18 – The opening supplication, seeking refuge, the basmalah, raising the hands, placing them on the chest, the prescribed manners of bowing, prostrating, sitting, and the like are all recommended practices.
19 – Concerning his words, “then recite whatever is easy for you from the Quran”: the Quran is truly the speech of Allah. The Most High said, “Grant him protection so that he may hear the speech of Allah” (9:6). It is therefore not merely an expression of Allah’s speech, as the Ashʿarīs claim, nor a report of it, as the Karrāmiyyah assert, nor is it created, as the Muʿtazilah maintain. Rather, it is His very speech, exactly as He, exalted be He, declared, as His Messenger ﷺ conveyed, and as was believed by the Companions, the Successors, and those who followed them among the imams of the early righteous generations. From this one recognises the excellence of the Quran: it is the noblest, truest, most equitable, most eloquent, and most persuasive of speech.
20 – The teacher should begin with what is most important, giving priority to obligatory duties before recommended acts.
Scholarly disagreement:
• The Ḥanafīs hold that the prayer is valid with the recitation of any portion of the Quran, even for one who is able to recite al-Fātiḥah and knows it. They cite the verse, “Recite, then, whatever is easy of it” (73:20), as well as a narration of this hadith that says, “then recite whatever is easy for you from the Quran.”
• The majority maintain that the prayer is not valid without al-Fātiḥah for anyone who can recite it, relying on the report in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit: “There is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book,” a negation that applies to the reality of the prayer, not merely to its perfection.
• They answer the verse by stating that it refers to what is to be recited in the night prayer. After the initial command of the surah, “Stand at night in prayer except a little—half of it, or a little less, or add to it and recite the Quran with measured recitation” (73:2-4), the burden was lightened so that one might recite whatever portion became manageable.