Where in the prayer do I raise my hands?

The four places

Shaykh Ibn Baz set them out plainly: at the takbirat al-ihram (the opening takbir), at the ruku, at the rising from ruku, and at the standing for the third rak'ah after the first tashahhud. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen gives the same four, and adds that outside these four places no raising is prescribed.

1. The opening takbir. You raise your hands as you begin the prayer, saying "Allahu akbar."
2. Going into ruku. When you want to bow, you raise your hands, then go down and place them on your knees.
3. Rising from ruku. You lift your hands off your knees, raising them until you are standing upright, then place them on your chest.
4. Standing from the first tashahhud. When you rise for the third rak'ah, you raise your hands to the level of the shoulders, as at the opening takbir.

How high, and when exactly

The hands are raised to the level of the shoulders or to the level of the ears. Ibn Baz notes that the Prophet ﷺ did it both ways — sometimes to the shoulders, sometimes to the ears — so either is fine.

On timing, Ibn Uthaymeen says the raising begins with the beginning of the takbir, and you may raise then say the takbir, or say the takbir then raise. Al-Mughni (Ibn Qudamah) states that the raising starts when the takbir starts and ends when it ends.

At the rising from ruku, the wording differs by role: the imam and the one praying alone say "Sami'a Allahu liman hamidah" as they raise, while the one praying behind the imam says "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd" as they raise.

The fourth place is not the fourth rak'ah

A point worth being clear on, because it is a common confusion: the fourth place is the standing for the third rak'ah, not the fourth. IslamWeb states explicitly that raising the hands is not prescribed when standing for the fourth rak'ah. Ibn Uthaymeen also corrects a related mistake — you raise your hands when you have stood up, not while still sitting before rising.

What is not included

Raising the hands in sujud or when rising from sujud is not established. Ibn Uthaymeen explains that the four places are confirmed by the hadith of Ibn Umar رضي الله عنه, in which he described the Prophet ﷺ raising his hands at the takbir, at the ruku, at the rising from ruku, and at the standing from the first tashahhud — and said he did not do that in sujud. Ibn Umar's negation here, Ibn Uthaymeen notes, was not from ignorance but from knowledge and careful following, so it is not treated as the kind of negation that a positive report overrides.

There is a report that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands at every lowering and raising. Ibn al-Qayyim, in Zad al-Ma'ad, concluded this was an error by the narrator, who meant to say the Prophet ﷺ used to say the takbir at every lowering and raising.

Where the scholars differ

Al-Mughni records that al-Thawri and Abu Hanifah held the hands are raised only at the opening takbir, not at the other three places. Their evidence is the report of Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه that he prayed and did not raise his hands except the first time, and a report from al-Bara' ibn 'Azib that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands when he opened the prayer and then did not repeat it.

Ibn Qudamah answers this on behalf of the majority: the practice is narrated from Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Jabir, Abu Hurayrah, Ibn al-Zubayr, Anas, and a large number of the Successors, and it is the position of al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Malik in one of the two narrations from him. The reports came through so many Companions — including Umar, Ali, Wa'il ibn Hujr, Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, Abu Hurayrah, and others — that Ibn Qudamah describes it as reaching the level of the mutawatir, which admits no doubt, and he notes the Companions and Successors acted on it and objected to those who did not.

Albani adds a further point: raising the hands is also established at the other takbirs, and there are many narrations about raising at the going down to sujud and rising from it, narrated from ten Companions. He notes that Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal acted on this, and it is reported from Imam al-Shafi'i and is the madhhab of Ibn Hazm.

The Maliki work al-Tanbih records five positions within that school, ranging from not raising at all, to raising only at the opening takbir, to raising at two, three, or four places — and notes that narrations exist that support these various positions.

Key takeaways

• Four places: the opening takbir, the ruku, the rising from ruku, and the standing from the first tashahhud.
• It is a sunnah, not a wajib — omitting it leaves the prayer valid.
• Raise to the shoulders or the ears — both are established from the Prophet ﷺ.
• Do not raise in sujud or when rising from it, and not when standing for the fourth rak'ah.
• The Hanafi position is that the hands are raised only at the opening takbir; the majority held the four places, and Ibn Qudamah considered their evidence the stronger.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni
• Albani, Tammam al-Minnah
• Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma'ad

And Allah knows best.