similar to al-Ḥākim’s. Al-Bukhārī said: “This is how it was narrated by the preservers who heard from Yazīd early on, including Shu’ba, al-Thawrī, and Zuhayr, and it does not contain ‘then he would not do it again.'”
Ibn Ḥibbān said in his book “al-Ḍu’afā'”: “Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād was truthful, but when he grew old, he changed and would accept prompting. So those who heard from him before he came to Kufa in his early life have sound narrations, while those who heard from him during his later arrival in Kufa have nothing reliable.”
I say: Contradicting Abū Dāwūd’s statement is what Ibn ‘Adī said in “al-Kāmil”: “It was narrated by Hushaym, Sharīk, and a group with them from Yazīd with his chain, and they mentioned in it: ‘then he would not do it again.'” As for al-Khaṭṭābī’s statement: “No one mentioned ‘then would not do it again’ in this except Sharīk,” it is incorrect, because Sharīk had corroboration as reported by al-Dāraquṭnī from Ismā’īl ibn Zakariyyā, who was informed by Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād with similar wording.
Al-Bayhaqī reported it in “al-Khilāfiyyāt” through al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl, from Isrā’īl – who is Ibn Yūnus ibn Abī Isḥāq – from Yazīd with the wording: “He raised his hands level with his ears, then did not do it again.” Al-Ṭabarānī reported it in “al-Awsaṭ” from the hadith of Ḥafṣ ibn ‘Umar, from Ḥamza al-Zayyāt similarly. He said: “Only Ḥafṣ narrated it from him. Muḥammad ibn Ḥarb was alone in narrating it.”
Then we examined Yazīd’s condition and found al-‘Ijlī saying about him: “His hadith is acceptable.” Ya’qūb ibn Sufyān al-Fasawī said: “Even though Yazīd has been criticized for his deterioration, he remains just and trustworthy. Though he is not like al-Ḥakam, Manṣūr, and al-A’mash, his statements are accepted as he is reliable and trustworthy.” Abū Dāwūd said: “He is reliable. I do not know anyone who rejected his hadith, though others are more beloved to me than him.” Ibn Sa’d said: “He was trustworthy in himself, except that in his later years he became confused.”
Ibn Shāhīn mentioned him in his book “al-Thiqāt” and said: “Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ said: ‘Yazīd is trustworthy, and I do not like the statement of those who criticize him.'” Ibn Khuzayma included his hadith in his “Ṣaḥīḥ.” Al-Sājī said: “Truthful.” Ibn Ḥibbān said the same. Muslim mentioned him among those who have the characteristics of concealment, truthfulness, and pursuit of knowledge, and included his hadith in his “Ṣaḥīḥ.” Al-Bukhārī used his hadith for support.
Since his condition is at this level, it is permissible to interpret his case as one who narrated part of the hadith at one time and its entirety at another, or that he forgot and then remembered. As for the claim of contradiction with the narration of Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār al-Ramādī, it is not valid, because no one narrated this text with this addition except Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār, as the Shaykh (Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id) stated in “al-Imām” from al-Ḥākim. Ibn Bashshār was described by al-Nasā’ī as “not strong,” and Aḥmad severely criticized him. Ibn Ma’īn said: “He is nothing. He did not write from Sufyān, and I never saw anything in his hand. He would dictate to people what Sufyān did not say.” Al-Bukhārī and Ibn al-Jārūd accused him of making errors, so it is possible that he erred in this, and Allāh knows best. End of quotes.
[xiv] He is Qiwām al-Dīn Amīr Kātib al-Itqāni (685-758 AH). His works include “Ghāyat al-Bayān wa Nādirat al-Aqrān fī Ākhir al-Zamān,” (pdf available here – https://archive.org/details/20230523_20230523_1700/%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%201/)
which is his commentary on “al-Hidāya,” and “Risāla fī Mas’alat Raf’ al-Yadayn” (Treatise on the Issue of Raising Hands), among others. His biography can be found in: “al-Jawāhir al-Muḍiyya” by al-Qurashī 4:128, “al-Durar al-Kāmina” by Ibn Ḥajar 1:414-416, and “Tāj al-Tarājim” by Ibn Quṭlūbughā p.138.
[xv] That is: Imam Taqī al-Dīn ‘Alī ibn ‘Abd al-Kāfī al-Subkī, who died in 756 AH. The story of the composition of this “Risāla” is mentioned in “al-Durar al-Kāmina” by Ibn Ḥajar 1:415.
[xvi] By Abū Muṭī’ Makḥūl ibn al-Faḍl al-Nasafī (d. 318 AH).
[xvii] Dr. Saud ibn Salih al Sarhan mentioned the following in a footnote to his editing of Rasā’il al-Imām Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī ilā al-ʿAllāma Muḥammad Yūsuf al-Banūrī raḥimahumā Allāhu taʿālā:
ويبدو لي أن الهلالي كان مبالغاً في وصف دوره في نشر كتاب رد ابن أبي شيبة على أبي حنيفة»، فالكتاب طبع عام ١٣٣٣ هـ، وعمر الهلالي إذ ذاك ٢٢ سنة، وكان في ذلك الوقت يبحث عن الرزق في الجزائر، مما يبعد أي دور له في طبع الكتاب، أما رحلته إلى الهند فقد كانت عام ١٣٤٢هـ.
“It seems to me that al-Hilālī was exaggerating in describing his role in publishing the book “Ibn Abī Shaybah’s Refutation of Abū Ḥanīfa,” as the book was printed in 1333 AH when al-Hilālī was 22 years old, and at that time he was seeking livelihood in Algeria, which makes any role for him in printing the book unlikely. As for his journey to India, it was in 1342 AH.”
[xviii] Meaning Germany in Europe as al-Hilali was also based here for a period of time.
Translated with annotation by:
Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed
15th May 2025/17th Dhu’l Qa’da 1446 AH
(www.darultahqiq.com, Updates on Telegram: https://t.me/Darul_Tahqiq)
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