To what extent should the hands be raised during Takbeer-e-Tahreema?

الاستفتاء

To what extent should one raise his hands when reciting the Takbeer-e-Tahreema in the beginning of Salah? We have been taught that you must raise your hands to the extent that your thumb fingers touch your earlobes. Today, I have read that the hands must be parallel to the shoulders. Hadith No. 856 of the Mustadrak of Imam Al-Hakim gives reference to this. This Hadith is authentic according to Imam Al-Hakim as well as Imam Dhahabi. It is also mentioned in Sunan Abi Dawood (Hadith No. 753) and the Jami' Tirmizi (Hadith No. 240) that the Messenger of Allah used to raise both of his hands up to his shoulders. On the contrary, it has been mentioned in the Sahi Al-Bukhari (Hadith No.735) and the Sahi Muslim (Hadith No. 390) that the Noble Prophet would sometimes raise his hands up to his ears. It has also been further explained in Sahi Muslim that there is no evidence touching the ears with one's hands (during Takbeer-e-Tahreema), and for this reason, doing such is an innovation. Please elaborate on whether this is correct or not.

الجواب حامدا و مصلیا

Rising the hands up to the shoulders and well as up to the ears during Takbeer-e-Tahreema has both been narrated in Ahadith. However, raising the hands to the extent that the thumbs touch the earlobes allows one to practice on both types of narrations. Nonetheless, it is not correct to deem touching the ears as an innovation.