Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The pillars and conditions of prayer > Saying the basmala aloud or quietly
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Updated on 25 September 2026 at 3:23 PM
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Sixth point. The 2 imams Abu Hanifa and Ahmad hold that saying the basmala aloud is not prescribed, for the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him):
"I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman, without hearing any of them recite the basmala"Reported by Muslim (399)
and for Ibn Mughaffal's hadith cited above, as well as Aisha's: he opened the prayer with the takbir and the recitation with the Fatiha, and that of Abu Hurayra "I divided the prayer...": all of this proves he did not mention the basmala nor say it aloud («al-Ifsah» 1/159, «al-Mughni» 2/27, «al-Ikhtiyar» 1/50). Yet the sahih of Anas's hadith does not negate the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr's, Omar's and Othman's quiet recitation: "without hearing any of them recite it", or "without their saying it aloud"; the version "without their mentioning the basmala, neither at the beginning of the recitation nor at its end" only proves the negation of saying it aloud, for Anas negated only what he knew, and he cannot know what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in secret. Nor can it be said that the Prophet did not pause and joined the takbir to the recitation: the 2 Sahihs establish that Abu Hurayra asked him: "do you see your silence between the takbir and the recitation: what do you say?"
Ibn Taymiyya (may Allah have mercy on him): whoever interprets Anas's hadith as negating its quiet recitation matches the one who says Anas meant they opened with the Fatiha of the Book before the other suras, and this too is weak; for this is public knowledge that people never ceased to practice: al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and other rulers behind whom Anas prayed recited the Fatiha before the sura without anyone contesting it, and no one was asked about it, neither Anas nor anyone else; Anas had no need to narrate this from the Prophet and his 2 companions; and whoever narrates from Anas that he doubted whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the basmala, his narration agrees with the sahih narrations: Anas did not know whether it was recited in secret; he only negated saying it aloud («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/279, «Bada'i' al-Sana'i'» 1/203, 205, «Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar» 1/204, «al-Tajrid» of al-Quduri 2/499, 502, «Tuhfat al-Fuqaha» 1/128, «Umdat al-Qari» 5/291, «al-Durr al-Mukhtar» 1/491, «Hashiyat al-Tahtawi» 1/174, «al-Mughni» 2/25, 30, «al-Kafi» 1/130, «al-Mubdi'» 1/434, «al-Insaf» 2/48).
This is also the Malikis' view: when he recites it, he does so quietly. The qadi Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him): we showed that leaving it is recommended; if he recites it, he does not say it aloud, contrary to al-Shafi'i, based on Anas: "I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali: they did not say it aloud"; the like is reported from Ibn Mas'ud and Aisha. Ibn Mughaffal, seeing his son say it aloud, told him: beware of innovation, I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali without hearing any of them recite it; when you recite, say the Fatiha («al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/257). The Shafi'is: saying the basmala aloud is recommended in the aloud prayer, in the Fatiha and the suras. Al-Khatib: as for the Successors and those after them who held saying it aloud, they are too many to be mentioned and too broad to be enumerated. Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi: saying the basmala aloud is what the imams among the great memorizers established, chose and wrote on, such as Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi, Abu Bakr Ibn Khuzayma, Abu Hatim Ibn Hibban, Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni, Abu Abdallah al-Hakim, Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, al-Khatib, Abu Omar Ibn Abd al-Barr and others, may Allah have mercy on them. The hadiths of saying it aloud: the proof stands by what was attested as authentic; they come from 6 Companions: Abu Hurayra, Umm Salama, Ibn Abbas, Anas, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Samura ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with them).
As for Abu Hurayra, hadiths establishing it came through 3 ways. The first is derived from a report whose authenticity is agreed upon: al-Bukhari and Muslim report from him that "in every prayer there is a recitation", in one version "no prayer without a recitation"; Abu Hurayra said: "what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made aloud, we made aloud to you, and what he concealed, we concealed from you"; in one version: "what the Prophet made us hear, we make you hear, and what he concealed from us, we conceal from you"; these wordings are in the Sahih, some in both, some in one of them; the meaning is: aloud what was aloud, quietly what was quiet. It is further established from Abu Hurayra that he said the basmala aloud in his prayer, proving he heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Al-Khatib Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: saying the basmala aloud is Abu Hurayra's school, preserved and famous, transmitted by more than one of his companions.
