Raising the Hands in Supplication

Q: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raise his hands in supplication in all circumstances?
A: He (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands in specific places and during incidental supplication. There are also places where he would supplicate without raising his hands, peace and blessings be upon him. It is established that he raised his hands during the prayer for rain when he sought rain for the Muslims on a Friday during the sermon; he raised his hands. Likewise, when he went out to the desert, prayed two units, addressed the people, and supplicated, he raised his hands, peace and blessings be upon him. Also, when he supplicated for someone, he raised his hands, peace and blessings be upon him. This is established in many hadiths. Raising the hands is part of the Sunnah and one of the causes of supplication being answered. Among this is what is established in Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: إن الله طيب ولا يقبل إلا طيبًا، وإن الله أمر المؤمنين بما أمر به المرسلين فقال تعالى: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِلَّهِ [البقرة: 172] وقال سبحانه: يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا [المؤمنون: 51] ثم ذكر الرجل يطيل السفر أشعث أغبر يمد يديه إلى السماء يا رب يا رب ومطعمه حرام ومشربه حرام وملبسه حرام وغذي بالحرام فأنى يستجاب لذلك Indeed, Allah is Pure and does not accept except what is pure. And Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: "O you who believe, eat from the good things We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah" [al-Baqarah: 172]. And He, the Exalted, said: "O messengers, eat from the good things and do righteous deeds" [al-Mu'minun: 51]. Then he mentioned the man who travels a long distance, disheveled and covered in dust, extending his hands to the sky, saying, "O my Lord, O my Lord," while his food is forbidden, his drink is forbidden, his clothing is forbidden, and he is nourished with what is forbidden. How then will he be answered?.
So he, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned that extending the hands to the sky is one of the causes of supplication being answered. However, because the supplicant had engaged in what is forbidden in many ways, he, peace and blessings be upon him, considered it unlikely that his supplication would be answered due to his engagement in what is forbidden. From this, it is known that raising the hands is one of the causes of supplication being answered.
In the other hadith, he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: meaning: empty. This indicates the legitimacy of raising the hands in supplication and that it is one of the causes of supplication being answered. However, it is established in other places that he, peace and blessings be upon him, did not raise his hands, such as supplication between the two prostrations and supplication at the end of the prayer before the closing salam. Thus, supplication after the five obligatory prayers (Zuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha', and Fajr): he, peace and blessings be upon him, did not raise his hands after any of them. So the Sunnah in such cases is not to raise the hands; rather, raising them in this case is an innovation, because it is not established from him, peace and blessings be upon him, nor from his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) . It is known that he, peace and blessings be upon him, did not leave any good without guiding the community to it, nor any evil without warning them against it, peace and blessings be upon him.
But if one recites the qunut in times of calamity, it is prescribed for him to raise his hands after bowing in the last unit. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did this when he supplicated against the tribes that had attacked the Muslims from among the reciters, and because he, peace and blessings be upon him, supplicated after bowing in the last unit against the disbelievers of Quraysh before the Conquest. Likewise, raising the hands in the qunut of the witr prayer. And success is from Allah.