Discussion on raising the hands in supplication during the Friday sermon.

The Shaykh : As for raising the hands, whether by the preacher or by those listening to him, this is all—likewise—like the original practice of supplication; it has no basis whatsoever.
There is only one thing we can say: it is prescribed for the preacher to raise his hands and supplicate, and for those hearing his sermon to say "Ameen," in the case of an incidental matter. An incidental matter is one that either befalls the entire Muslim community, in which case they are aware of the Muslims' need for such supplication, or it befalls the preacher himself. It is expected of him that he be more knowledgeable than the rest of the people, because he is their imam and their role model, as I mentioned earlier. In that case, this imam should make his supplication appropriate to the calamity that has befallen the Muslims, which religiously obligates him to supplicate. The basis for this is the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for rain. It is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was delivering the Friday sermon when a man entered through one of the doors of the mosque and said: "O Messenger of Allah—and the Messenger of Allah was delivering the sermon—the wealth and the families have perished due to the scarcity of rain; so supplicate to Allah for us." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands until his armpits were visible; that is, he raised them high. He said: . He did not finish his supplication until the sky churned with rain like the mouths of water skins. Anas said: It continued to rain for a Saturday; that is, a full week, until the second Friday came and the Messenger of Allah was delivering the sermon. Then that man, or another—Anas is the one who is uncertain, whether it was that man or another—said: "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth and the families have perished due to the excess of rain; so supplicate to Allah for us." He said: . The sky then cleared, and Medina was not rained upon as if it were a shield, while the surrounding areas were nourished by the rain. So this is an incidental matter that befalls the preacher, and there is no harm in him supplicating. As for continuing in supplication, there is no doubt that it is a religious innovation, as detailed earlier.