the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—raised his hands and said, “O Allah, shower Your blessings and mercy upon the family of Sa'd ibn Ubāda.” This continues to the end of the hadith. Its chain of transmission is good,1 and there are many hadiths concerning this.” Here end the words of al-Hāfiz, may Allah have mercy on him.2 He gathered therein a blessed selection of hadiths concerning raising the hands in supplication.

Among the authentic hadiths on this subject is the report narrated by al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, and others from Salmān al-Fārisī—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Your Lord is indeed Modest and Generous. He is too Modest before His servant, when he raises his hands to Him, to send them back empty.”3

These hadiths and others of similar meaning indicate that raising the hands to Allah is among the great etiquettes of supplication and is one of the means by which supplication is answered and accepted. The sunnah also shows that raising the hands in supplication has three forms, depending on the type of supplication. When it is an earnest entreaty—that is, an intensely insistent request—the hands are raised in a particular manner. When it is a supplication and petition, they are raised in another manner; and when it consists of seeking forgiveness, affirming Allah’s oneness, or glorifying Him, they are raised in yet another manner.

This is clarified by what has been narrated from Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with him and his father—both as a report traced back to the Prophet and as a statement of Ibn Abbās himself: “For a petition, raise your hands level with your shoulders, or approximately so; when seeking forgiveness, point with one finger; and for earnest entreaty, fully extend both hands.” Another wording states: “This is sincerity