Raising the Hands and Making Du'aa in? Congregation after Salaah

Q: Miss-1: what do the ulema of Deen and the Muftis have to say about the Imaam raising his hands after the Fardh salaah and making du'aa with the entire congregation?
Is this proven from any reliable or weak Hadith or from anywhere else? There is a great controversy raging amongst us in this regard. Please clarify?

Raising both hands and making du'aa after the Fardh salaah is substantiated. Amongst my elders there was the Muhaddith Hadhrat Sayyid Qaadhi Lajpori RAH. who wrote several treatises in reply to the Ghayr Muqallideen. At the end of one of them, titled "Tarteebul Masaa'il alaa Aqwa Dalaa'il?, he has penned a Fatwa that has been endorsed by eminent Ulema belonging to both the Muqallideen and the Ghayr Muqallideen. I am honoured to quote that Fatwa here. He writes:

"As I conclude my treatise, I wish to address an issue that crops up very often, and that concerns the du'aa after the Fardh salaah. Both the ulema of the Hanafi Madh'hab as well as the Ghayr Muqallideen are unanimous about the issue. They have all signed to endorse it and confirmed that it is Mustahab. The ruling will be presented below, except that it had to be translated from the original Faarsi because most people are unable to understand the language. we anticipate to be rewarded by Allaah Alone.

Q: Miss-2: What do the Ulema of Deen and the Muftis have to say about raising his hands after the Fardh salaah and making du'aa as is the practice of Imaams nowadays? Is this proven from any reliable Hadith or from the practice of Rasulullaah SAW.? The Fuqahaa also recommend this. Although raising the hands when making du'aa is substantiated , are there any Ahadeeth specifically dealing with this issue?

Answer: Haafidh Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Is'haaq bin Sunni RAH, quotes a Hadith from Hadhrat Anas RADI. in which Rasulullaah SAW. said, "It is a duty on Allaah not to return a person empty-handed when he raises his hands after every salaah and makes du'aa saying, "O Allaah! My Ilaah and the Ilaah of Ibraheem. Is'haaq, Ya'qoob, Jibra'eel, Mika'eel and Israfeel. I beseech you io answer my du'aa because I am in difficulty, to protect me in my Deen because I am heavily tested, to engulf me with Your mercy because I am sinful and to remove poverty from me because I am impoverished.

If it is said that the Hadith is weak because of the presence of Abdul Azeez bin Abdur Rahmaan in the chain of narrators, it is stated that Mizaane l'tidaal and other books make it clear that a weak Hadith is sufficient to prove that an act to be Mustahab on condition that the Hadith is not a fabrication.
(This is signed by Abul Hasanaat Muhammad Abdul Huyy and Muhammad? Sa'dullaah)

This reply is correct and also substantiated by a Hadith which Allaama Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah RAH. has quoted in his Musannaf. In this Hadith, the father of Hadhrat Aswad Aamiri reports from his father. who said, "I performed the Fajr salaah behind Rasulullaah SAW. After he had completed the Salaam. he turned around, raised his hands and made du'aa. It is proven from this and therefore no secret to the Ulema that raising the hands and making du'aa after the Fardh salaah was the practice of Rasulullaah SAW.

(This is signed by:

1. Sayyid Shareef Husayn

2. Hasbunallaah Hafeedhullaah

3. Muhammad Abdur Rabb

4. Sayyid Ahmad Husayn

5. Sayyid Muhammad Nadheer Husayn

Just as the above Hadith proves raising the hands and making du'aa after the Fardh salaah, the following Hadith also substantiates it:

Rasulullaah SAW. said, "salaah comprises segments of two Rakaahs with the Tashahhud after every two Rakaahs together with humility and with raising the hands after them, saying, 'O Allaah! Forgive me'. Whoever does not do this has not completed (his worship).

Although the chain of narrators is Abdullaah bin Naafi bin Amyaa, who is said to be unknown, Taqreeb states that an unknown narrator will not render the Hadith as a fabrication, but will weaken it. However, there is no harm in a weak Hadith when it is used to prove the virtue of a deed. Allaam Mulla Ali Qaari RAH. has made this clear in his booklet concerning the fast of Sha'baan. Allaama Shaami RAH. has added that injunctions may well be carried out based on such Ahadeeth when such practice is in the best interests of caution.

It will be permissible to practice on the above Ahadeeth since raising the hands when making du'aa has been proven from authentic Ahadeeth. This is especially permissible when the act is not regarded to be Sunnah. However, the condition is that the weakness in the Hadith should not be extreme. such as having a liar in the chain of narrators or someone accused of lying. All of this is stated in Shaami and Durrul Mukhtaar. And Allaah knows best what is most correct.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.3