The Points at Which the Hands should be Raised in Prayer

Question :

In our city, there are two groups of people: One group which cites evidence from the noble Hadith and the other which follows the Maliki Mathhab in all their acts of worship. For example, there are people and young men who raise their hands upon bowing and upon rising from bowing and they cite as evidence noble Prophetic Hadith. As for the others, they do not do this, and they say: "Imam Malik - may Allah be pleased with him did not do so; are you people as knowledgeable as the Imam of the land of Hijrah?" What is your opinion with regard to this situation?

Answer:

It is incumbent upon the Muslim to know the Islamic rulings from the accepted legal evidences in the Book (of Allah), the Sunnah, consensus and that which is founded upon it, such as comparative analogy and so on, if he has the ability to research, and make Ijtihad (juristic reasoning). If not, he should ask those whom he trusts among the scholars, and follow them, without fanaticism towards any particular Mujtahid.

The authentic Sunnah from the Prophet proves the lawfulness of raising the hands upon making the opening Takbir, when bowing and rising from it, when standing up for the third Rak'ah. It is not permissible to contradict the Sunnah with the sayings of one of the people. And may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, Muhammad and upon his family and Companions.

Source:
The Permanent Committee
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 2 Page 144