What is the ruling on raising the hands for supplication during the sermon?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : May Allah bless you and increase you in knowledge.
The Shaykh : And you as well, amen.
The questioner : There has been much discussion regarding the matter of raising the hands in supplication during the sermon. Please explain it to us with evidence, may Allah preserve you?
The Shaykh : Yes, raising the hands in supplication during the sermon is not prescribed; rather, it is prohibited. This is because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) rebuked Bishr ibn Marwan when he raised his hands in supplication while delivering the sermon to the people on Friday. Therefore, it is not prescribed for the imam delivering the sermon, nor for the listening believer, to raise his hands in supplication when he supplicates during the sermon, except in the case of seeking rain, meaning asking for rainfall, or in the case of seeking clear weather, meaning asking for the sky to clear. The evidence for this is the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), which refers to the time of the sermon. It is also established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Anas that a man entered the mosque on Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the paths have been cut off, so call upon Allah to send us relief." Anas said, "By Allah, there was no cloud in the sky, nor a wisp of cloud." A cloud is a large mass of vapor, and a wisp is a piece of cloud. Sunan an-Nasa'i 1518 Sal' is a well-known mountain in Medina from whose direction clouds come. The weather was clear. He said: فرفع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يديه وقال : اللهم أغثنا اللهم أغثنا اللهم أغثنا فأنشأ الله تعالى من وراء سلع سحابة مثل الترس أتعرفون الترس ؟ الترس كالصاج وتعرفون الصاج نعم الذي إيش ؟ يخبز عليه طيب هذا الترس يتقى به السهام مع المقاتل يحمله بيده فإذا رأى أحدا صوب عليه سهما أو رمحا قال به هكذا يرده يقول : ظهرت من ورائه سحابة مثل الترس فلما توسطت السماء انتشرت ورعدت وبرقت وأمطرت فما نزل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من منبره إلا والمطر يتحادر من لحيته الله أكبر هذا فيه أيها الإخوة دليل على تمام قدرة الله عز وجل وفيه أيضا آية لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه رسول الله حقا لأن الله تعالى أيده بإجابة دعوته فبقي المطر ينزل أسبوعا كاملا والمطر ينزل والشعاب تهدر فدخل رجل أو الرجل الأول في الجمعة الأخرى وقال : يا رسول الله تهدم البناء وغرق المال فادع الله يمسكها عنها فرفع يديه وقال : اللهم حوالينا ولا علينا اللهم على الآكام والظراب وبطون الأودية ومنابت الشجر وجعل يشير بيده إلى النواحي فما يشير إلى ناحية إلا انفرجت بإذن الله عز وجل فخرج الناس يمشون في الشمس صحو وكل ما حول المدينة يمطر هذا أيضا من آيات الله الدالة على قدرته ومن آيات الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم الدالة على صحة نبوته وأنه رسول رب العالمين لأن إجابة الله دعاءه يدل على صدقه وأنه رسول الله حقا لكن قد يشهد الله عز وجل لمدعي الكذب بعكس إجابته كما يذكر عن مسيلمة الكذاب المشهور الذي ادعى أنه رسول مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقال إن قومه جاؤا إليه يوما بصبي رأسه فيه قزع أتعرفون القزع ؟ بعضه فيه شعر وبعضه ما فيه شعر فطلبوا منه أن يدعو له أو أن يمسح عليه ليكون الشعر كله على رأسه فمسح رأسه فسقط الشعر الموجود، آية على كذبه أو على صدقه ؟ آية على كذبه وقالوا أيضا عنه إنه جاء إليه قوم قد نقصت مياه آبارهم وقالوا إنهم يطلبون منه أن يبارك فيها فجاء إليها فأخذ ماء منها وتمضمض به ثم مجه فيها من أجل أن يزيد الماء ولكن الماء الذي فيها غار وانتهى هذا أيضا أية على كذبه لكن محمدا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تشهد الآيات على صدقه .
المهم أن الخطيب لا يرفع يديه إذا دعا في الخطبة إلا في الاستسقاء أو الاستصحاء الاستسقاء إيش ؟ طلب المطر والاستصحاء ؟ طلب الصحو وكذلك الناس رفعوا أيديهم مع الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام حين رفع يديه يستسقي فرفعوا أيديهم معه وعلى هذا فما نشاهده من بعض الناس الذين يرفعون أيديهم عند الدعاء في خطبة الجمعة لا أصل له من السنة نعم . So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and said, "O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain." Then Allah the Exalted caused a cloud to rise from behind Sal' like a shield. Do you know what a shield is? A shield is like a metal plate, and you know what a metal plate is. Yes, the one used for what? Baking bread. Good. This shield is used to deflect arrows. A fighter carries it in his hand, and when he sees someone aiming an arrow or spear at him, he uses it like this to deflect it. He said: "A cloud appeared behind him like a shield. When it reached the middle of the sky, it spread out, thundered, flashed, and rained. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not descend from the pulpit until the rain was dripping from his beard. Allahu Akbar. This contains, O brothers, evidence of the perfection of the power of Allah Mighty and Majestic. It is also a sign for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he is truly the Messenger of Allah, because Allah the Exalted supported him by answering his supplication. The rain continued to fall for a full week. The rain was falling and the wadis were roaring. A man, or the first man, entered on the following Friday and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the buildings have collapsed and the wealth has been drowned, so call upon Allah to hold it back from us." He raised his hands and said, "O Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, upon the hills, the high places, the bottoms of the wadis, and the places where trees grow." And he was gesturing with his hand toward the sides. Wherever he gestured toward a side, it cleared by the permission of Allah Mighty and Majestic. The people went out walking in the clear sun, while everything around Medina was raining. This is also among the signs of Allah indicating His power, and among the signs of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicating the truth of his prophethood and that he is the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, because the answering of his supplication by Allah indicates his truthfulness and that he is truly the Messenger of Allah. However, Allah the Exalted may testify to a liar by the opposite of answering his call, as is mentioned regarding Musaylimah the Liar, the famous one who claimed to be a messenger along with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is said that his people came to him one day with a boy whose head had bald patches. Do you know what bald patches are? Some of it has hair and some of it does not. They asked him to supplicate for him, or to rub his head, so that the hair would be all over his head. He rubbed his head, and the existing hair fell out. Is this a sign of his lie or of his truth? It is a sign of his lie. They also said about him that a group of people came to him whose well water had decreased, and they said they were asking him to bless it. He came to it, took some water from it, and rinsed his mouth with it, then spat it into it in order to increase the water. But the water in it sank and ended. This is also a sign of his lie. But Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the signs testify to his truthfulness. The important point is that the one delivering the sermon does not raise his hands when he supplicates in the sermon except in seeking rain or seeking clear weather. Seeking rain is what? Asking for rain. And seeking clear weather? Asking for the sky to clear. Likewise, the people raised their hands with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when he raised his hands seeking rain, so they raised their hands with him. Based on this, what we see from some people who raise their hands when supplicating in the Friday sermon has no basis in the Sunnah. Yes.
