which al-Khiraqi mentioned, and he said: If a man were to open [his prayer] with some of what has been narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) regarding the opening supplication, it would be good, or he said: permissible. This (6) is the opinion of the majority of scholars, among them Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ibn Mas'ud, al-Thawri, Ishaq, and the people of reasoning (ahl al-ra'y). Al-Tirmidhi (7) said: The practice among [the scholars] (8) of the Successors (al-Tabi'in) and others is in accordance with this. Al-Shafi'i and Ibn al-Mundhir adopted the view of opening [the prayer] with what [was narrated from Ali] (9). He said: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood for prayer, he would pronounce the takbir, then say: "I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not of the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. There is no partner for Him; thus I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, (10) You are the Sovereign; there is no deity except You. I am Your servant; I have wronged myself and confessed my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for no one forgives sins except You. Guide me to the best of characters, for none guides to the best of them except You, and turn away from me their evil, for none turns away their evil except You. Here I am at Your service and obedient to You; all good is in Your hands, and evil is not attributed to You. I exist by You and am returning to You. Blessed are You, our Lord, and exalted. I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You." This was recorded by Muslim (11), Abu Dawud, and al-Nasa'i (12). Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to remain silent (13) for a short while—I believe he said: for a brief moment—after pronouncing the takbir in the prayer and before beginning the recitation.