a servant speaks both truth and falsehood, whereas the Lord, Glorified and Exalted, speaks the truth and guides to the way, as the Exalted said: “The truth is—and the truth I say.” [Sād: 84]

Moreover, prayer is founded on nothing but praise of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

Muslim and others narrated from Atā, from Ibn Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head from bowing, he would say: “O Allah, our Lord, to You belongs praise filling the heavens, filling the earth, filling all that lies between them, and filling whatever else You will beyond that. You are worthy of praise and glory. This is the truest thing a servant has said—and we are all Your servants. None can withhold what You give, none can give what You withhold, and no possessor of fortune can benefit from his fortune against You.”

Muslim and others also narrated from Abd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā, who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head from bowing, he would say: ‘Allah hears whoever praises Him. O Allah, our Lord, to You belongs praise filling the heavens, filling the earth, and filling whatever else You will beyond that.’”

In another narration recorded by Muslim, it is added that he would then say: “O Allah, purify me of sins and misdeeds just as a white garment is cleansed of filth.”

If it is asked: If this was the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) unanimously transmitted from him, and which the compilers of the Sahīh, Sunan, and Musnad collections transmitted through these and other chains—and prayer is the pillar of the religion—then how did this remain unknown to a group of the jurists of Iraq and elsewhere, to the point that they did not regard standing upright after bowing and sitting between the two prostrations as acts comparable in duration to bowing