The Shaykh : And you as well, amen.
The questioner : There has been much discussion regarding the matter of raising the hands in supplication during the sermon. Please explain it to us with evidence, may Allah preserve you?
The Shaykh : Yes, raising the hands in supplication during the sermon is not prescribed; rather, it is prohibited. This is because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) rebuked Bishr ibn Marwan when he raised his hands in supplication while delivering the sermon to the people on Friday. Therefore, it is not prescribed for the imam delivering the sermon, nor for the listening believer, to raise his hands in supplication when he supplicates during the sermon, except in the case of seeking rain, meaning asking for rainfall, or in the case of seeking clear weather, meaning asking for the sky to clear. The evidence for this is the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not raise his hands in supplication except when seeking rain, or in seeking rain.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان لا يرفع يديه في الدعاء إلا إذا استسقى أو إلا في الاستسقاءThat a man entered the mosque on Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the paths have been cut off, so call upon Allah to send us relief." Anas said, "By Allah, there was no cloud in the sky, nor a wisp of cloud."
أن رجلا دخل المسجد يوم الجمعة والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يخطب فقال يا رسول الله هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل فادع الله يغيثنا قال أنس : فوالله ما في السماء من سحاب ولا قزعةthere were no houses or buildings between us and (the mountain of ) Sal'
وما بيننا وبين سلع من بيت ولا دارالمهم أن الخطيب لا يرفع يديه إذا دعا في الخطبة إلا في الاستسقاء أو الاستصحاء الاستسقاء إيش ؟ طلب المطر والاستصحاء ؟ طلب الصحو وكذلك الناس رفعوا أيديهم مع الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام حين رفع يديه يستسقي فرفعوا أيديهم معه وعلى هذا فما نشاهده من بعض الناس الذين يرفعون أيديهم عند الدعاء في خطبة الجمعة لا أصل له من السنة نعم . So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and said, "O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain." Then Allah the Exalted caused a cloud to rise from behind Sal' like a shield. Do you know what a shield is? A shield is like a metal plate, and you know what a metal plate is. Yes, the one used for what? Baking bread. Good. This shield is used to deflect arrows. A fighter carries it in his hand, and when he sees someone aiming an arrow or spear at him, he uses it like this to deflect it. He said: "A cloud appeared behind him like a shield. When it reached the middle of the sky, it spread out, thundered, flashed, and rained. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not descend from the pulpit until the rain was dripping from his beard. Allahu Akbar. This contains, O brothers, evidence of the perfection of the power of Allah Mighty and Majestic. It is also a sign for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he is truly the Messenger of Allah, because Allah the Exalted supported him by answering his supplication. The rain continued to fall for a full week. The rain was falling and the wadis were roaring. A man, or the first man, entered on the following Friday and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the buildings have collapsed and the wealth has been drowned, so call upon Allah to hold it back from us." He raised his hands and said, "O Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, upon the hills, the high places, the bottoms of the wadis, and the places where trees grow." And he was gesturing with his hand toward the sides. Wherever he gestured toward a side, it cleared by the permission of Allah Mighty and Majestic. The people went out walking in the clear sun, while everything around Medina was raining. This is also among the signs of Allah indicating His power, and among the signs of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicating the truth of his prophethood and that he is the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, because the answering of his supplication by Allah indicates his truthfulness and that he is truly the Messenger of Allah. However, Allah the Exalted may testify to a liar by the opposite of answering his call, as is mentioned regarding Musaylimah the Liar, the famous one who claimed to be a messenger along with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is said that his people came to him one day with a boy whose head had bald patches. Do you know what bald patches are? Some of it has hair and some of it does not. They asked him to supplicate for him, or to rub his head, so that the hair would be all over his head. He rubbed his head, and the existing hair fell out. Is this a sign of his lie or of his truth? It is a sign of his lie. They also said about him that a group of people came to him whose well water had decreased, and they said they were asking him to bless it. He came to it, took some water from it, and rinsed his mouth with it, then spat it into it in order to increase the water. But the water in it sank and ended. This is also a sign of his lie. But Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the signs testify to his truthfulness. The important point is that the one delivering the sermon does not raise his hands when he supplicates in the sermon except in seeking rain or seeking clear weather. Seeking rain is what? Asking for rain. And seeking clear weather? Asking for the sky to clear. Likewise, the people raised their hands with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when he raised his hands seeking rain, so they raised their hands with him. Based on this, what we see from some people who raise their hands when supplicating in the Friday sermon has no basis in the Sunnah. Yes.