Bismillahir Rahmaain Raheem,
Rafa Yadain i.e Raising the Hands before Rukoo and after Rukoo is a proven Sunnah of the mesenger of Allah s.a.w which he did all his life:
https://systemoflife.com/fiqh/salah/265-rafayadain-in-rukoo-and-after-rukoo
Some people use the following Hadeeth of Baraa bin ‘Aazib on Rafa Yadain before Rukoo and after Rukoo as their proof for not doing Rafa Yadain in Salaah.
يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي زِيَادٍ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي لَيْلَى ، عَنْ الْبَرَاءِ ، ” أَنّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ إِذَا افْتَتَحَ الصَّلَاةَ رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى قَرِيبٍ مِنْ أُذُنَيْهِ ثُمَّ لَا يَعُودُ
Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad, narrated from Ibn Abi Laila, from Al-Baraa that, “I saw the Messenger of Allah (SAW) when he started the prayer, raised his hands to near his ears, then he did not repeat that.” [Ma’ani al-Athaar by Al-Tahawi, and Sunan abu Dawud 749]
The Following is a collection of 6 answers by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zair from his best book on Raful Yadain in urdu “Noor ul Aynain Fee Mas’ala Rafa Al Yadain”. Brother Raza Hasan translated this answer. May Allah reward him Abundantly for his efforts, ameen.
First Answer:
This Hadith is depended upon the narrator, Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad Al-Qarshi Al-Haashmi, who was a Da’eef and Shi’aa narrator.
Introduction of Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad in the field Jarh and Ta’deel:
Jarha (Criticism):
1: Shu’bah said:
“كان رفاعا”
2: Abu Hatim al-Razi said:
“لم یکن بالحافظ، لیس بالقوی”
He is not the memorizer, He is not strong
[Ref: Same as above]
3: Yahya bin Ma’een said:
لا يحتج بحديثه، ومرة: ليس بالقوي، ومرة: ضعيف الحديث
His ahadith are not evidence, He is not strong, Da’eef in Hadith.
[Ref: Same, Al-Kamil la Ibn Adi (2729/7)]
4: Abu Zur’ah said:
لين، يكتب حديثه ولا يحتج به
Lenient, Write his ahadith, and he is not Hujja
[ref: Al-Jarah wal Ta’deel]
5: Ibn al-Mubarak said:
“ارم بہ”
He is discarded
[Al-Du’fa al-Kabeer lil Ukaili 380/]
6: Wakee said:
“ليس بشيء”
He is nothing
[Same Ref]
7: Abu Usamah said:
لو حلف لي خمسين يمينا قسامة ما صدقته
8: Al-Uqailee:
Mentioned him in Al-Du’fa
[Same Ref]
9: Al-Nisai said:
“ليس بشيء”
He is nothing
10: Al-Juzjani said:
سمعتهم يضعفون حديثه
11: Ahmed bin Hanbal said:
حديثه ليس بذاك
12: Ibn Adi said:
ویزید من شیعۃ اھل الکوفہ مع ضعفہ یکتب حدیثہ
13: Ibn Hazam said:
“ضعيف”
Da’eef
[Al-Muhalla (484/7)]
14: Al-Baihaqi said:
“غير قوي”
Not strong
[Al-Kubra (26/2)]
15: Al-Haithami said:
“ضعيف”
Da’eef
[Al-Majma al-Zawaid (71/5)]
16: Ibn Kathir said:
“ضعيف”
Da’eef
[Tafsir Ibn Kathir (112/4, 98/2)]
17: Ibn al-Tarkamani (Hanafi) said:
“مضعف”
Weakened
[Al-Johar al-Naqi 208/2]
18: Abu Dawud said:
لا أعلم أحدا ترك حديثه، وغيره أحب إلي منه
19: Ibn Qaai’ said:
“ضعيف”
Da’eef
[Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb (288/11)]
20: Al-Haakim abu Ahmed said:
“ليس بالقوي”
He is not strong
[Same: Pg 289]
21: Al-Barwaiji said:
ليس هو بالقوي
He is not strong
[Same]
22: Ibn Khuzaymah said:
“فی القلب منہ”
23: Al-Daraqutni said:
ضعيف يخطئ كثيرا، ويلقن إذا لقن، وكان قد اختلط
24: Ibn al-Fudail said:
“کان من ائمۃ الشیعۃ الکبار”
He is the big Imam of Shi’aas
25: Ibn Hajr said:
ضعيف كبر فتغير وصار يتلقن
26: Al-Dhahabi said:
مشھہر سئ الحفظ
Famous Weak memorizor
[Al-Mughni fi Al-Du’fa 7101]
27: Ibn al-Madini said:
He weakened him
28: Sufyan bin Uyainah said:
(لم یکن سفیان یصف یزید بالحفظ)