The second way is the hadith of Nu'aym ibn Abdallah al-Mujmir:
"I prayed behind Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): he recited the basmala, then recited Umm al-Qur'an until 'not of those who incurred anger, nor of those astray', said: amin, and the people said: amin. He said at every prostration: Allah is the greatest; when he rose from the sitting between the 2: Allah is the greatest; when he gave the salam, he said: By Him in whose hand is my soul, I resemble your prayer most closely to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)"Reported by al-Nasa'i in his Sunan and Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih, who writes: as for saying the basmala aloud in prayer, it is authentic and established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by a firm, unbroken chain, without doubt or suspicion among those versed in the reports; Abu Hatim Ibn Hibban reported it in his Sahih and al-Daraqutni in his Sunan, saying: sahih hadith, all its narrators trustworthy; al-Hakim says: sahih hadith by the 2's criterion; al-Bayhaqi used it in the «Kitab al-Khilafiyyat» and said: all its narrators are trustworthy, agreement on their uprightness and proof made with them in the Sahih; in «al-Sunan al-Kubra» he says: a sahih chain with corroborations; al-Khatib relied on it at the head of his book on saying the basmala aloud in prayer, transmitting it through several satisfactory ways, then said: this hadith is established and sahih, no explanation can be sought against its connectedness and the trustworthiness of its men
The third way: al-Daraqutni reports in his Sunan from Abu Hurayra from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that "he opened the prayer with the basmala when he recited while leading the people". Abu Hurayra said: "it is a verse of the Book of Allah; recite the Fatiha of the Book, if you wish: it is the seventh verse". In one version: "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the basmala when he led the people". Al-Daraqutni: all the men of its chain are trustworthy. Al-Khatib: a group reported from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the basmala aloud and commanded it, and he cites this hadith replacing "recited" with "said aloud". From al-Zuhri from Ibn al-Musayyib from Abu Hurayra: "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) opened the recitation with the basmala". From Abu Hazim from Abu Hurayra: "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the basmala aloud". Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi: there is no excuse for leaving the explicit wording of these hadiths from Abu Hurayra and relying on "I divided the prayer", carrying it as the abandoning of the basmala altogether or as its quiet saying: nothing of that is explicit in it; and all of it comes from one Companion, reconciling their narrations being better than believing in their disagreement; moreover this hadith reported by al-Daraqutni with his chain is precisely the hadith of the division of the prayer: the 2 hadiths must therefore be carried on what is explicit in one of them.
As for Umm Salama's hadith, a group of trustworthy narrators reported it from Ibn Jurayj from Abdallah ibn Abi Mulayka from her (may Allah be pleased with her): "the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would break up his recitation: the basmala, then All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, then the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, then Master of the Day of Judgment" (Surah 1, 1-4); in one version: "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the basmala breaking it up letter by letter"; in another: "when he recited, he broke up his recitation verse by verse"; reported by al-Hakim, Ibn Khuzayma and al-Daraqutni, who says: all its chains have trustworthy men, it is a sahih chain; al-Hakim: sahih by the 2's criterion. Omar ibn Harun al-Balkhi reported it from Ibn Jurayj from Ibn Abi Mulayka from Umm Salama: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in prayer the basmala counting it as a verse, and "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds" as 2 verses.
As for Ibn Abbas's hadith, al-Daraqutni in his Sunan and al-Hakim reported it with their chain from Sa'id ibn Jubayr from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the basmala aloud". Al-Hakim: this is a sahih chain, without defect. Al-Daraqutni reported 2 hadiths from Ibn Abbas, saying of each: a sahih chain, no criticized narrator: the first, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "said the basmala aloud"; the second, that he "opened the recitation with the basmala"; the latter is reported by al-Tirmidhi, who says: its chain is not at that level. Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi: we hold, praise be to Allah, several hadiths from Ibn Abbas authenticated by the imams. As for the hadiths of Anas, Ali and Samura ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with them), let whoever wishes consult al-Nawawi's «Majmu'»; I have left them out to avoid length, and Allah is the Giver of success.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him): know that the question of saying it aloud is not built on the question of establishing the basmala, for a group of those who favor the quiet recitation do not hold it to be Quran but count it among the prayer's sunnas, like the ta'awwudh and the amin; and a group of those who favor the quiet recitation hold it to be Quran while concealing it; each group says it aloud or conceals according to what prevails with them of the reports and traditions («al-Majmu'» 3/280, 291, «Sharh Muslim» 4/98). Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya: the scholars agree that whoever does either of the 2, his worship is valid, with no sin; they only dispute over which is better; and the question of saying the basmala aloud is of this type: they agree that whoever says it aloud has a valid prayer, and whoever conceals it too («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/267). He also says: as for the basmala, there is no doubt that among the Companions were some who said it aloud, and among them some who did not say it aloud, reciting it quietly or not reciting it; those who said it aloud mostly said it aloud at times and concealed it at others, for a remembrance may be sunna when concealed and said aloud for a prevailing benefit such as teaching the congregation: it is established in the Sahih that Ibn Abbas said the Fatiha aloud at a funeral to teach them that it is a sunna. It is established in the Sahih that Omar ibn al-Khattab used to say aloud, many times: "Allah is the greatest; Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You"; the scholars agree this saying aloud is not a constant sunna: he said it for teaching; likewise one Companion is reported to have said the ta'awwudh aloud at times; since Companions said the opening supplication and the seeking of protection aloud with the Companions' approval, saying the basmala aloud has more title to be so, and saying it aloud at times for a prevailing benefit may be legislated. Yet there is no dispute among the people of hadith science: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say the opening supplication nor the seeking of protection aloud; the Sahihs even establish that Abu Hurayra asked him: O Messenger of Allah, do you see your silence between the takbir and the recitation? What do you say? He replied: "I say: O Allah, distance me from my sins as You have distanced the East from the West; O Allah, purify me of my sins as a white garment is purified of filth; O Allah, wash me of my sins with water, snow and hail". In the Sunan, he sought protection in prayer before the recitation; saying the basmala aloud is stronger than saying the seeking of protection aloud, since it is a verse of the Book of Allah; the scholars disputed its obligatoriness as they disputed the opening supplication and the seeking of protection, 2 views existing in the school of Ahmad and others; but that dispute is weaker than the dispute over the basmala's obligation. Those holding its obligation are the best and most numerous; yet it is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said it aloud, and neither in the Sahih collections nor the Sunan collections is there a sahih explicit hadith on saying it aloud; the explicit hadiths on it are all weak, even fabricated. Hence, when al-Daraqutni composed a work on this question, he was asked: is there in that anything authentic? He replied: as for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), no; as for the Companions, there is among it the authentic and the weak. And had the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said it aloud constantly, the Companions would have transmitted it, the Successors would have known it, and people would not have needed to ask Anas ibn Malik after the era of the caliphs ended; yet the rightly guided caliphs, then the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs, all agreed on not saying it aloud; and the people of Medina, the most knowledgeable of the people of the cities about his sunna (peace and blessings be upon him), denied its recitation altogether, quietly and aloud; and the sahih hadiths indicate it is a verse of the Book of Allah without belonging to the Fatiha or the other suras («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/274, 276).
