Is it permissible to raise the hands in supplication after the prescribed prayers and during the sermon?

Al-Hawini: Your view on raising the hands in supplication during the Friday prayer and after the prescribed prayers is well known. However, the general evidences, such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and the mass transmission of hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding raising his hands in supplication, prohibit [this] with regard to raising the hands in supplication during the Friday prayer, even though supplication falls under the general evidences.

The Shaykh : This question opens up a very important usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) discussion for us, which we can summarize in the following phrase: If an explicit text (nass) comes to us—of course, a valid one—that includes many details, and we know that a part of the details of this general text was not acted upon by the Muslims in the past, is it permissible for us to act on it, given that it falls under the general text? My answer to that is: If this part is one of the apparent actions that are not usually hidden from people, and the usual causes for transmitting it are also present, yet it was not transmitted from the Salaf (the earliest generations), then it is not permissible for us to act on this part that falls under the general text. The example is before you, or rather, under your ears, after our brother mentioned it: raising the hands on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, with the people sitting and raising their hands. This is an apparent matter; if it had occurred in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as I said earlier, the causes for transmitting it would have been present. So, the fact that it was not transmitted indicates that it was not done. Likewise, and perhaps the following example is more important than the first, because the first one is rarely seen, whether among the people sitting in the sermon or among some of the imams who deliver sermons. As for the second example, it is the opposite; it is very widespread. The second example is very common, and it is supplication after the congregational prayer, for example after the 'Asr (afternoon) prayer or the Fajr (dawn) prayer. This also falls under the general evidences mentionedThe questioner : earlier. Is it prescribed? The answer is: It is not prescribed; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do that, nor did his Companions. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the sermon did not go beyond pointing with his finger (peace be upon him). As for the people sitting, they did not raise their hands except when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon for rain and supplicated asking for rain from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). In that situation, he would raise his hands, and so would those listening to his sermon. As reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the Friday sermon when a man entered through one of the doors of the mosque and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth and the families have been destroyed due to the lack of rain, so supplicate to Allah for us." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands until his armpits were visible, exaggerating in raising his hands, and said: , and the people said "Ameen" and raised their hands. He (peace and blessings be upon him) did this in this incidental matter. From this hadith, some scholars derived the permissibility of seeking rain through supplication only, without prayer. As for the other sermons (Friday sermons), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not raise his hands. Therefore, it is established in Sahih Muslim that one of the Companions, I think his name was Ibn Ru'aybah, when he saw one of the Umayyad governors raising his hands in the sermon, said, "May Allah disfigure these two hands. I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering the sermon and he did not go beyond pointing with his finger." So, an action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that ran contrary to a part of the details of the general text does not allow us to use the general text as evidence for the legitimacy of that part. We have now discussed two examples: one is raising the hands on Friday, and the other is the imam and the followers raising their hands after finishing the prayer (specifically the 'Asr and Fajr prayers). But I want to present to you an example that perhaps will alert your feelings and attention to this rule more than the two previous examples, because it is the nature of people that when they become accustomed to something, they become lax and lenient with it. But if they are surprised by a new example, they condemn it, even though the ruling is the same for the old example and the new one. The only thing is that the old example has become accustomed to the souls, so it became a customary matter, and people, especially the general public, do not direct condemnation to it. The example I want to give is: We have general texts, including the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and we have another text that is more specific to the example I will mention than this first text, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , and so on, the more the number increases, the more the reward and virtue increase. So now, the example is as follows: People enter the mosques in response to the call to prayer, "Hay 'ala al-salah, Hay 'ala al-falah" (Come to prayer, Come to success), and each individual chooses a corner of the mosque to pray the pre-prayer sunnah (recommended practice) prayers. If a man decides to gather the people who are praying the pre-prayer sunnah prayers individually, and says to them, "O people, come let us pray in congregation," and argues with the two previous hadiths: ; , is his argument correct? One who insists on arguing with the generality absolutely, as stated in the question, would find his argument correct, and on that basis, it would be prescribed for people to pray in congregation. I am certain that it has no basis in Islam. So how do we answer regarding the two hadiths that this person used as evidence, especially the second hadith: ? The practical Sunnah (the Prophet's way), which we care about, intervenes, and we say that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) transmitted to us his words, his actions, and his life in detail. Did the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when they entered the mosque, did each of them pray the sunnah prayer individually, or did they pray it in congregation? No scholar says that they used to pray the sunnah prayer in congregation. So, gathering for the pre-prayer sunnah prayer, and by analogy other sunnah prayers, is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that leads to misguidance, even if it falls under the general text. And our proof for that is: This general text, regarding this specific detail, was not acted upon by the Salaf. And for that reason, the scholars say:
"And all good is in following the Salaf ** And all evil is in the innovation of the Khalaf (the later generations)"
And the truth is that these many bid'ahs (religious innovations) that have spread throughout the Islamic lands, in their various forms and types, their origin is arguing with general texts that were not acted upon. Therefore, Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) did well in his book al-I'tisam (The Reliance) when he divided bid'ah into two categories: the first bid'ah, or the first category, he called it the true bid'ah, and we are not currently dealing with it. The other bid'ah is the additional bid'ah, and we are now dealing with its topic. Imam al-Shatibi says: The additional bid'ah is that when you look at it from one side, you find it prescribed; and when you look at it from another side, you find it not prescribed. He gives some important examples for that, which I mentioned earlier and derived from them, and among them is what is called in some countries "Khatm al-Salah" (the closing of the prayer). The closing of the prayer in the Sunnah, as it came in the authentic hadith: , this is the closing of the prayer. But with the people of innovation, the prayer is not closed with this salam (closing greeting), but it is necessary that the imam or the one behind him instructs them to say "Subhullah" (Glory be to Allah), "Ahmadullah" (Praise be to Allah), "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest), three times . They do not start with anything until the imam starts, then he raises his hands and supplicates, and they say "Ameen" to his supplication, and with that the prayer is closed. This form was mentioned by Imam al-Shatibi among the examples of additional bid'ah. From where is it correct to say that it is prescribed from one side, because it is supplication, and because raising the hands, as it came in the question, is in the authentic hadith: , or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. So this form, or this closing, considering that it falls under the general texts, is prescribed. But considering that it is a form that was not in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it is an additional bid'ah. And he establishes with a firm and very beautiful explanation that every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire, and the smallest bid'ah is misguidance, even though bid'ahs are not equal in their misguidance, but the smallest of them is misguidance.
He gives an example of this, which is seeking forgiveness after the congregational prayer. He says that seeking forgiveness has a basis in Sahih Muslim, where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ; this is its basis. However, gathering with one voice for this seeking forgiveness and this supplication is what was added to the original basis for the permissibility of this dhikr after the prayer, so it became an additional innovation. Therefore, it was linked to the rule: every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.