Raf' al-Yadain Like the Tails of Rebellious Horses

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

The problem of Raf’ al-Yadain in the Salah is made controversial by a certain sectarian faction, the Ghair Muqallidin (non-conformists) or so-called Ahl ul-Hadith with roots in the Indian Subcontinent of the 19^th century CE. Due to their particular enmity with the mainstream Sunni Hanafi Muslims, the Ghair Muqallidin place undue emphasis on the problem of Raf’ al-Yadain. This despite the fact that there is no explicit commandment in either the Quran or the entire Hadith corpus that enjoins the making of Raf’ al-Yadain. Yet the Ghair Muqallidin have made this one subsidiary issue as though it is a matter of life and death, of faith and unbelief. It is the focus of their Da’wah, apparently taking precedence over the call to Tawhid, or to other fundamental teachings of Islam found in the Quran and Sunnah.

On the contrary, in this article I shall present an irrefutable and solid evidence from the Prophet’s Hadith which clearly prohibits the action of repeated Raf’ al-Yadain in the Salah which characterizes the method of Salah favored by the Ghair Muqallidin or so-called Ahl ul-Hadith.

عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏ مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ رَافِعِي أَيْدِيكُمْ كَأَنَّهَا أَذْنَابُ خَيْلٍ شُمْسٍ اسْكُنُوا فِي الصَّلاَةِ

Tamim bin Tarafah narrates from Jabir bin Samurah, he said, the Messenger of Allah, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, came out upon us and he said, “Why am I seeing you raising your hands like the tails of headstrong horses? Be calm in the Salah!” (Sahih Muslim: Kitab as-Salah; Bab al-Amri bis-Sukuni fi-Salati wan-Nahi ‘anil-Isharati bil-Yadi waraf’iha ‘aindas-Salami wa-itmamis-Sufufil-Uuli wat-Tarassi fiha wal-Amri bil-Ijtima’i)

Though this Hadith in the apparent presents a proof for the prohibition of repeated Raf’ al-Yadain in the Salah, comparing it to the way rebellious horses wag their tails up and down repeatedly, the Ghair Muqallidin or so-called Ahl ul-Hadith argue that this Hadith is concerning the problem of making a gesture with the hands to both sides when offering the Taslim through which the Salah is terminated. In the same chapter of Sahih Muslim, the Ghair Muqallidin cite the following Hadith which they claim adds context to the one quoted earlier:

حَدَّثَنِي عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ ابْنُ الْقِبْطِيَّةِ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ كُنَّا إِذَا صَلَّيْنَا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قُلْنَا السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ ‏.‏ وَأَشَارَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى الْجَانِبَيْنِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏ عَلاَمَ تُومِئُونَ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ كَأَنَّهَا أَذْنَابُ خَيْلٍ شُمُسٍ إِنَّمَا يَكْفِي أَحَدَكُمْ أَنْ يَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَى فَخِذِهِ ثُمَّ يُسَلِّمُ عَلَى أَخِيهِ مَنْ عَلَى يَمِينِهِ وَشِمَالِهِ

Ubaidullah Ibn ul-Qibtiyyah narrated from Jabir bin Samurah, he said, when we were offering Salah with the Messenger of Allah, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, we said, As-Salamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi, as-Salamu ‘alaikum ‘alaikum warahmatullahi, and we gestured with our hand to both sides. So the Messenger of Allah, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, said: “What do you point out with your two hands as though they are the tails of headstrong horses? It is sufficient for one of you to place his hand upon his thigh then offer the Salam to his brother to his right and left.” (ibid)

While on the surface it may seem the Ghair Muqallidin or so-called Ahl ul-Hadith have a solid argument, when one begins to analyze it it quickly falls apart.

The two narrations are in fact separate Hadith dealing with separate incidents. The first narration is concerning the problem of raising the hands repeatedly in the Salah, as the so-called Ahl ul-Hadith do before going into Ruku’, after raising their head from Ruku’ and at the beginning of the third Rak’ah, while the second narration is dealing with the problem of pointing or making a gesture with the hands to the right and left when making the Taslim to conclude the Salah. I will present several points to establish this fact:

1. Although the Sahabi Jabir bin Samurah, radi Allahu ‘anhu, is the narrator of both Hadith, the immediate sub-narrator is different for both. In the first narration the immediate sub-narrator narrating from Jabir bin Samurah is Tamim bin Tarafah, while in the second narration and all other versions of it the narrator narrating from Jabir bin Samurah is Ubaidullah Ibn ul-Qibtiyyah.

2. Perhaps more devastating for the Ghair Muqallidin is the fact that in the first narration the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, enters upon a group of the Sahabah and witnesses them raising their hands repeatedly in the Salah, while in the second narration Jabir bin Samurah says that he and a group of Sahabah were offering Salah with the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, clearly establishing that these are two separate incidents.

3. Although in both narrations the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, uses the same expression of “like the tails of headstrong horses” the wording describing the action of the Sahabah that is compared to the tails of headstrong horses establishes that they are two separate actions. In the first Hadith the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, says “why do I see you raising your hands” and in the other Hadith he says “what are you pointing to with your hands”. The significant discrepency in wording proves that the Prophet, ‘alaih is-Salam, is describing two different actions in two separate incidents.

4. In the first Hadith the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, says an additional sentence that is totally absent from the second Hadith and its variants. He says “be calm inside the Salah”. It makes sense he would not say these words in the second Hadith which is regarding gesturing with ones hands at the conclusion of the Salah. The action of repeated Raf’ al-Yadain being prohibited in the first Hadith is obviously done during the duration of the Salah and not at its conclusion, which explains why the Prophet countered it by saying “be calm inside the Salah”.

It should be borne in mind that a Qawli Hadith, meaning a verbal statement of the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, takes precedence in a scenario in which it apparently contradicts a F’ili Hadith, meaning an action of the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam. While the Ghair Muqallidin may present several Ahadith in which the Prophet himself made repeated Raf’ al-Yadain, they are all examples of his silent action, but the Hadith we have presented at the beginning of this article is a verbal statement of prohibition from the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, which according to the principle of the Muhaddithin and Fuqaha takes precedence over a silent action.

One of the arguments presented by the Ghair Muqallidin to prove that both these Hadith are regarding the same thing and same incident is that they fall under the same chapter heading in Sahih Muslim, which is “The Command To Be Calm During The Prayer And The Prohibition Of Gesturing With One's Hand And Raising It When Saying The Salam; And Completing The First Rows, Aligning In Them, And The Command To Come Together”.

Firstly, the name of a chapter under which a Hadith is placed is not part of the Hadith itself. It is not the words of the Prophet, sall Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, and therefore, according to the principle of the Ghair Muqallidin themselves, it is not a Hujjah for anything.

Secondly, Imam Muslim bin Hajjaj, rahmatullah ‘alaih, was not the one who wrote the names of the chapters in the Sahih Muslim. That was done by later commentators like Imam an-Nawawi, rahmatullah ‘alaih.

Thirdly, the chapter name does not actually indicate that the first Hadith narrated under it is concerning the gesturing with hands during the Taslim, because the chapter heading has several elements, each corresponding to a different Hadith placed within the chapter. The first part of the chapter heading is simply “the command to be calm during the Salah” and it is that part of the chapter name which is relevant to the first Hadith placed within the chapter, the Hadith which prohibits repeated Raf’ al-Yadain inside the Salah.