A Brief Summary of the Issue of Raising the hands for the Qunoot in the Witr Taken from the

'Original Sifat as-Salah'

By Shaykh Muhadith Muhammad Nasir- Deen Al-Albaani
Translated by
Abbas Abu Yahya

And the Messenger - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam used to raise his hands. _________________________________ A Summary: Shaykh al-Albaani mentions the Narration of Anas bin Malik when the Quraanic recitors were killed: Anas said: I never ever saw the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- painfully agitated about anything as I saw him agitated over them. Indeed I saw the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- in the early morning prayer raising his hands and he supplicated against those who killed them. [And in another narration: supplicating against them.] Narrated by Ahmad (3/137) This Isnaad is authentic.
1

At-Tabraani narrated in Sagheer also from Anas with the wording: Indeed I saw the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- whenever he would pray the early morning prayer, he would raise his hands supplicating against them. This portion was narrated by al-Bayhaqi (2/211) and Nawawi (3/500) said: Its Isnaad is Saheeh or hasan There is a recommendation in this hadeeth of raising the hands while supplicating the Qunoot. Farj the freed slave of Abu Yusuf said: I saw my master Abu Yusuf, if he would enter into the Qunoot for the Witr he would raise his hands in the Dua. From Sharh alHidayah (1/306) Likewise Ahmad holds this opinion and so does Ishaaq. The raising of the hands is established from the Ameer-ul-Mumineen Umar bin alKhattab -Radi Allaahu anhu- as is narrated by Bukhari in Rafa al-Yadain (23), Ibn Nasr (134) and al-Bayhaqi (2/212) on the authority of Abu Uthmaan an-Nahdi: Umar would perform the Qunoot with us in the early morning prayer, and would raise his hands, so much that the side of his body under his arms would be seen. As for wiping the hands on the face after ending the Dua in the prayer, then this is not established with an authentic narration, nor an authentic statement, nor by analogy.

This is a Bida, as for outside the prayer, then it is not authentic, and everything that is narrated regarding this is weak, some of it is more severe in its weakness than other narrations; I have researched it in Daeef Abi Dawood (262) and al-Hadeeth asSaheehah (597), this is why al-Izz bin Abdus-Salaam said in some of his Fatawa: None does this except an ignorant person. So it is foremost that it should not be done, and restricting to what the Salaf -Radi Allaahu
anhum-

did, of raising the hands in the Dua without wiping the face in the prayer. And

success lies with Allaah.

[Taken from the Original Sifat as-Salah vol 3 p.957-959]

Shaykh al-Albaani also said: Raising of the hands in the Qunoot for a problem afflicting the Muslims is established from the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- when he made Dua against the Mushrikeen, those who killed seventy of the recitors of the Quraan. This was narrated by Imam Ahmad (3/137) and by Tabraani in as-Sagheer (p.111) from the hadeeth of Anas with an authentic chain, and it is also established from Umar and others in the Qunoot of al-Witr.
[Taken from Irwaa al-Ghaleel (2/181)]

41- The Ruling of Raising the Hands in the Dua of al-Witr

By Shaykh, Allaama Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdul Azeez bin Abdullaah Bin Baz Question: What is the ruling of raising the hands in al-Witr? Answer: Raising the hands in the Qunoot of al-Witr is legislated; because the Qunoot is from the same type as the Qunoot when new hardships occur for the Muslims, and this is indeed established by the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, that he -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- raised his hands when he made Dua in the Qunoot when new hardships occur for the Muslims. This was collected by al-Bayhaqi Raheemullaah- with a authentic chain.
[Taken from Majmoo Fatawa wa Maqalaat Mutafariqa vol.30 p.51 ]

Some Athaar of the Companions regarding raising the hands in al-Qunoot

Collected by Zakareeyah bin Ghulam Qadir a) From Abu Uthmaan who said: Umar used to read the Qunoot with us after Rukoo and he would raise his hands so much so that the side of his body would be seen, and his voice could be heard from the back of the Masjid.
[Collected by Ibn Abee Shaybah (3/316), Bayhaqi (2/212) & Ibn al-Mundhir (5/213)]

b) From Ibn Abbas that he prayed the Qunoot with the people at Fajr in Basrah, and he raised his hands so much so that the side of his body was raised up.
[Saheeh Collected by Ibn Abee Shaybah (2/316)]

c) From Ibn Masood that he used to raise his hands in the Witr then after that he would lower them.
[Hasan Collected by Abdur Razzaq (4/325)]

Saying Ameen in the Qunoot

Compiled & translated By Abbas Abu Yahya

In the Hadeeth from Ibn Abbas RadhiAllaahu anhu- who said that the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- made Qunoot for a month continuously in the Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha and morning prayer and at the end of every prayer after he said Sami Allaahu liman hamida in the last Rakat of that prayer, he would make Dua against the tribes of Bani Sulaym and those tribes of Dhakwaan and Usayatah who lived with Bani Sulaym, and those behind the Messenger would say Ameen.
[Collected by Abu Daawood in his Sunnan no. 1443 in the chapter of al-Qunoot in the Prayer and Shaykh Albani declared the hadeeth to be Hasan and he brings a research for the hadeeth in Irwaa al-Ghaleel (2/163)]

Additional evidence
Ibn al-Mundhir said in al-Awsat (5/216) that Imam Malik used to say: The Imam should make Qunoot from the middle of Ramadan and curse the Kuffar and those behind him should say Ameen.
[al-Mudouwanah (1/103]

Imam Ahmad said: The Imam makes Dua and those behind him say Ameen

[Masail Ahmad li Abee Daawood p.67, Ishaaq also said this, as was mentioned by al-Marwaazi in Qayam alLayl 303]

Shaykh Uthaymeen said: If we say that there is a Qunoot in the five daily prayers, then if the Qunoot is in a prayer that is read aloud, in this case it is known that the Qunoot is read out aloud, and if it is in a silent prayer then it is still read out aloud, as is established in the Sunnah: namely that the Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- used to read the Qunoot and the people used to say Ameen behind him, and it would not have been possible to say Ameen except if he was reading it out aloud. This establishes the fact that the Sunnah is to read the Qunoot aloud even if it is in the silent prayers.
[Sharh al-Mumtaa (4/47)]