Seventh point: the amin. The jurists agree that the amin after the recitation of the Fatiha is a sunna, for the hadith of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
"When the imam says: not of those who incurred anger, nor of those astray, say: amin; for whoever's words coincide with those of the angels, his past sins are forgiven"Reported by al-Bukhari (747) and Muslim (410)
The amin is then a sunna for the worshiper in general, whether imam, follower or praying alone, according to the majority and Imam Malik in one narration; Malik, in the narration of Ibn al-Qasim, and the Egyptians except the imam in the aloud prayer: the amin is not recommended for him; likewise the follower when he does not hear his imam say "nor of those astray". The majority establish it with Abu Hurayra: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the imam says amin, say amin; for whoever's amin coincides with the amin of the angels, his past sins are forgiven" (al-Bukhari 747, Muslim 410). Wail ibn Hujr reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he said "nor of those astray", would say amin raising his voice (sahih hadith: Abu Dawud 932). Malik argues with the Prophet's saying: "When the imam says: not of those who incurred anger, nor of those astray, say: amin" (al-Bukhari 749, Muslim 415): this proves the imam does not say amin; for had he said it, he would not have commanded the follower to say amin at the end of Umm al-Kitab before the imam himself says it.
The qadi Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him): the imam's amin carries 2 narrations. The evidence for affirming it: the saying "when the imam says amin, say amin"; Wail ibn Hujr reports that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would say amin raising his voice; and because it is a remembrance prescribed to the follower, it is therefore prescribed to the imam like the other prescribed remembrances, since he is a worshiper resembling the follower and the one praying alone; and because the imam is the most capable of attainment in remembrances, coming with what the follower does not do of recitation and saying aloud; and if what is disliked for the follower can be prescribed to him, what is prescribed to the follower is prescribed to him with stronger reason; in consideration too of the quietness of the recitation. The evidence for negating it: the saying (peace be upon him): "The imam was only established to be followed", up to: "when he says: nor of those astray, say: amin"; 2 proofs lie in it. The first: were the amin part of the imam's sunna, he would have said: when he says amin, say amin. The second: the command to the follower rests on his acts following the imam's acts, and the report says he says amin upon finishing "nor of those astray", which makes us share with him the moment in which he says amin; the imam being the one who supplicates and the follower the one who listens, and it befits supplication that the one answering with amin not be the one supplicating («al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/258-259, case no. 178).
With the Hanafis and the Malikis, the sunna is for the worshiper to say the amin quietly, whether imam, follower or alone, for the amin is a supplication and the basis in it is concealment: saying it is one sunna and saying it quietly another; the Hanafis add that the sunna of saying it is attained this way even if it is said aloud. The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis: saying it aloud is a sunna in the aloud prayer, for the imam, the follower and the one praying alone, and quietly in the silent prayer; for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said amin raising his voice; and the Prophet commanded the amin at the moment of the imam's amin: were he not saying it aloud, the command would not apply to him, as in the case of concealment («Bada'i' al-Sana'i'» 2/50-51, Ibn Abidin 1/320, «al-Mabsut» 1/32-33, «Umdat al-Qari» 6/53, «al-Istidhkar» 1/473-474, «al-Kharashi ala Khalil» 1/282, «al-Tamhid» 7/11, «Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/248, «Ahkam al-Qur'an» of Ibn al-Arabi 1/11, 14, «al-Mughni» 2/36-37, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/160, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 159, «al-Insaf» 2/51, «Sharh Muslim» 4/411, «Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/206).
Eighth point. The jurists agree that reciting a sura after the Fatiha is prescribed in the dawn prayer, the first 2 rak'as of every 4-rak'a prayer and the maghrib. Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him): I know of no disagreement among the people of knowledge: reciting a sura with the Fatiha in the first 2 rak'as of every prayer is recommended, aloud where the Fatiha is recited aloud and quietly where it is recited quietly; the basis is the Prophet's practice (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Qatada reporting:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in the first 2 rak'as of the zhuhr the Fatiha of the Book and 2 suras, lengthening the first and shortening the second, sometimes making a verse heard; and he recited in the first 2 rak'as of the asr the Fatiha of the Book and 2 suras, lengthening the first and shortening the second; and he lengthened the first rak'a of the dawn prayer and shortened the second"Reported by al-Bukhari (759) and Muslim (451)
In one version: "in the zhuhr he recited in the last 2 rak'as Umm al-Kitab", upon which the 2 Sahihs agree. Abu Burza reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited at dawn between 60 and one 100 verses (al-Bukhari 574, Muslim 461). The Prophet's recitation with the Fatiha in the aloud prayer is famous, transmitted in a mutawatir manner: he commanded Mu'adh to recite "By the sun and its brightness", "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" and "By the night when it covers" (al-Bukhari 673, Muslim 465, «al-Mughni» 2/40, 129).
They diverged over reciting a sura after the Fatiha in the last 2 rak'as of every 4-rak'a prayer and the last of the maghrib: is it a sunna or not? The majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is on one view and the Hanbalis according to the madhhab, hold it is not a sunna, based on Abu Qatada's report that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
"recited at the zhuhr, in the first 2 rak'as, Umm al-Kitab and 2 suras, and in the last 2 rak'as Umm al-Kitab, sometimes making a verse heard"Upon which the 2 Sahihs agree
From Jabir ibn Samura (may Allah be pleased with him): the people of Kufa complained about Sa'd to Omar (may Allah be pleased with him), who removed him and appointed Ammar over them; they complained until they claimed he did not know how to pray; he wrote to him: O Abu Ishaq, these claim you do not know how to pray. Abu Ishaq answered: as for me, by Allah, I used to pray with them the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) without deviating from it: I prayed the isha slowing down in the first 2 rak'as and lightening the last 2. Omar said: that is indeed what is thought of you, O Abu Ishaq (al-Bukhari 722, Muslim 453). For the first 2 rak'as, being singled out by the extra saying aloud where it applies, were also singled out by the extra recitation; the last 2, diminished from them in the quality, namely saying aloud, are diminished in the extra recitation («Fath al-Qadir» 1/274-275, al-Tahtawi 1/293, «al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/267-268, case no. 183, «al-Taj wa al-Iklil» 1/524, «al-Sharh al-Saghir» 1/216, «al-Majmu'» 3/340, 342, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 160, «al-Mughni» 2/40, 129, «al-Insaf» 2/88, «Manar al-Sabil» 1/109, «al-Ifsah» 1/165-166).
The Shafi'is according to the madhhab and Ahmad in one narration: it is a sunna, for the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "recited in the zhuhr prayer, in each of the first 2 rak'as, the equivalent of 30 verses, and in the last 2 the equivalent of 15 verses, or he said: half of that; and in the asr, in each of the first 2 rak'as, the equivalent of the recitation of 15 verses, and in the last 2 half of that"; and because it is a rak'a in which the Fatiha is prescribed, the sura is prescribed in it as in the first 2, the first rak'a having no preference over the second in recitation («al-Majmu'» 3/340, 342, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 160, «al-Mughni» 2/40, 129, «al-Insaf» 2/88, «Manar al-Sabil» 1/109, «al-Ifsah» 1/165-166).
Ninth point. The majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis on one view, hold that the transition takbirs are a sunna among the sunnas of the prayer, based on what is reported from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "said the takbir at every descent and rising" (al-Bukhari 752, Muslim 392); it is also reported that he said the takbir while descending, the conjunction indicating the state; and because remembrance is a sunna at every pillar, so as to magnify Allah through remembrance in what is part of the pillars of the prayer as He is magnified through action, the meaning of magnification being increased; and the transition from one pillar to another has the worth of the pillar as a means to it: the remembrance in it is therefore prescribed. They specify it is not an obligation, since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not teach it to the one who erred in his prayer, and delaying the explanation beyond the time of need is not permitted; and were it obligatory, it would not be dropped through forgetfulness, unlike the pillars («Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/52, «al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/269-270, case no. 185).
The Hanbalis, according to the famous position among them: the transition takbirs are obligatory, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded them, a command signifying obligation, and by his practice and his saying "pray as you have seen me pray". Abu Dawud reports from Yahya ibn Khallad from his uncle from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
"The prayer of no one among the people is complete until he performs ablution covering its places, then says the takbir and praises Allah and extols Him, then recites whatever he can of the Quran, then says: Allah is the greatest, then bows until his joints are at rest, then says: Allah hears the one who praises Him, until he stands upright, then says: Allah is the greatest, then prostrates until his joints are at rest, then says: Allah is the greatest, then raises his head until he sits upright, then says: Allah is the greatest, then prostrates until his joints are at rest, then raises his head saying the takbir: when he has done that, his prayer is complete"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (858) and al-Nasa'i (1/225)
This text establishes the obligation of the takbir; as for the hadith of the one who erred in his prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not teach him all the obligations, proof being that he taught him neither the tashahhud nor the salam; and it may be that he confined himself to teaching him what he had seen of his fault («al-Mughni» 2/54, «al-Ifsah» 1/180-181).
