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What is the ruling on raising the hands during supplication (Du'a)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Raising the hands in du'a' (supplication) is a recommended Sunnah and one of the means by which prayers are answered. Evidence for this includes the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Indeed, Allah is Hayiyy (Most Modest) and Kareem (Most Generous); He is too modest to turn away empty and disappointed the hands of His servant who raises them to Him." And his (peace be upon him) saying regarding the man who travels extensively and stretches his hands towards the sky, saying "O Lord, O Lord," then mentions that his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothing is unlawful, thereby indicating the unlikelihood of his supplication being answered. Some scholars have held that the default is to raise the hands in du'a' unless there is a specific mention from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that hands should not be raised in a particular instance, such as du'a' during the Friday sermon, where raising hands is not Sunnah but rather disliked. The methods for raising hands have specific instances that can be referred to in their respective sources.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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