Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—said while explaining the excellence and immense significance of the takbīr:

“For this reason, prayer, the call to prayer, festivals, and elevated places are all marked by the takbīr. It is one of the phrases that constitute the finest speech after the Quran: ‘Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah; there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah; and Allah is the Greatest’—as authentically established from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. No transmitted report ever replaces the formula Allāhu akbar with Allāhu a‘zam. Hence, the majority of jurists hold that prayer does not validly commence without the wording of the takbīr. If a person were to say Allāhu a‘zam, his prayer would not thereby commence, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘The key to prayer is purification; one enters its inviolable state through the takbīr and leaves it through the taslīm.’ 1 This is the view of Mālik, al-Shāfi‘i, Ahmad, Abū Yūsuf, Dāwūd, and others. Nor would prayer commence if a person used some other form of remembrance, such as ‘Glory be to Allah’ or ‘Praise be to Allah.’

“Moreover, the takbīr is the particular form of remembrance prescribed when ascending, just as the tasbīh is prescribed when descending. As reported in the hadith collections, Jābir ibn Abd Allah said: ‘When we were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, we proclaimed Allah’s greatness whenever we ascended and glorified Him whenever we descended. Prayer was instituted according to this pattern.’ 2 …” 3 End quote.

Furthermore, the takbīr accompanies the Muslim in numerous acts of worship and diverse acts of obedience. The Muslim proclaims Allah’s greatness upon completing the prescribed number of fasting days, and he does so during Hajj, as indicated above by the Quranic evidence. As for prayer,