– Its plural is aṣlāb and aṣlub.

– kabbirhu and hallilhu: two coined verbs created by fusing the words Allāhu akbar (“Allah is greatest”) and lā ilāha illā Allah (“there is no god but Allah”). Naḥt is the process of taking the letters of two (or more) words and combining them into a single new word.

– fa-kabbir (“then pronounce the takbīr”) means: Say “Allāhu akbar,” for nothing else can take its place. The hamzah at the beginning of “Allah” must be pronounced short, for if it is lengthened the phrase turns into a question and the prayer is invalid. The same rule applies to the hamzah of “akbar”: if it is elongated it becomes interrogative. Likewise, if he were to say “akbār,” his prayer would be nullified, because akbār is the plural of kabar, meaning “drum,” so the expression would now signify “drums.”

• Points derived from the ḥadith:

1 – This is a tremendous and venerable ḥadith; the scholars call it “the ḥadith of the man who prayed incorrectly.”

2 – The story is that one of the Companions, Khallād ibn Rāfiʿ, entered the mosque and performed a prayer that was not valid while the Prophet ﷺ was watching. When he finished, he went to the Prophet ﷺ and greeted him with salām. The Prophet returned the greeting and said, “Go back and pray, for you have not prayed.” The man went back and prayed a second time exactly as before, then returned; the Prophet repeated, “Go back and pray, for you have not prayed,” three times. The man swore that he knew no better way to pray than what he had done. When his desire for knowledge was awakened and he was ready to learn, the Prophet ﷺ taught him the proper prayer, as related in the ḥadith:
• He pronounces the opening takbīr,
• recites al-Fātiḥah,
• bows until he is composed in his bowing,
• rises from the bow and attains composure,
• prostrates and attains composure,
• sits after the prostration and attains composure,
• prostrates a second time and attains composure,
• and he does this throughout the entire prayer, except that the opening takbīr is unique to the first rakʿah.

3 – The statements and actions mentioned in this ḥadith are obligatory in the prayer, and whatever is not mentioned is not obligatory unless supported by other evidence, for that is because whatever—