Some of our scholars have put forward yet another argument for abrogation: the marfuʿ hadith of Jabir b. Samurah, in which the Prophet said, “Why do I see you raising your hands as though they were the tails of skittish horses? Keep still in the prayer.” Muslim and others relate it, as will be cited at the end of the book (pp. 1033–34). Al-Nawawi (3/403) calls the use of this report as proof one of the oddest things, for the hadith is not about raising the hands on going into or rising from rukūʿ; it refers to lifting the hands when giving the salam at the close of the prayer. At that moment the worshippers used to gesture toward both sides, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade them to do so, as the wording of the hadith itself makes explicit. There is no disagreement on this among the hadith scholars, nor among anyone who has even minimal contact with them, as al-Nawawi also remarks. Al-Bukhari states in his treatise (no. 13): “As for those who cite this hadith without understanding it, the incident concerned the tashahhud, not the standing position.” He continues: “No one with any share of knowledge would adduce it in that way. The matter is well known and undisputed. Had the hadith meant what they claim, the raising of the hands for the opening takbir—and likewise for the takbirs of the Eid prayer—would also be prohibited, for the Prophet did not forbid one act of raising while allowing another.” He then warns: “So let a man beware of attributing to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what he did not say. Allah Most High says, ‘Let those who oppose his command beware, lest a trial afflict them or a painful punishment befall them.’” It is therefore clear that our scholars have no valid proof for the abrogation they allege. An interesting twist is that one of their later, fair-minded scholars—Abu’l-Hasan al-Sindi the Hanafi—actually turned this argument back upon them, saying in his marginalia on Ibn Majah: