the takbirs. But this concern can be addressed by saying: It has not been reported that the Prophet ﷺ differentiated between the takbirs. Rather, the apparent meaning of his practice is that he did not differentiate between them, for when the pulpit was made for him, he prayed upon it and said: “O people, I only did this so that you might follow me and learn my prayer.” (1) Had he varied the takbirs, the people would have followed him in that, even had he not been on the pulpit. Moreover, the latecomer will be beside another worshipper who is not a latecomer and will follow his lead.

The most important matter is to follow the sunnah, while also achieving the benefit that the worshipper praying behind the imam keeps his heart attentive, so that he knows the number of rak'ahs.

Some jurists said: (2) The takbir should be prolonged while descending into prostration and while rising from prostration, because of the length of the movement between the two pillars of prayer. But there is no evidence for this.

Raising His Hands …

His statement, “raising his hands”: “raising” is a circumstantial qualifier of the subject of “he says”; that is, it denotes a simultaneous state: when saying it, he is raising his hands.