ANSWER TO THE OJECTION ON THE HANFI METHOD OF SALAH

Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifa (Rahimuhullah)

 Imam Al-Azam Abu Hanifa (Rahimuhullah) Was Tabayee(those who have seen Sahabi)

    Imam al-Dhahabi (rah) allocates the whole title in his book Tadhkira-tul-Hufadh as: Abu Hanifa "AL-IMAM AL-ADHAM" i.e. the greatest Imam. Then he said: Abu Hanifa saw Anas bin Malik (i.e. Abu Hanifa was a Tabi'i)..... Zarar bin Sard said Yazid bin Haroon asked me who is greater Faqih amongst the two i.e. Imam Abu Hanifah or Sufyan al-Thawri? He replied: Abu Hanifah is greater (i.e. having knowledge about all details of religion) and Sufyan al-Thawri is Hafidh ul-Hadith, Ibn Mubarak said that Abu Hanifah (rah) is greater in Fiqh than all people. Imam Shafi'i (rah) said: We are all like children of Abu Hanifa in Fiqh. Yazid bin haroon (rah) said i didnt see a more knowledgeable person then Imam Abu Hanifah (rah), Imam Abu Dawud (rah) said Abu Hanifah is our Imam

[Imam al-Dhahabi, Kitab Tadhkira-tul-Hufadh Volume 001, Page No. 168-169] 

Raising the hands only once during Prayer

Hadith #1

Alqama reports that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (Allah be pleased with them) said: Should I not demonstrate the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) for you? He performed the prayer, and did not raise his hands except at the initial takbir, Imam Tirimdhi said: This Hadith of Ibn Masud (ra) is "Hassan" and It is "Ghair Wahid (i.e. Multiply narrated)" from people of knowledge amongst "SAHABA" of Prophet (salallaho alaihi wasalam) "Tabiyeen" It is also saying of "Sufyan Thawri (i.e. Ameer ul Momineen fil hadith)"  and Also people of "Kufa"

[Sunnan Tirimdhi, Volume No. 2, Page No. 102, Published Maktaba al Asriyyah, Beirut, Lebanon]

Ibn Mas'ud said: "Shall I not show you the manner in which Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) performed his salaah?" Thereafter he performed the salaah but he did not raise his hands except at the beginning (of his salaah). - Nasir al-Albani said about the hadith - (والحق انه حديث صحيح واسناده صحيح على شرط مسلم ولم نجد لمن اعله حجة يصلح التعلق بها ورد الحديث من اجلها ) The truth is that this hadith is "SAHIH" and its Isnad is also sahih on the criteria of Sahih Muslim. The people who have declared it Malool (i.e. having defect)  have no proof over it through which they can do Istidlal in negating this hadith (Mishqat al Masabih, Tahqiq Nasir Albani, Volume 1, Page No. 254, Hadith Number. 809, FN. 3)  

Hadith #2

 Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanum said that Abu Musa al-ash’ari gathered his people of the Asha’ri (tribe) and said: O People of Ash’ari tribe come gather with your women and offsprings so that I can teach you the Salaah of Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) as he used to pray in Madina, (after this) he performed ablution clearly in order to teach everyone how It is to be done, then he stood and proclaimed Adhaan, the Men gathered near him and made a row for Salaah, behind them stood children and behind them stood women, after this Iqamah was said and he (Abu Musa) moved ahead to lead them. He raised his hands and said Allah hu Akbar (for the first Takbir), then he recited surah Fatiha and some Surah, after this he said “Takbir” and went into Ruku where he said thrice: “Subhan Allah Wabihamdi” after which he raised while saying Sami Allahu Liman Hamida and (they) stood straight, after this Takbir was said and they went into Sajda,then Takbir was said again and they raised their heads from Sajda, again Takbir was said and they went into Sajda and then again Takbir was said and they stood (back) again, like this there were three Takbirs in the first Rakah, during second he also said takbeers and finally after finishing the Slaah he faced his nation and said: Remember my way of doing Takbir, going into Ruku and Sajda because this is the Salaah of Messenger of Allah which he used to pray with us during daytime.
[Musnad Ahmad, Volume 016, Page No. 463, Hadith Number 22804]

This hadith decisively proves that Raising hands was only done by Prophet (Peace be upon him) when he started the Prayer, remember Abu Musa (ra) is clearly teaching the prayer of Prophet (Peace be upon him) and he does not mention raising hands anywhere else except for first takbir, had Raf ul Yaddian been integral part of prayer then he would have not excluded it.

