the matters over which the hadiths have attained mass-transmission in meaning (mutawātir maʿnawī). Some one hundred reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mention it, scattered throughout various contexts; while none of them is verbally mutawātir on its own, what they all share is the act of lifting the hands in supplication. Considered collectively, therefore, they provide mutawātir proof for this specific practice.

2. The wisdom behind raising the hands during duʿāʾ is to manifest utter need and poverty before the All-Rich, the Most Generous, and to hope that the Exalted will place the requested benefit into those very hands.

3. Out of His bounty, munificence, and compassion for the pleading servant, Allah feels shy to let those uplifted hands return empty. Instead, He bestows upon the supplicant, granting the need and request, for He is the Generous, the Bountiful.