Raising the hands in supplication is firmly established in the Sunnah. There are many hadith which mention this.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
عَنْ سَلْمَانَ الْفَارِسِيِّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى حَيِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ يَسْتَحْيِي مِنْ عَبْدِهِ إِذَا رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يَرُدَّهُمَا صِفْرًا
“Your Lord is Ever-Living, Most Generous. He is shy that when His servant raises his hands to Him, He returns them empty.” (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)
Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رضي الله عنه قَالَ
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذَا مَدَّ يَدَيْهِ فِي الدُّعَاءِ لَمْ يَرُدَّهُمَا حَتَّى يَمْسَحَ بِهِمَا وَجْهَهُ
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he raised his hands in supplication, would not lower them until he wiped his face with them. (Tirmidhi)
These hadith show that raising the hands in duʿa is Sunnah and wiping the face after duʿa.
In another hadith,
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه قَالَ
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ لَا يَقْبَلُ إِلَّا طَيِّبًا، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ، فَقَالَ:
يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا
وَقَالَ:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ
ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الرَّجُلَ يُطِيلُ السَّفَرَ، أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ، يَمُدُّ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ: يَا رَبِّ، يَا رَبِّ، وَمَطْعَمُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَمَشْرَبُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَمَلْبَسُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَغُذِيَ بِالْحَرَامِ، فَأَنَّى يُسْتَجَابُ لِذَلِكَ
“Indeed, Allah is Pure and does not accept except that which is pure. And Allah has commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers. He said: ‘O Messengers, eat from the good things and act righteously’ and He said: ‘O you who believe, eat from the good things We have provided for you.’
Then he mentioned a man who travels for a long time, dishevelled and dusty, raising his hands to the sky, saying: ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he is nourished with the unlawful—so how can he be answered?” (Muslim)
This hadith is evidence that that raising the hands in duʿa is a recognised prophetic description of supplication. Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani mentioned that the collection of the hadiths of wiping the face after du’a is a good.
Making du’a after salah
Making du’a after salah is a recommended time to make du.a as it is a blessed time and time of acceptance.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ
الْمَلَائِكَةُ تُصَلِّي عَلَى أَحَدِكُمْ مَا دَامَ فِي مُصَلَّاهُ الَّذِي صَلَّى فِيهِ، مَا لَمْ يُحْدِثْ، تَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ، اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْهُ
“The angels continue to supplicate for one of you as long as he remains in the place where he prayed, so long as he does not break his wudu. They say: ‘O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, have mercy on him.’” (Bukhari and Muslim)
This hadith shows that remaining seated after salah is a virtuous time, during which the angels are making duʿa for you, you are in a state of worship and it is an ideal time for dhikr and duʿa.
The Prophet ﷺ was asked:
أَيُّ الدُّعَاءِ أَسْمَعُ؟
قَالَ: جَوْفُ اللَّيْلِ الْآخِرِ وَدُبُرُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْمَكْتُوبَاتِ
“Which supplication is most likely to be answered?” He said: “In the last part of the night, and at the end of the obligatory prayers.” (Tirmidhi)
Likewise, he ﷺ instructed Muʿadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him):
اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ
“O Allah, help me to remember You, thank You, and worship You in the best manner,” and he said, “Do not leave it after every prayer.” (Abu Dawud)
These narrations clearly show that supplication after salah is permissible and virtuous.
There is some confusion caused by videos on social media declaring the raising of hands in du’a after salah as a bid’ah (innovation). However, when two matters are established – that duʿa after salah is permissible, and that raising the hands in duʿa is Sunnah – then combining them does not turn the act into an innovation. This reflects an important principle in fiqh: combining two legislated acts remains legislated unless there is evidence to prohibit the combination. Therefore, a person who raises his hands after salah is acting upon general evidences found in the Sunnah.
Many scholars permitted raising the hands after salah based on the general evidences of duʿa. Others disliked making it a fixed and continuous practice after every obligatory prayer, because this specific regular form is not explicitly reported from the Prophet ﷺ. This is a crucial distinction. They did not say that the act itself is baseless; rather, they warned against turning it into a rigid ritual that is believed to be a necessary Sunnah after every prayer.
Even within the Hanafi school, scholars allowed post-prayer supplication, including occasions where the imam supplicates aloud for teaching purposes. This demonstrates that the foundation of duʿa after salah was never considered bidʿah in itself.
To declare an act as bidʿah, it must meet a specific definition: that it is a newly invented religious practice with no basis in the Qur’an, Sunnah, or principles of the Shariah. But raising the hands in duʿa after salah clearly has a basis in the general Sunnah of raising the hands and the general recommendation of supplication after obligatory prayers. Therefore, the act cannot be described as having no basis. At most, one may argue about how often it should be done, or whether it should be done collectively and regularly, but not about its permissibility.
There is a significant difference between saying, “It is not established that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands after every obligatory prayer,” and saying, “Raising the hands after salah is bidʿah.” The first is a scholarly discussion, while the second is an overgeneralisation.
The early scholars were extremely cautious in declaring matters to be bidʿah. They recognised that many acts fall under general principles of worship, even if not performed in a single fixed form by the Prophet ﷺ.