What is the manner of raising the hands?
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The questioner : Regarding the raising of the hands, narrations have come from Abu Dawud, Muslim, and others. For example, Abu Dawud narrated "level with his ears," and in another narration, "level with his shoulders." And he said... "level with" means "opposite"...?
The Shaykh : This varies depending on whether one holds that the fingers should face the qiblah or not. The answer branches out from this: either this way or that way. If there is a Sunnah indicating that one should face the qiblah with the fingers of his palms when raising his hands, whether in the takbir of ihram or in the takbirs of transition, then it is done this way. If one does not hold, or does not know, that there is a Sunnah encouraging facing the qiblah with the fingers of the palms, then we do not insist on one specific manner over the other. Rather, we say this or that, and all of it is "level with" (muhaadah); whether one does it this way or that way, because we do not have a specification of this manner, unlike what came regarding the manner of prostration. In the manner of prostration, there is the joining of the fingers first and directing them toward the qiblah. Nothing like this has come regarding the raising of the hands in the takbir. Therefore, we leave it as it came in a general form and do not restrict it to a manner that has not been reported.
The questioner : I mean, we are not looking for the meaning of "muhaadah" and saying: "muhaadah," for example...?
The Shaykh : Search as much as you like, but do not go beyond what the language gives us. Search as much as you like, because "muhaadah" can be this way and it can be that way!
The questioner : They said, he said: opposite.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : He said: meaning: opposite to them, this way... He said: "muhaadah" with them; meaning: opposite to them.
The Shaykh : ... Are you interpreting "muhaadah" or "qibalah"?
The questioner : No, he says: "muhaadah" means "qibalah" (opposite).
The Shaykh : It is not a problem, this is his interpretation, but "muhaadah" can be with the palm from the side, what shall I say? its side, or it can be from the width, and so on.
The Shaykh : This varies depending on whether one holds that the fingers should face the qiblah or not. The answer branches out from this: either this way or that way. If there is a Sunnah indicating that one should face the qiblah with the fingers of his palms when raising his hands, whether in the takbir of ihram or in the takbirs of transition, then it is done this way. If one does not hold, or does not know, that there is a Sunnah encouraging facing the qiblah with the fingers of the palms, then we do not insist on one specific manner over the other. Rather, we say this or that, and all of it is "level with" (muhaadah); whether one does it this way or that way, because we do not have a specification of this manner, unlike what came regarding the manner of prostration. In the manner of prostration, there is the joining of the fingers first and directing them toward the qiblah. Nothing like this has come regarding the raising of the hands in the takbir. Therefore, we leave it as it came in a general form and do not restrict it to a manner that has not been reported.
The questioner : I mean, we are not looking for the meaning of "muhaadah" and saying: "muhaadah," for example...?
The Shaykh : Search as much as you like, but do not go beyond what the language gives us. Search as much as you like, because "muhaadah" can be this way and it can be that way!
The questioner : They said, he said: opposite.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : He said: meaning: opposite to them, this way... He said: "muhaadah" with them; meaning: opposite to them.
The Shaykh : ... Are you interpreting "muhaadah" or "qibalah"?
The questioner : No, he says: "muhaadah" means "qibalah" (opposite).
The Shaykh : It is not a problem, this is his interpretation, but "muhaadah" can be with the palm from the side, what shall I say? its side, or it can be from the width, and so on.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.