29: Ibn Hibban said:
Mentioned him in al-Du’fa
30: Al-Hakim Abu Abdullah said:
کان یذکر بالحفظ فلما کبر ساء حفظہ فکان یقلب الاسانید ویزید فی المتون ولا یمیز
Ta’deel (Praise)
1. Ibn Shaheen:
Mentioned him in Al-Thiqaat
[Al-Thiqaat 1561]
2. Ahmed Saalih said:
ثقة ولا يعجبني قول من تكلم فيه
3. Al-Ijli said:
جائز الحديث، وكان بأخرة يلقن
4. Ya’qoob bin Sufyan said:
فهو علي العدالة والثقة
5. Ibn Sa’d said:
ثقة في نفسه، إلا أنه اختلط في آخر عمره فجاء بالعجائب
We came to know that according to the Majority of Scholars, Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad al-Haashmi is Da’eef. The reason of his weakness is his weak memorization, and excessive mistakes. The scholars who declared him to be Siqqah or Suduq, their saying, due to going against the Majority, is rejected.
Imam Busairi said about Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad: “The Jumhoor has declared him to be Da’eef”. [Zawaid Ibn Maja 2116]
Hafidh Ibn Hajr said: “And Jumhoor has declared his Hadith to be Da’eef. [Hadi al-Sari Pg 459]
Ashraf Ali Thanwi Deobandi said about the Hadith of Sunan Abu Dawud that: “It is Da’eef due to the weakness of Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad. [Nashar al-Tayyib fi Zikr al-Nabi Al-Habeeb Pg 244]
Note: All the Imams of Hadith have affirmed that: Yazeed has narrated this hadith after his deterioration, as it is coming ahead.
Second Answer:
Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad has narrated this Hadith after his Deterioration.
Sufyaan bin Uyainah said: “Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad narrated a Hadith to us in Makkah:
“عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي لَيْلَى ، عَنْ الْبَرَاءِ ، ” أَنّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ إِذَا افْتَتَحَ الصَّلَاةَ رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ”
[Kitaab al-Majroheen 100/3]
There is no mentioning of not doing rafa yadain in this ancient hadith.
Sufyan Bin Uyainah said: Then I came to Kufa and met Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad. I heard him narrating this Hadith, and he added the phrase of “ثُمَّ لَا يَعُودُ” (did not repeat it) in it. I think Kufis had suggested him, meaning they inculcated these words on his tongue.
[Kitab al-Umm Vol 1, Pg 104]
Imam Daraqutni also said that at the end of his age, Yazeed added these words by accpeting the suggestions.
[Sunan Al-Daraqutni 294/1]
Hafidh Ibn Hibban said: “Kufis have presented this Hadith for the negation of the rafa yadain of before and after ruku’, and the addition of “ثُمَّ لَا يَعُودُ” (did not repeat it) was not present in this Hadith. Kufis inculcated these words on Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad, at the end of his age, as a suggestion. Thus Yazeed accepted this suggestion, as Sufyaan bin Uyainah has described that: he had seen him narrating this hadith without these words in Makkah, and the one whose ploy is knowledge; they never present such ahadith as evidence”. [Al-Majroheen Vol 3, Pg 100]
From these affirmations of Muhadditheen, we came to know that Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad Al-Kufi Al-Shi’ai used to narrate this hadith without the words “did not repeat it” in the beginning era of his age, later when his Hafdha got deteriorated due to his oldness, he added these words of not doing it, by accepting the suggestion of his friends and people. Therefore, taking evidence from this hadith is not permissible.
Third Answer:
Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad is a Mudallis.
