The Shi’a raise their hands in every prayer, whenever they recite Takbeer. Curiously the Ahl’ul Sunnah object to this, even though it can be proven from their own Hadeeth Books that that this is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (s). It is for this reason that we, prior to bowing or prostration, and while rising from each of them, raise our hands and recite Takbeer.Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Daud and more Hadeeth books like Sunan Nisai etc report this in detail.
We read in Sunan Abu Daud, Book of Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Details of Commencing Prayer Book 3, Number 0737:
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) for prayer (in the beginning), he raised his hands opposite to his shoulders; and when he bowed, he did like that; and when he raised his head to prostrate, he did like that; and when he got up at the end of two rak’ahs, he did like that.
Similar references can also be located in:
1. Tayseer al-Bari Sharh Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, page 487, published by Taj Company limited.
2. Sahih Muslim with brief Sharh Nawawi, volume 2, page 17, published by No’mani Book Store, Lahore.
The earlier tradition is from Sunan Abu Daud, but a tradition from Sunan Nisai proves that Holy Prophet (s) raised his hands after every prostration too. Here are the words of Sunan Nisai:
“Malik bin al-Howairs narrates that he saw Holy Prophet (s) raising his hands, during prayers (that is when starting the prayers), when he bowed, when he rose from a bow, when he prostrated and when he rose from a prostration, till the lower part of his ears.”
Sunan Nisai, volume 1, page 397, chapter of Rafa’ Yaddain al- Sajood, translated by Maulana Waheed uz-Zaman, published in Lahore.
Similarly we read in Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Volume 3 page 310 Tradition 14369:
Harmala said: ‘I asked Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari [ra]: ‘How many you were on the day of Shajara?’. He replied: ‘We were one thousand and four hundred and Allah’s messenger (pbuh) used to raise his hand with each Takbir’
Shaykh Shuai’b al-Arnaout graded this tradition to be ‘Sahih’. We read in Al-Mu’ajam al-Awsat by Tabarani, Volume 9 page 105:
Qutada said: ‘I asked Anas bin Malik to show us the prayer of Allah’s messenger (pbuh), hence he stood and prayed, he was raising his hands with each Takbir, when he finished (the prayer) he said: ‘This was the way Allah’s messenger use to pray”.
That is why we see that Imam of Salafies Nasiruddin Albaani stated in Tamam al-Mena, page 172:
“Raising the hand with the Takbir, verily there are many traditions which say that the prophet (pbuh) used to raise his hand with every Takbir”.
We read in Nawawi’s Sharh of Sahih Muslim, Volume 2 page 18, published in Lahore:
“In the view of Abu Bakr bin Manzar, Abu Ali Tabri and some Ahl Hadeeth it is desirable to raise hands between the prostrations.”
Those who mock Shi’a for raising hands after every prostration are requested to look at these traditions and recognise what the Shi’a do is the Sunnah of Prophet (s), so why the criticism?