Tenth point. The sufficient posture in bowing is to bend in a pure bow until the palms reach the knees; the completeness of the sunna is that the worshiper bend so that his back and neck are level, extending them like a board, neither lowering his back below his neck nor raising it, keeping his legs straight without bending his knees, placing his hands on his knees and gripping his knees with his hands, spreading his fingers at that moment; the man keeps his elbows away from his sides, while the woman draws them together, that being more concealing for her; according to Uqba ibn Amir:
"He bowed, kept his hands apart, placed his hands on his knees and spread his fingers behind his knees, and said: thus I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) pray"Sahih hadith: reported by Ahmad (4/120)
From Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him): "I am the most knowledgeable of you concerning the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They said: why? By Allah, you are neither the one who followed him most nor the earliest of us in his company. He said: indeed. They said: present it then. He said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he stood for prayer, raised his hands until they were level with his shoulders, then said the takbir until every bone settled in its place, upright; then he recited, then said the takbir, raised his hands until they were level with his shoulders, then bowed and placed his palms on his knees, then straightened without drooping or raising his head, then raised his head..." to the end of the hadith (al-Bukhari 794). If he does not place his hands on his knees but reaches that degree, it suffices him; it is however disliked for him to do the tafbiq in bowing, that is, for the worshiper to place one palm over the other and then set them between his knees or thighs when bowing. The tafbiq was legislated at the beginning of Islam, then abrogated; Mus'ab ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him): "I prayed beside my father, joining my palms and then placing them between my thighs; my father forbade me and said: we used to do that, then we were forbidden it and commanded to place our hands on the knees" (al-Bukhari 757; «al-Mughni» of Ibn Qudama 2/50-51, «al-Majmu'» 3/366, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 150, «Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi» 2/101, «Awn al-Ma'bud» 1/240, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/346, «Jawahir al-Iklil» 1/48, al-Adawi 1/231, Ibn Abidin 1/320).
Eleventh point. The jurists agree on the legality of the tasbih in bowing, for the hadith of Uqba ibn Amir: when "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Great" descended (Surah 56, 74), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Place it in your bowings" (Abu Dawud 869, Ibn Majah 887, Ahmad 4/155, Ibn Khuzayma in his «Sahih» 1/303, Ibn Hibban in his «Sahih» 5/225; al-Albani weakened it in «Da'if Abi Dawud» 736). Hudhayfa reports that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say while bowing: "Glory to my Lord, the Most Great", 3 times (sahih hadith: Ibn Majah 888).
The divergence concerns the rulings beyond that. Abu Hanifa, Malik and al-Shafi'i: it is a sunna, not an obligation, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not teach it to the one who erred in his prayer; and a pillar of the prayer entails no tasbih, like the standing. Ahmad, according to the famous narration from him: it is obligatory along with the remembrance; it is also reported from him that it is a sunna, like the madhhab of the community; what is obligatory according to him is once only, according to the narration in which he holds obligation. They then agree that the minimum of completeness in the tasbih of bowing is 3 glorifications; a single tasbih suffices him («Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/56, Ibn Abidin 1/494, al-Tahtawi 1/177, «Sharh Fath al-Qadir» 1/298, «al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/270-271, case no. 187, «al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyya» 1/45, «al-Kafi» 1/43, «al-Dhakhira» 2/224-225, «al-Tamhid» 16/119, «al-Mudawwana» 1/72, «Fath al-Bari» 2/312, «al-Mughni» 2/52, «al-Ifsah» 1/180-181, «al-Sharh al-Saghir» 1/218; Malik, according to the narration of Ibn al-Qasim, did not know the people's saying in bowing "Glory to my Lord, the Most Great" nor in prostration "Glory to my Lord, the Most High", disapproved of it, and found in bowing and prostration neither timed supplication nor tasbih, saying: when the hands reach the knees in bowing and the forehead the ground in prostration, it suffices).
Imam Ibn Rushd (may Allah have mercy on him): they diverged over whether bowing and prostration have a defined saying that the worshiper utters. Malik: there is no defined saying in that. Al-Shafi'i, Abu Hanifa, Ahmad and a group of others: the worshiper says in his bowing "Glory to my Lord, the Most Great" 3 times, and in his prostration "Glory to my Lord, the Most High" 3 times, according to what came in the hadith of Uqba ibn Amir; al-Thawri: I prefer that the imam say them 5 times in his prayer so that the one behind him attains 3 glorifications.
The cause of this divergence is the confrontation of Ibn Abbas's hadith with that of Uqba ibn Amir: in Ibn Abbas's hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been forbidden to recite the Quran while bowing or prostrating; as for bowing, magnify the Lord in it; as for prostration, strive in supplication in it, for it is most deserving of being answered for you". And in the hadith of Uqba ibn Amir: when "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Great" descended (Surah 56, 74), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Place it in your bowings"; and when "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" descended (Surah 87, 1), he said: "Place it in your prostrations".
