Q: Where I live, people are of two groups regarding their acts of `Ibadah (worship); those applying the Prophetic Hadiths and those following the Maliki School of jurisprudence. Some Muslims from the first group raise their hands upon performing Ruku` (bowing) and upon rising from it, they use a Hadith that supports this practice. On the other hand, Muslims from the other group do not do it and say that Imam Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) did not do it either, and that no one knows better than the Imam of Dar Al-Hijrah (Madinah). What is your opinion in this regard?

A: All praise is due to Allah Alone and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his family, and Companions.It is the duty of every Muslim to seek the legal rulings from the reliable Shari`ah (Islamic law) sources, adopted from the Qur'an, Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet), Ijma` (consensus), and whatever is based on them such as Qiyas (analogy) and the like. If a Muslim is not qualified enough to search and exert that effort, they should ask trustworthy scholars and seek to follow them without being biased to a certain Mujtahid (a scholar qualified to exercise juristic effort to infer expert legal rulings). Authentic proofs from the Sunnah support the legality of raising the hands upon saying Takbirat-ul-Ihram (saying: "Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]" upon starting Prayer), performing Ruku`, rising from Ruku`, and rising for the third Rak`ah (unit of Prayer). (Part No. 5; Page No. 44) It is not permissible to contradict the Sunnah on the basis of someone's opinion.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.