Hadith #3

Narated By Al-Bara' ibn Azib : When the Apostle of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) began prayer, he raised his hands up to his ears, then he did not repeat.
[Musnad Abu Hanifah by Abu Naeem, Page 156]  

Hadith #4

Narreted Abdullah Ibn Masud: “I performed Salaat with Prophet (Peave Be Upon Him), with Abu Bakr and Umar. They did not raise their hands except at the time of the first Takbeer in the opening of the Salaat.”
[Sunan Dartuquni Volume 002, Page 052, Hadith Number 1133]  

This hadith is Sound and also Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad Ahmad, Hadith Number 3660, 3736, 4055

Hadith #5

Narrated Al-Bara' ibn Azib: When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) began prayer, he raised his hands up to his ears, then he did not repeat. 
Reference: Book #3, Hadith #0749, Sunan Abu Dawood

Hadith #6

Narrated Al-Bara' ibn Azib: I saw that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) raised his hands when he began prayer, but he did not raise them until he finished (prayer). 
Reference: Book #3, Hadith# 0751, Sunan Abu Dawood

Hadith #7

حدّثنا يحيى بن آدم عن حسن بن عياش عن عبد الملك بن أبجر عن الزبير بن عدي عن إبراهيم عن الأسود قال: صليت مع عمر فلم يرفع يديه في شىء من صلاته إلا حين افتتح الصلاة قال عبد الملك: ورأيت الشعبي وإبرٰهيم وأبا إسحٰق لا يرفعون أيديهم إلا حين يفتتحون الصلاة

Translation: It is narrated by Al-Aswad (rah) who said: I prayed with Umar (ra) and he did not raise his hands anywhere in Salat except for when beginning it. Abdul Malik (rah) said: I saw Sh’abi, Ibrahim, Abu Ishaq that they did not rasie their hands anywhere in Salaat except for when beginning it
[Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Volume No.1, Page No. 268]
Allama Turkamani (rah) said about this hadith:

وهذا السند ايضا صحيح على شرط مسلم

This Sanad is “Sahih on the criteria of Sahih Muslim” [Al-Jawhar al Naqi’i]

Mullah Ali Qari (rah) said about this hadith:

وروى الطحاوي ثم البيهقي من حديث الحسن بن عياش بسند صحيح

Translation: Imam Tahawi and Imam Baihaqi have narrated the hadith from Hassan bin Ayyash with “A SAHIH CHAIN” [Mirqat Sharh al Mishqaat, (2/523)]

Hadith #8

أبو بكر النهشلي، قال: ثنا عاصم بن كليب، عن أبيه أن عليّاً رضي الله عنه كان يرفع يديه في أول تكبيرة من الصلاة، ثم لا يرفع بَعْدُ .

Translation: Asim narrates from his father who narrates from Ali (ra) that he used to raise his hands only in the initial takbir and did not (raise) afterwards
[Imam Baihaqi in Sunnan al-Kubra, Volume No. 2, Page No. 80, Published by Maktaba Dar al Baaz, Saudi Arabia]
Al Mubarakfuri the famous Salafi scholar said:

واستدلوا أيضاً بأثر علي رضي الله عنه رواه الطحاوي وابن أبي شيبة والبيهقي عن عاصم بن كليب عن أبيه أن علياً يرفع يديه في أول تكبيرة من الصلاة ثم لا يرفع بعد. قال الزيلعي: هو أثر صحيح. وقال العيني في عمدة القاريء: إسناد عاصم بن كليب صحيح على شرط مسلم
 
