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)."
(2) In: The Chapter on the Obligation of Wudu, and The Chapter on the Imam who Experiences Hadath After Raising his Head from the Last Rak'ah, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/15, 145. It was also excerpted by al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported that the Key to Prayer is Purification, from the Chapters of Purification, and in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding the Sanctity and Legality of Prayer, from the Chapters of Prayer. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 1/15, 2/37. And by Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on the Key to Prayer is Purification, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/101. And by al-Darimi, in: The Chapter on the Key to Prayer is Purification, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/175. And by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 1/123, 129. (3) Excerpted by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on the Obligation of Recitation for the Imam and the Follower... etc., and The Chapter of Hadathana Musaddad, from the Book of the Adhan. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/192, 193, 200, 201. And by Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Obligation of Reciting al-Fatiha in Every Rak'ah... etc., from the Book of Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/298. It was also excerpted by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Prayer of Someone Who Does Not Straighten His Spine in Ruku' and Sujud, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/197. And by al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding the Description of Prayer, from the Chapters of Prayer. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/97. And by al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the Obligation of the First Takbir, from the Book of Opening Prayer. Al-Mujtaba 2/96. And by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/437. (4) The hadith of Rifa'ah was excerpted by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Prayer of Someone Who Does Not Straighten His Spine in Ruku' and Sujud, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/198. And by al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on the Description of Prayer, from the Chapters of Prayer. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/95, 96. And by al-Darimi, in: The Chapter on the One Who Does Not Perfect Ruku' and Sujud, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/305. And by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 4/340. And by al-Hakim, in: Al-Mustadrak 1/241, 242. And by al-Bayhaqi, in: The Chapter on One Who Forgets and Omits a Pillar... etc., from the Book of Prayer. Al-Sunan al-Kubra 2/345. (5) Meaning, the statement of the person praying. In the original manuscript, it appears as: "bi-qawl" (by the statement of).
