Section: It is recommended for the imam to straighten the rows. He should turn toward his right and say, 'Straighten yourselves, may Allah have mercy on you.' He should do the same toward his left, for what we mentioned of the hadith. Regarding Muhammad ibn Muslim, he said: 'I prayed alongside Anas ibn Malik one day, and he said: Do you know why this staff was made? I said: No, by Allah. He said: Because when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up for prayer, he would take it in his right hand and say: "Stand straight and straighten your rows." Then he would take it in his left hand and say: "Stand straight and straighten your rows." [Narrated by Abu Dawud] (53).' From him, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Straighten your rows, for the straightening of the row is part of the perfection of prayer." Agreed upon (54).

140 - Issue; Abu al-Qasim said: (And when he stands for prayer, he says: Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest])

The synthesis of this is that the prayer is not valid except with the statement: "Allahu Akbar," according to our imam and Malik. Ibn Mas'ud, Tawus, Ayyub (1), Malik, al-Thawri, and al-Shafi'i used to say: The opening of the prayer is the takbir. This is the view of the generality of the people of knowledge in the past and the present, except that al-Shafi'i said: It is valid with his saying: "Allah al-Akbar," because the 'alif' and 'lam' (the definite article) do not change it from its structure and meaning; they merely indicate definiteness. Abu Hanifah said: It is valid with any name of Allah the Almighty expressed in a manner of glorification, such as his saying: "Allah is Great (Azim)," or "Kabeer," or "Jaleel," or "Subhan Allah," or "Alhamdulillah," or "La ilaha illa Allah," and the like. Al-Hakim said: Because he has mentioned Allah the Almighty in a manner of glorification, it resembles his saying: "Allahu Akbar." He drew an analogy for that to the khutbah (sermon), as its specific wording is not fixed. Our position is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Its sanctity (tahrimuha) is the takbir." Narrated by Abu Dawud (2). He said to the one who was deficient in his prayer: "When you stand for prayer, say takbir." Agreed upon (3). In the hadith of Rifa'ah, it is stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah does not accept the prayer of a person until he performs the wudu in its proper manner, then faces the qiblah and says: Allahu Akbar" (4). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to open the prayer with the words: "Allahu Akbar." It was never reported that he deviated from that until he departed this world, and this indicates that it is not permissible to deviate from it. What Abu Hanifah said contradicts the indications of the reports, so it is not to be adopted. Furthermore, it is invalidated by his saying (5): "O Allah, forgive me." It is not valid to draw an analogy to the khutbah, because no specific wording from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was reported in all his khutbahs, nor was there any command regarding it, and one is not prohibited from speaking during it or uttering whatever one wishes of permissible speech. Prayer is the opposite. What al-Shafi'i said is a deviation from the explicit text (al-mansus), so it resembles [the case of] one who says: "Allah is the Great (al-'Azim)."