The Proof of (abrogation of rafa al yadain) comes from Athar of “Ali (radhiyallahu anhu) which is narrated by Imam Tahawi (rah), Ibn Abi Shaybah (rah) and Baihaqi (rah) with the chain of Asim Ibn Kulaib >> His Father Kulaib>> from Ali that He (Ali RA) would raise his hands in the first Takbeer of Salaat. Thereafter he would not raise his hands.” Imam Zayli (rah) said This report is “Sahih” Imam Badr ud din Ayni (rah) said in his Umdat al Qari that Isnaad of the report from Asim bin Kulayb is "SAHIH ON THE CRITERIA OF SAHIH MUSLIM"
[Al-Mubarakfuri the famous Salafi commentator of Sunnan Tirimdhi mentions it in Tuhfha tul Ahwadhi, (2/98)] 
  
A Famous Debate Is Also Recorded In Musnad Imam Abu Hanifa
The Debate Between Imam Awza'i and Imam Abu Hanifa recorded in the book Musnad Imam Abu Hanifa, chapter on 'Raf' al-Yadayn

These two Imams once debated the matter of raf' al-yadayn , and it is described by Sufyan ibn Uyayna:

"Once Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Awza'i met in a market in Makka. Imam Awza'i asked Imam Abu Hanifa why he did not practice raf' al-yadayn during the salat.

Abu Hanifa: There is no authentic hadith about practicing raf' al-yadayn .

Awza'i:Why isn't there an authentic hadith? Here is one: Imam Zuhri told me, who was told by Salim, who was told by Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) practiced raf' al-yadayn before and after theruku'.

Abu Hanifa: Hamad told me, who was told by Ibrahim, who was told by Ikrama, who was told by Aswad who was told by 'Abdullah ibnMas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) only practiced raf' al-yadayn at the beginning of performing his salat and not afterwards.

Awza'i:The narration that I have presented to you has a shorter chain and your hadith has a longer chain; for this reason, my hadith is more reliable than yours.

Abu Hanifa: It does not matter if the chain of the hadith is long or short. The priority of the hadith depends on the narrators of the hadith and how much knowledge of Hadith they had. The narrators of the hadith which I have presented possess more expertise in the knowledge of Hadith. For example, Hamad is more knowledgeable than Imam Zuhri. Ibrahim is more knowledgeable than Salim; Ikrama is a great scholar and Ibn Mas'ud is unique.

Imam Awza'i then became silent"

[Musnad Imam Abu Hanifa, chapter on 'Raf' al-Yadayn]

Placing Hands Below the Navel

Hadith #9

Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: AbuJuhayfah said: Ali said that it is a sunnah to place one hand on the other in prayer below the navel.

[Sunan Abu Dawud Volume 001, Page No. 338, Hadith Number 756]

Raising the index finger once
 
Hadith #10

عن ‏ ‏عبد الله بن الزبير ‏ ‏أنه ذكر ‏
أن النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏كان ‏ ‏يشير بأصبعه إذا دعا ولا يحركها ‏

Translation: Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Zubayr (ra) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to point with his index finger [at the time of Tashahhud] and he “WOULD NOT MOVE IT” (Sunnan Abu Dawud, Volume No. 1, Page No. 260)

It is also narrated from Imam Baihaqi (rah) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to point with his index finger when making supplication, without moving it" (Sunnan Bayhaqi, 2:131–132).

Saying Aameen Silently

Hadith # 11

حدثنا أبو داود قال حدثنا شعبة قال أخبرني سلمة ابن كهيل قال سمعت حجرا أبا العنبس قال سمعت علقمة ابن وائل يحدث عن وائل وقد سمعت من وائل انه «صلى مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فلما قرأ {غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين } قال آمين خفض بها صوته

Translation: It is narrated by Wa’il biin Hujr (ra) that he prayed with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and when the Prophet said: {Ghayr il Maghdoobi Alaihim Waladhualeen} he used to say “AMEEN SILENTLY” [Musnad Abu Dawud al-Tiyalsi (1/576), Sunnan Tirimdhi (2/65), Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal (5/412) and others]

Imam Badr ud-din Ayni (rah) said of this hadith:
وقال: حديث صحيح الإسناد

Translation: This hadith has “SAHIH CHAIN" [Umdat ul Qari, Sharh Sahih ul Bukhari (6/47)]

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