See: [Jaami’ al-Tahseel fi ahkaam al-Maraseel Pg 112, Uloom al-Hadith by Al-Haakim Pg 105, Qaseeda fil Mudalliseen By Mahmood al-Maqdasi # 4, Risala al-Suooti fil Midalliseen 67, Abu Zur’a Ibn al-Iraqi 71, Dhahabi in Arjozat, and Tabqat al-Mudalliseen by Ibn Hajr (Third Tbaqa 3/112)]
Imam Daraqutni and Haakim etc have declared him Mudallis.
All the ahadith narrated by Yazeed on not doing rafa yadain (meaning his those ahadith which mention the phrase, “did not repeat it” do not contain his affirmation of hearing.
Therefore, we coame to know that, this narration is Da’eef due to the “AN-ana” of Yazeed Mudallis and the “AN-ana” of a Mudallis is contrariant to the strongness of a Hadith.
Forth Answer:
There is a consesus of Muhadditheen that this hadith is Da’eef. And the phrase “he did not repeat it” are the addition of Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad.
Ibn al-Mulqan said: This hadith is Da’eef, with the consesus of the Huffaz of Hadith. [Al-Badar al-Muneer 487/3]
The following Muhadditheen have confirmed the weakness of this hadih:
Sufyan bin Uyainah
Al-Shafa’ee
Al-Humaidi
Ahmed bin Hanbal
Yahya bin Ma’een
Ad-Daarimi
Al-Bukhari
Ibn Abdul Barr
Al-Baihaqi
Ibn al-Jawzi
Not a single Imam or Muhaddith has ever authenticated this hadith.
Fifth Answer:
There is the ijma of Imams and Muhadditheen on the saying that: the phrase “did not repeat it” in this hadith is Mudraj.
[Mudraj (def): an addition to the hadith interpolated by one of its narrators, in this case Yazid, and therefore not from the words or actions of the Prophet (SAW).]
Hafidh Ibn Hajr said: “There is the ijma of Huffaz of Hadith that the phrase “did not repeat it” in this hadith is the Mudraj of Yazeed. Shu’bah, Thawri, Khalid and Zuhair have narrated it from him without this phrase. [Al-Talkhis al-Khabir 221/2]
Also see: “Al-Mudraj ilal Mudraj” [By Al-Suyooti, Pg 19, H 4]
Sixth Answer:
See the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th answer to the hadith of Ibn Mas’ood again. Those arguments are also valid on this hadith.
The summary is that this hadith is Da’eef, and is not authentic with this wording.
Note:
Muhammad bin Abi Laila has narrated this hadith with the sanad of:
[Sunan Abu Dawud 479/1, H. 752] “عَنْ أَخِيهِ عِيسَى ، عَنِ الْحَكَمِ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي لَيْلَى ، عَنْ الْبَرَاءِ بْنِ عَازِبٍ”
Imam Abu Dawud said:
“هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ لَيْسَ بِصَحِيحٍ ”
This Hadith is not Sahih.
The grave deffect in this hadith is that, Muhammad bin Abi Laila had heard this hadith from Yazeed bin Abi Laila.
Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal has narrated from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numair that, I saw in the book of Ibn Abi Laila, he was narrating from Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad. [Kitaab al-Illal by Ahmed Vol 1, Pg 43]
Moreover, Muhammad bin Abi Laila, himself is Da’eef. In fact Tahawi Hanafi has also declared him to be “Mudtarib ul-Hifdh”. [Mushkil al-Athaar 226/3]
Zaila’ee said: “Da’eef” [Nas ur-Rayaa 318/1]
Anwar Shah Kashmiri said: “He is Da’eef according to me, as is said by the Jumhoor of Muhadditheen”. [Faidh ul-Bari 168/3]
Therefore, this Mutabi’at is Rejected. Its real dependency is on the teacher of Muhammad bin Abi Laila, “Yazeed bin Abi Ziyaad al-Kufi” who is Da’eef, and Shi’aa. With All these proofs we come to know that The Hadeeth of Baraa bin ‘Aazib on Rafa Yadain is very weak and cannot be considered as evidence in response to the proven Sunnah of Rafa Yadain from the Prophet (s.a.w)
And Allah knows best.