As for a voluntary prayer (nafl), it may be performed either standing or sitting; standing is therefore not required, for it is authentically reported that the Prophet sometimes offered such prayers while seated without any excuse.

The second pillar is the opening takbīr (takbīrat al-iḥrām) at the very start of the prayer, based on his words: “Then face the qiblah and pronounce takbīr,” and his statement: “Its consecration is the takbīr.” Nothing has been transmitted from him indicating that he ever opened the prayer with anything other than the takbīr. Its prescribed wording is to say, “Allāhu akbar” (Allah is the Greatest); no other formula suffices, for this alone is what has come from the Messenger.

The third pillar is the recitation of al-Fātiḥah, in accordance with the hadith: “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.” Reciting it is a pillar in every rakʿah, and it is authentically reported that the Prophet recited it in every rakʿah. When he taught the man who was praying incorrectly how to pray, he instructed him