Likewise they diverged over supplication in bowing, after agreeing on the permissibility of praising Allah: Malik disliked it, for the hadith of Ali that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for bowing, magnify the Lord in it; as for prostration, strive in supplication in it". A group of scholars: supplication in bowing is permitted, relying on hadiths in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated while bowing; this is the madhhab of al-Bukhari, who relied on the hadith of Aisha:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say in his bowing and prostration: Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and with Your praise; O Allah, forgive me"Reported by al-Bukhari
Abu Hanifa, however, does not permit supplication in prayer with words other than the Quran's, while Malik and al-Shafi'i permit it. The cause is their disagreement over whether it is divine speech or not («Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/183-184).
Twelfth point. The jurists agree on the legitimacy of the tasmie, that is saying "Allah hears the one who praises Him", and the tahmid, that is saying "Our Lord, to You is all praise", according to Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the takbir when bowing, then "Allah hears the one who praises Him", then, raising his torso from bowing, said while standing: "Our Lord, to You is all praise" (al-Bukhari 756, Muslim 392). The Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is hold it a sunna at rising from bowing, and the tahmid while standing; the Hanbalis according to the madhhab hold it obligatory, and Imam Ahmad in one narration a sunna, like the community.
The scholars diverged over which worshiper says the tasmie and the tahmid. Abu Hanifa and the Malikis: the imam says the tasmie only and does not say the tahmid; the follower says the tahmid only and does not say the tasmie; the one praying alone combines both, according to Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the imam says: Allah hears the one who praises Him, say: O Allah, our Lord, to You is all praise"Reported by al-Bukhari (763) and Muslim (409)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) divided between the 2, and division excludes sharing; the tasmie is an invitation to the tahmid, and the right of whoever is invited to something is to answer what he is invited to, not to repeat the words of the inviter; it is moreover a remembrance made in counter-response to another's words, so the follower does not share it with the one followed, like the response given to the sneezer. This hadith contains 2 proofs: he did not say "say: Allah hears the one who praises Him"; and he intended to show the meaning of following the imam and its manner, distinguishing what is done there like his act and what is done there contrary to his act, assigning to each a formula different from that assigned to its owner: it thus appears the 2 are not shared in it.
The Shafi'is and the 2 companions (Abu Yusuf and Muhammad) among the Hanafis: the tasmie and the tahmid are a sunna for all, the imam, the follower and the one praying alone. The Hanbalis: the tasmie is obligatory upon the imam and the one praying alone, not the follower, and the tahmid obligatory upon all, imam, follower and one praying alone («Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/58, Ibn Abidin 1/334, «al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/271-272, case no. 188, «Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/243, «al-Fawa'id al-Dawani» 1/209, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/165, «al-Mughni» 2/57, 62, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/348, «al-Ifsah» 1/180, «Sharh Muslim» 4/173). The Shafi'is and Hanbalis specify that after the tahmid it is sunna to say: "as much as the fullness of the heavens, the earth, and whatever You will thereafter", according to Abdallah ibn Abi Awfa that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he raised his back from bowing, said: "Allah hears the one who praises Him; O Allah, our Lord, to You is all praise, as much as the fullness of the heavens, the fullness of the earth, and the fullness of whatever You will thereafter" (Muslim 476). And he may add: "O Owner of praise and glory, the truest words a servant has said, and we are all Your servants; O Allah, none can withhold what You give, none can give what You withhold, and the wealth of the miser does not avail him against You" (Muslim 477).
Thirteenth point. The jurists diverged over the legality of raising the hands at bowing, at rising from it and at standing from the first tashahhud for the third rak'a, after agreeing on its being recommended at the opening takbir. The Shafi'is, the Hanbalis and Malik in one narration agree on the legality of raising the hands at bowing and rising from it, it being among the sunnas of the prayer, according to Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with them both):
"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he opened the prayer, raise his hands until level with his shoulders, and before bowing, and when he rose from bowing; he did not raise them between the 2 prostrations"Reported by al-Bukhari (703) and Muslim (390)
Abu Qilaba saw Malik ibn al-Huwayrith: when he prayed, he said the takbir raising his hands, raised his hands when about to bow and raised them when lifting his head from bowing, reporting that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did so (al-Bukhari 704). Al-Hasan and Humayd ibn Hilal: the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise their hands; al-Bukhari says: this raising is reported from 17 men among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whom he lists, then says: it is not established from any of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he did not raise his hands. Al-Suyuti: the raising is established from the Prophet through the narration of 50 Companions.
