Chapter on the Description of the Prayer
It is recommended that the imam—and then every follower who can see him—stand when the caller says, “The prayer is about to begin,” and that the row be straightened (1) and brought close (2) to the imam.
He then says “Allāhu akbar” while standing, raising his hands to shoulder level with the fingers together and extended. The imam lets those behind him hear this takbīr, just as he lets them hear the tasmiʿ (3) and, even more so, the final salām (4), as well as the Qur’anic recitation in the first two rakʿahs of every prayer other than Dhuhr and ʿAṣr. Anyone who is not the imam utters it only loud enough for himself to hear (5).
Next he clasps the wrist (6) of his left hand with his right, places both beneath his navel, and fixes his gaze on the place of prostration (7). He then says, “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” (8). After that he seeks refuge, then quietly says the basmalah—which is not part of al-Fātiḥah—and then he recites
(1) In manuscript B the reading is “al-saff” (the row).
(2) In manuscript C it reads “li-qurbihi” (because of its closeness).
(3) The tasmiʿ is the statement “Samiʿa Allahu liman ḥamidah” (Allah hears those who praise Him); it is recommended that the imam utter it audibly for the congregation.
(4) The conjunction wāw is missing in manuscript A, so the phrase there is “like the tasmiʿ, the first taslīmah.”
(5) That is, anyone other than the imam—such as a follower or an individual praying alone—should say it quietly, only loud enough to hear himself, though he may raise his voice in specific cases detailed in the fiqh manuals.
(6) The kuʿ is the end of the bone adjoining the wrist on the thumb side; see above, p. 54.
(7) Meaning: the place where his forehead touches the ground in prostration.
(8) Reported by Abu Dawud (776), al-Tirmidhi (243) and Ibn Majah (806) from the Mother of the Believers ʿAishah, may Allah be pleased with her. The hadith also has chains through Abu Saʿid al-Khudri, Jabir and Anas, may Allah be pleased with them. Ibn Ḥajar graded the version from Abu Saʿid as ḥasan in Natāʾij al-Afkār, 1/406.