Chapter on the Manner of the Prayer
The obligatory elements of the prayer are six:
- The opening takbir (taḥrīmah),
- Standing,
- The recitation,
- Bowing,
- Prostration, and
- The final sitting, long enough to recite the tashahhud.
Anything beyond these is a sunnah act.
When the worshipper enters the prayer he says the takbir and, while pronouncing it, raises his hands until the tips of his thumbs are level with his earlobes. If, in place of “Allāhu akbar,” he were to say “Allāhu ajall” (Allah is more majestic), “Allāhu aʿẓam” (Allah is greater), or “ar-Raḥmānu akbar” (the Most Merciful is greater), it is valid according to Abū Ḥanīfah and Muḥammad, whereas Abū Yūsuf maintains that only the exact wording “Allāhu akbar” suffices.
He then places his right hand over his left and rests them below the navel, after which he says: “Subḥānaka Allāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik, tabāraka ismuk, taʿālā jadduka, wa lā ilāha ghayruk” (Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no deity besides You). He seeks refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed, recites “Bismi Allāhi ar-Raḥmāni ar-Raḥīm” (In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful) quietly, then recites al-Fātiḥah together with another surah, or at least three verses from any surah he wishes.
When the imam recites “walā al-ḍāllīn” (nor those who go astray), he says “āmīn,” uttering it softly. He then pronounces the takbir and bows.
In bowing he places his hands on his knees, spreads his fingers, keeps his back level, neither raising his head nor lowering it, and says three times: “Subḥāna rabbiyal-ʿaẓīm” (Glory be to my Lord, the Mighty); that is the minimum. He then raises his head, says the takbir, and prostrates.
Placing his hands on the ground and his face between them, he prostrates on both his nose and his forehead. Restricting the prostration to only one of the two is valid according to Abū Ḥanīfah, but Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad allow it only when there is an excuse. Prostrating on the brim of his turban or on an extension of his garment is permissible.
He raises his elbows away from his sides, keeps his abdomen clear of his thighs, turns the toes of his feet toward the qiblah, and in prostration says three times: “Subḥāna rabbiyal-aʿlā” (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High); that is the minimum. He then lifts his head