at the moment of the takbir, and this is also Ahmad’s wording. A fourth chain: al-Masudi, from Abd al-Jabbar b. Waʾil, who said: “Members of my household related to me from my father something identical.” Ahmad, al-Bayhaqi, and Abu Dawud all report it. The clause “Members of my household related to me” is not actually found in its isnad, so the report is either broken or contains an unknown narrator. These ahadith indicate that the sunnah is to raise the hands simultaneously with the takbir. This view also exists within the Hanafi school; al-Bahr al-raiq (1/322) states: “This is the narration attributed to Abu Yusuf in word, and to al-Tahawi in practice; it was chosen by Shaykh al-Islam, Qadi-Khan and others—indeed al-Baqqali said: ‘This is the view of all our companions … .’ Qadi-Khan defined simultaneity as beginning the raise when the takbir begins and ending it when the takbir ends.” I add: the same is the position of al-Shafiʿi, the preferred view among his followers, and of the Malikis as well, as noted in Fath. Al-Shafiʿi wrote in al-Umm (1/90)—after citing the Ibn ʿUmar hadith placed at the start of this discussion: “We therefore instruct every worshiper—imam, follower, solitary, man or woman—to raise the hands when opening the prayer, when pronouncing the takbir for bowing, and when rising from bowing. In each of these three instances the hands are lifted to shoulder level and kept raised until the entire takbir is finished, beginning the raise with the beginning of the takbir and lowering the hands when it ends.” End of quote. Al-Bayhaqi (2/27) comments: “The transmissions that show the raise accompanying the takbir are sounder and more numerous; they therefore deserve to be followed.” (1) Ibn ʿUmar also narrated: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood for prayer he would raise his hands until they were level with his shoulders, then