his hands in any of his supplications except when praying for rain. He then said: “Scholars have reconciled this hadith of Anas with all the other hadiths by explaining that Anas was referring to raising the hands very high, such that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen and his body bent. This is what Ibn Abbās called earnest entreaty. He thus distinguished three degrees: first, pointing with one finger, as he would do on the pulpit on Fridays; second, petitioning, which consists of holding one’s hands level with one’s shoulders, as described in most of the hadiths; and third, earnest entreaty, which is what Anas described. Hence, he said, ‘He would raise his hands until the whiteness of his armpits could be seen.’1 When the hands are raised to this extent, the palms face toward his face and the ground, while their backs face the sky. This interpretation is supported by what Abū Dāwūd narrated in his Marāsīl from Abū Ayyūb Sulaymān ibn Mūsā al-Dimashqī (may Allah have mercy on him), who said: ‘It has not been preserved from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he raised his hands to their fullest extent except on three occasions: when praying for rain, when seeking victory, and on the eve of Arafah. Apart from those occasions, he raised them to a lesser degree.’2 He said: Anas may also have meant raising the hands while on the pulpit on Friday, as reported in Muslim and elsewhere: ‘He would do no more than raise his index finger.’3 He said: There are two opinions on this issue, constituting two positions within the school of Imam Ahmad—that is, concerning whether the preacher should raise his hands. One view holds that it is recommended, as stated by Ibn Aqīl. The other holds that it is not; rather, it is disliked, and this is the sounder view.” End quote.4

Regarding the reconciliation of the hadith of Anas with the other hadiths indicating that raising the hands is prescribed in all other supplications, al-Hāfiz Ibn Hajar said: “However, this has been reconciled