– lam yuṣawwib (he did not lower): with ḍammah on the yāʾ, fatḥah on the plain ṣād, and kasrah on the geminated wāw; derived from taṣwīb, meaning that he did not lower his head beneath the level of his back.
– bayna (between): an adverb meaning “the middle.” When annexed to a temporal expression it functions as an adverb of time, and when annexed to a spatial expression it functions as an adverb of place.
– ʿuqbah al-shayṭān (the devil’s perch): with ḍammah on the ʿayn and sukūn on the qāf. Abū ʿUbayd explained it as the forbidden iqʿāʾ—sitting with one’s buttocks on the ground while erecting the shins and thighs.
– yafrishu (he spreads): the rāʾ may be vocalised with ḍammah or kasrah, though the ḍammah is more common.
– iftirāsh al-sabʿ (the beast’s sprawl): sabʿ—with fatḥah on the plain sīn, ḍammah on the bāʾ, and a final ʿayn—is the singular of “predatory beasts.” The phrase denotes a worshipper who, in prostration, lays his forearms flat on the ground, resembling a beast when it crouches and spreads its forelegs.
– al-taḥiyyah: i.e., the well-known first tashahhud.
– yakhtimu al-ṣalāh (he concludes the prayer): khatm means to finish something and reach its end; here it signifies that he completed and perfected the prayer.
– al-taslīm: namely, to say, “al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu Allāh.”
What may be learnt from the ḥadīth
- The ḥadīth details the Prophet’s ﷺ method of prayer, and he said: “Pray as you have seen me praying.” [al-Bukhārī].
- The prayer opens with the consecrating takbīr (takbīrat al-iḥrām). It is obligatory for the imam, the follower, and the individual alike to pronounce the exact words “Allāhu akbar”; no alternative wording suffices. He ﷺ said: “Its consecration is the takbīr.” [Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and others]. Thus the prayer does not commence without it.
- The recitation begins with “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds,” which indicates that the basmalah is not part of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah. This is the position of the three imams—Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, and Aḥmad—and others, and their evidence is this very ḥadīth.