I saw the Prophet do it. All the transmitters in this chain are reliable and are accepted by the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim), except al-Nadr, who is classed as weak in al-Taqrib. He is followed by Umar b. Riyah in the version recorded by Ibn Majah (1/284) in abridged form, but Umar is even weaker than al-Nadr. Nevertheless, the report is supported by other chains that strengthen it; I have listed them in al-Taʿliqat al-Jiyad. (*) A detailed discussion of raising the hands at every lowering and rising in the prayer, along with the early authorities who endorsed the practice, has already been presented; see pp. 706–713.