Muslims make du'a on several occasions. There are instances reported where the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wassalam) raised his hand during du'a and there are instances where he did not. It is a Sunnah to raise our hands in the postures in which he raised his and it is a Sunnah not to raise them in the postures he did not raise his hands in. For instance, before you finish Tahiyyat i.e. before the taslim, there is a du'a - Do you raise hands in that? No. Similarly, between the prostrations, you say "Rabbi, ighfir li", that is also a du'a. Do you raise hands? No. Because, the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wassalam) did not. There are no reports that he did. And if you do an action of worship, which has no evidence in Islam, then it is rejected. He (salalallahu alayhi wassalam) said:

“Anyone who does an action which is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) will have it rejected.” [Sahih Muslim #1718]
The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wassalam) never raised the hands after the obligatory prayers. However, in other situations, the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wassalam) did - like when supplicating for rain or during the Friday Khutbah or any other occasion etc. Hence, raising hands during du'a after the obligatory prayers is a bid'ah.
Is it true that the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) never really raised his hands in Du'a except in Salat Istisqa'a (salat in which people ask Allah to bring rains)? Are there other instances where the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) raised his hands?


The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to raise his hands in his qunoot an-naazilah, supplicating against people. [Saheeh: Ahmad 3/137, al-Mu'jam as-Sagheer, and al-Bayhaqee in Dalaa'il an-Nubuwwah and as-Sunan al-Kubraa].
Also I remember reading a Hadith in which the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said that Allah is shy of His servant when he raises his hands in Du'a, and Allah does not like not to answer to him when he puts his hands down. I would like to know where this Hadith is and it's authenticity.
Narrated by Salman Al-Farisy

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Your Lord is Most Shy and Most Generous! He is so Shy that He does not send His Servant's supplications back without answering them when His Servant raises his hands on supplicating Him. [Ahmad #23202, Abu Dawud #1488]
This hadeeth is usually quoted as a proof of permissibility of raising hands. However, the answer to that is that the hadeeth is meant for outside of the salaah.