The Shafi'is and Imam Ahmad in one narration: raising the hands when standing from the tashahhud for the third rak'a is recommended, according to Nafi': Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with them both), when he entered the prayer, said the takbir raising his hands, raised his hands at bowing, when he said "Allah hears the one who praises Him", and when he rose from the 2 rak'as; and Ibn Omar traced this to the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (al-Bukhari 706). Ahmad, in the second narration: no raising; «al-Insaf» states this is the madhhab, followed by the multitude of the companions, many of them holding it with certainty («al-Majmu'» 3/355, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/164, «Nihayat al-Muhtaj» 1/463, «Sharh Muslim» 4/85, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 158, «Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya» 22/452-453, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/346, 363, «al-Mughni» 2/49, «al-Insaf» 2/88, «Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/189).
The Hanafis and the Malikis, according to the famous view among them: raising the hands is not legitimate except at the opening takbir; it is therefore not legislated at bowing, rising from it, or standing for the third rak'a, for the hadith of al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him):
"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raise his hands at the start of the prayer, then not raise them again until he departed"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (752)
And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Shall I not pray with you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He prayed without raising his hands but once" (sahih hadith: Abu Dawud 748, al-Tirmidhi 257, al-Nasa'i 1058; «Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/52-53, «Tabyin al-Haqa'iq» 1/120, «al-Bahr al-Ra'iq» 1/341, «al-Tamhid» 19/252, «al-Sharh al-Saghir» 1/216, «Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/247).
Imam Ibn Rushd al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him): as for their divergence over the places of raising, the people of Kufa, Abu Hanifa, Sufyan al-Thawri and the rest of their jurists, hold that the worshiper raises his hands only at the opening takbir; this is the narration of Ibn al-Qasim from Malik. Al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Abu Ubayd, Abu Thawr, the majority of the people of hadith, likewise the literalists: raising at the opening takbir, at bowing and at rising from bowing; this is narrated from Malik, except that with some of those it is an obligation and with Malik a sunna; some of the people of hadith add raising at the prostration and at rising from it.
The cause of all this divergence is the divergence of the traditions and the differing of the practice of the people of Medina among themselves: there are the hadith of Abdallah ibn Mas'ud, the hadith of al-Bara ibn Azib: "he raised his hands at entering the prayer once only, not more", and another hadith from Salim ibn Abdallah ibn Omar from his father: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he opened the prayer, raised his hands level with his shoulders, and when he raised his head from bowing, raised them likewise, saying "Allah hears the one who praises Him; our Lord, to You is all praise", and he did not do that in the prostration; this hadith has unanimous attestation of its authenticity, and they claimed 13 men among his Companions transmitted it from him; among them the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr, which adds to what is in the hadith of Abdallah ibn Omar that he raised his hands at the prostration. Whoever carries the raising here as recommendation or obligation: some confined it to the entering only, preferring the hadiths of Abdallah ibn Mas'ud and al-Bara ibn Azib, and this is the Maliki madhhab, for conforming to the practice; others preferred the hadith of Abdallah ibn Omar and saw the raising in the 2 places, bowing and entering, for its fame upon which all agree, each carrying it according to his opinion of obligation or recommendation. Others took the way of combination, saying these additions must be gathered one with another, as in the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr; and the scholars in these traditions followed the way of preference or the way of combination. The cause of their divergence over carrying the raising in prayer as recommendation or obligation is what we said before: some carry the Prophet's acts (peace and blessings be upon him) as obligatory until evidence indicates otherwise, others hold nothing may be added to what is established without clear evidence of a fixed saying or consensus; we have said this, and there is no sense in repeating one thing many times.
As for the limit to which the hands are raised: some hold it is the shoulders, as Malik, al-Shafi'i and a group said; some: the ears, as Abu Hanifa said; some: the chest; all of that is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the most established being that he raised them level with his shoulders, the majority's view, raising to the ears being more established than raising to the chest and more famous («Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/189, 191).
Fourteenth point. The majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis according to the madhhab: it is sunna, when descending to prostration, to place the knees first, then the hands, then the forehead and the nose, according to Wail ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him):
"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): when he prostrated, he placed his knees before his hands, and when he rose, he raised his hands before his knees"Weak hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (838), al-Tirmidhi (267), al-Nasa'i (1089) and Ibn Majah (882)
and because it is gentler for the worshiper and more beautiful in form and to the eye («Tabyin al-Haqa'iq» 1/116, «al-Mabsut» 1/32, «Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/61, «al-Majmu'» 3/380, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/170, «al-Mughni» 2/66, «al-Ifsah» 1/183, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/350, «Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/195). Malik and Ahmad in one narration: placing the hands first is recommended, according to Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) raising it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
"When one of you prostrates, let him not collapse as the camel collapses, and let him place his hands before his knees"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (840) and others
because it is fuller of the dignity of the prayer and further from resembling the sitting of the common people who lack dignity, and is therefore more befitting («al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/277-278, case no. 192, «al-Taj wa al-Iklil» 1/541, «al-Talqin» 1/107, «Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/250, «al-Ifsah» 1/183, «Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/195).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about praying while avoiding the earth, placing the knees before the hands or the hands before the knees. He answered: praying in either way is permitted by consensus of the scholars: if the worshiper wishes, he places his knees before his hands; if he wishes, he places his hands then his knees; his prayer is valid in both cases by consensus; they disputed over which is better: some say the first, as the madhhab of Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad in one of the 2 narrations; some say the second, as the madhhab of Malik and Ahmad in the other narration («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/449).
