Qurrat al-Aynayn bi Raf al-Yadayn fi al-Salat
- Author died
- 256 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Arqam lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Qurrat al-Aynayn bi Raf al-Yadayn fi al-Salat (Arabic: قرة العينين برفع اليدين في الصلاة, "The Delight of the Eyes Regarding Raising the Hands in Prayer") is a specialized hadith treatise authored by al-Bukhari (194–256 AH / 810–870 CE) to establish the legal practice of raising the hands (raf al-yadayn) at specific postures during ritual prayer .
Title and Transmission
In early hadith literature and classical bibliographical works, the treatise is commonly cited under simpler descriptive titles such as Juz' Raf al-Yadayn or Kitab Raf al-Yadayn fi al-Salat . Modern scholars note that the rhymed title Qurrat al-Aynayn bi Raf al-Yadayn fi al-Salat was likely assigned to it in later transmissions rather than by al-Bukhari himself .
The primary chain of transmission for the tract reaches al-Bukhari through his student Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Khuza'i (also recorded as Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Khuza'i), from whom it was related by Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Musa al-Malahimi . The text was continuously transmitted across generations of traditionists, including Fakhr al-Din Ibn al-Bukhari, Sitt al-Arab bint Muhammad, Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi, Nur al-Din al-Haythami, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani .
Purpose and Content
Al-Bukhari composed the treatise to defend the legal sunna of raising the hands upon bowing (ruku'), rising from bowing, and standing up after two units (rak'ahs), refuting opponents—chiefly jurists associated with the Kufan tradition—who restricted hand-raising strictly to the opening takbira (takbirat al-ihram) .
The work begins with an opening rebuttal of those who reject hand-raising at and after bowing, accusing the opposition of introducing unwarranted innovation by abandoning established prophetic traditions . Within the tract, al-Bukhari:
- Documents transmissions of hand-raising from seventeen Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, including Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Qatada al-Ansari, Abu Usayd al-Sa'idi, Muhammad ibn Maslama, Sahl ibn Sa'd, Abd Allah ibn Umar, Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurayra, Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Wa'il ibn Hujr, Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Umm al-Darda' .
- Quotes Successors such as al-Hasan al-Basri and Humayd ibn Hilal affirming that the Companions raised their hands, without excepting anyone among them, and asserts that no authentic report establishes that any Companion abandoned hand-raising .
- Traces the consensus of scholars across various regions who upheld the practice, including Mecca, Medina, Iraq, al-Sham, Basra, Yemen, and Khurasan, mentioning authorities such as Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak .
- Highlights that his own primary teachers—including al-Humaydi, Ali ibn al-Madini, Yahya ibn Ma'in, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ishaq ibn Rahwayh—affirmed these narrations as sound and authoritative .
- Critiques and exposes hidden defects (ilal) in the evidence advanced by proponents of omitting the practice, analyzing conflicting reports and narrators such as Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad and Ibn Abi Layla .
Reception and Editions
The tract has been praised by traditional scholars as a concise and valuable contribution to comparative fiqh and hadith criticism; al-Nawawi described it as a precious book establishing hand-raising and sternly addressing opponents .
The work has been published in multiple editions in Egypt, India, and elsewhere . An early printing appeared in the margins of al-Bukhari's Khayr al-Kalam fi al-Qira'ah Khalf al-Imam at al-Matba'a al-Khayriyya in Cairo in 1320 AH . It was also edited by Ahmad al-Sharif (Kuwait, 1404 AH / 1983 CE) and received a dedicated hadith commentary and takhrij titled Qurrat al-Ayn fi Takhrij Ahadith Raf al-Yadayn by Badi' al-Din al-Sindi .
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