It is said that 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar narrated the hadith regarding raising the hands when bowing and when rising from it, even though he did not raise his hands; how is this reconciled?

The questioner : It is said that Ibn 'Umar narrated this hadith about raising the hands, yet he did not raise his hands?

The Shaykh : Yes, the question now says:The questioner : It is said that Ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, who narrated the hadith about raising the hands when bowing and when rising from it, was himself one who did not raise his hands. The answer to this issue is from two angles. The first angle is that there is no correct, explicit, general report—meaning one that covers the entirety of Ibn 'Umar's life and all of Ibn 'Umar's prayers—that he did not raise his hands in any of these prayers. No such text exists. Rather, Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi narrated with a chain in which is Abu Bakr ibn 'Iyash, from Mujahid, from Ibn 'Umar, that he saw 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab praying and he did not raise his hands when bowing or when rising from it. This is one thing, and the report mentioned in some books of jurisprudence is another. That is, what is narrated in some books of hadith, including the book "Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar" by Abu Ja'far, is that Mujahid did not see Ibn 'Umar raise his hands in that specific prayer in which he saw him praying. This does not negate that Ibn 'Umar may have raised his hands in thousands of prayers, and that others—meaning other than Mujahid—saw him do so repeatedly. This is the reality. Therefore, there is no issue with the hadith he narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor with this report narrated by Mujahid from Ibn 'Umar that he did not see him raise his hands. Knowing that raising the hands, as you know, is a recommended practice (sunnah), I, who strive to follow this sunnah and others, if Allah wills, may not raise my hands; because that is not an obligatory requirement that is necessary. It is permissible that Ibn 'Umar was lenient and did not raise his hands in that incident in which Mujahid saw him. And all of this is if that report from Ibn 'Umar is established. In reality, in its chain, as we mentioned, is Abu Bakr ibn 'Iyash, and there is weakness in his memorization, as you will find in his biography in the detailed books of narrator biographies, and in the abridged work of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar known as "Taqrib al-Tahdhib."
And if the matter is so, then we should not dismiss the correct narration of Ibn 'Umar from him that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise his hands in these two instances, on the basis of such a narration in which Abu Bakr ibn 'Iyash is unique. Moreover, it is established from many paths from Ibn 'Umar that he actually used to raise his hands. Here comes the previously mentioned rule, which is not far from you: namely, the rule that "the affirming is preferred over the denying." Mujahid said: "I did not see Ibn 'Umar [raise his hands]," but Mujahid is not like Nafi', who was his freed slave and servant, and the most trustworthy person regarding him affirmed the raising from Ibn 'Umar. So the affirming is preferred over the denying. This is said when the two narrations are equal in establishment and authenticity. So how—peace and Allah's mercy be upon you—how, when the narration of the denier contains Abu Bakr ibn 'Iyash, in whom is the weakness we referred to? Therefore, it is not permissible to say that Ibn 'Umar never raised his hands at all. Rather, it can be said, without asserting it as a certainty, that perhaps he did not raise his hands at some times.
And this, finally, is all said in the way of reconciling the narration of Ibn 'Umar with that anomalous, singular, and strange narration in which Mujahid did not see Ibn 'Umar raise his hands. But if we set aside the narration of Ibn 'Umar and the report from him, and look at the other hadiths from others among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then there is absolutely no contradiction. For example, the hadith of Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi, which al-Bukhari included in his "Sahih," that he was in a gathering with about ten of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and Abu Humayd—a Companion speaking to the others—said to them: "Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family)?" They said to him: "Why? You are not the most knowledgeable of us about his prayer." He said to them: "Yes, I am." They said to him: "Then show us your prayer." So he began to pray, and when he bowed, he raised his hands, and when he raised his head from bowing, he raised his hands. To the end of the hadith, and at the end of it, the narrator said: "They said to him: 'You have spoken the truth. This was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).'" So if we assume that there is a contradiction between the elevated narration of Ibn 'Umar and his stopped narration, and we assume that there is a contradiction between them that cannot be reconciled by what we mentioned, then let us set that aside, and let us look at the other correct and explicit hadiths, like the hadith of Abu Humayd. Then the recommended practice (sunnah) of raising the hands is finally secured without any opposition; except that a partisan becomes biased toward his school of thought, or his opinion, or his desire. May Allah protect us from all of that.
Yes.