The prescribed prostrate session for the worshiper is to prostrate upon the 7 members: the forehead, with the nose, the 2 hands, the 2 knees and the 2 feet, making his forehead and nose able to reach the ground, spreading the fingers of his hands toward the qibla, separating his knees, raising his belly from his thighs and his thighs from his shins, keeping his elbows away from his sides and pointing the tips of his feet toward the qibla (Ibn Abidin 1/339, al-Dasuqi 1/249, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/170, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/335, «al-Mughni» 2/71-72).
Fifteenth point: the first tashahhud and its sitting. The jurists agree that the first tashahhud and the sitting for it are legislated, the later generations transmitting it from the early ones from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a mutawatir manner, the umma practicing it in its prayer; they diverged over whether it is obligatory or recommended. The Hanafis on one view, the Malikis, the Shafi'is and Ahmad in one narration: both are a sunna, since both drop through forgetfulness and require 2 prostrations of compensation, according to Abdallah ibn Buhayna, a Companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with us 2 rak'as of one of the prayers, then stood without sitting, and the people stood with him; when he finished the prayer and we awaited his salam, he said the takbir and prostrated twice while sitting, before the salam, then he saluted"Reported by al-Bukhari (795) and Muslim (570)
The hadith's import is that were it obligatory, he would have returned to it when they informed him, as in some narrations, after standing, rather than repair it with prostration. The Hanafis according to the apparent narration, the Hanbalis according to the madhhab and the Shafi'is on one view: it is obligatory with the remembrance, dropping through forgetfulness; for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it and persisted in it, commanded it in the hadith of Ibn Abbas: "say: all greetings belong to Allah", and prostrated for forgetfulness when he omitted it, he who said "pray as you have seen me pray"; what drops through forgetfulness requiring replacement resembles the compensations of the hajj repaired by blood, unlike sunnas; and it is one of the 2 tashahhuds, hence obligatory like the other. Imam Ibn Nujaym, the Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him): the term "the tashahhud" means the first and the second (in some copies of the «Niqaya»: the 2 tashahhuds, in dual form), due to the persistence indicating obligation, and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) to Ibn Mas'ud: "say: all greetings belong to Allah", without distinguishing between the first and the second.
A group chooses the sunna of the tashahhud in the first sitting to distinguish the 2 sittings: since the last is an obligation, its tashahhud is obligatory, and since the first is a sunna, its tashahhud is a sunna. The answer: by the impossibility of necessary correlation; the tashahhud is only a remembrance legislated in a specific state, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) observed in both sittings; the obligation in both is therefore the apparent narration, the soundest, as in the «Muhit» and the «Dhakhira», stated explicitly in the «Hidaya» in the chapter on the prostration of forgetfulness even though he is silent about it in the chapter on the description of the prayer; the statement of Sadr al-Shari'a that the author of the «Hidaya» made it a sunna is not sound, being an oversight of his explicit statement in that chapter; the author perhaps used the dual only to indicate that every tashahhud in the prayer is obligatory, whether 2 or more, as is known regarding the sittings («al-Bahr al-Ra'iq» 1/318). Badr al-Din al-Ayni (may Allah have mercy on him): "and he performed the tashahhud", the commentator: meaning he recited: all greetings belong to Allah..., in the last sitting too; "and it is obligatory upon us": the tashahhud is obligatory upon us («al-Bunyayya» 2/274).
They agree that nothing is added to the first tashahhud beyond "and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger", except al-Shafi'i in the later of his 2 views: he says the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it being recommended for him; this is also the choice of the vizier Ibn Hubayra among the Hanbalis («Mukhtasar al-Wiqaya» 1/122, «Tuhfat al-Fuqaha» 1/137, «al-Inaya» 2/284-285, «al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/284-285, case no. 201, «Tafsir al-Qurtubi» 1/173, «al-Tamhid» 10/201, «al-Mughni» 2/86, 91, «al-Istidhkar» 1/523, «Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar» 1/440, «Sharh Muslim» 5/53, «al-Ifsah» 1/172, Ibn Abidin 1/301, «al-Ikhtiyar» 1/53-54, «al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyya» 69, «Jawahir al-Iklil» 1/48, «Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/249).
If he stands from the first tashahhoud and remains standing to the end, he does not return to it, for the Prophet's saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "say: O Allah, I have greatly wronged myself, and none forgives sins but You; so grant me forgiveness from Yourself and have mercy on me; You are the Forgiving, the Merciful" (al-Bukhari 799, Muslim 2705). And from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "when one of you performs the tashahhud, let him seek Allah's protection from 4 things; he says: O Allah, I seek Your protection from the torment of Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of the false Messiah" (Muslim 588; Ibn Abidin 1/350, «Tabyin al-Haqa'iq» 1/123, «Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/251-252, «al-Sharh al-Saghir» 1/221, «Sharh Muslim» 4/105, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/176, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/360, «Sharh al-Zurqani» 1/271, «al-Tahqiq» 1/427, «al-Hawi al-Kabir» 2/139).