On Saturday 24th Ramaḍān, 1444 (corresponding to 15th April 2023) we posed a question to our Noble Shaykh Abū ‘Ammār Alī al-Ḥudhayfī al- ‘Adanī (حفظه الله) regarding the qunūt. The answer was translated by our brother Abū Afnān Muḥammad ʾAbdullah (حفظه الله).
Question:
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa- raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuhu. Shaykhanā May Allāh bless and protect you.
We see people in the duʿā of qunūt al-witr raising their hands in many different ways. Some of them raise their hands above their heads, spreading their arms apart. Others raise them as high as their faces with their palms facing towards their faces. What is the correct way established from the sunnah or the salaf regarding raising the hands during qunūt? Does the raising of the hands differ depending on the reason and or place (i.e, in prayer or outside the prayer, etc)? May Allāh reward and bless you.
Answer:
The summary of this affair is that raising the hands (in qunūt prayer) was authentically established by ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) as narrated by Al-Bayhaqī in his Sunan Al-Kubrā with an authentic chain of narration. In addition, the companions (رضي الله عنهم) consented to this since they supplicated qunūt with him, saw him, and raised their hands as well.
Likewise, Shaykh ibn ʿUthaymīn (رحمه الله) stated that a person raises their hands by placing his palms close to the height of his chest and that the hands should be held close to the chest. Yes, this is what was mentioned by Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn (رحمه الله).