his manner of prayer until he met Allah, Mighty and Majestic,” and the report concerning Ibn Umar and Jābir (may Allah be pleased with them both): “They would pronounce the takbīr whenever they lowered or raised themselves in prayer.” Jābir used to teach them this. He said: Mālik cited all these hadiths to demonstrate that the takbīr is one of the sunnah practices of prayer.

I say: What he reported from Mālik is indeed as he stated. As for the disagreement mentioned by Ibn Abd al-Barr, I found that he cited no basis for it other than Ahmad’s report from the Muslim scholars that the takbīr is prescribed in the prayers. Mālik and others mentioned this—and Allah knows best—only because they disapproved of the conduct of imams who did not pronounce all the takbīrs. Ibn Abd al-Barr said: Ibn Wahb narrated: Iyād ibn Abd Allāh al-Fihrī informed me that Abd Allāh ibn Umar used to say, “Everything has an adornment, and the adornment of prayer is the takbīr and the raising of the hands during it.” If Ibn Umar said this, how could anyone suppose that he did not pronounce the takbīr when praying alone? No rational person could suppose that of Ibn Umar.

Ibn Abd al-Barr said: It has been reported of Umar ibn al-Khattāb, Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz, Qatāda, and others that “they did not pronounce all the takbīrs.” This was also related of al-Qāsim and Saīd ibn Jubayr. It was narrated from Abū Salama, from Abū Hurayra, that “he used to pronounce this takbīr and say, ‘This is indeed the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).’” He said: This indicates that the people had abandoned pronouncing the takbīr whenever lowering or raising themselves. Their abandonment of it, without any one of them objecting, indicates that they understood the command as expressing mere permissibility.

I say: All that can be established is that they ceased pronouncing it aloud. As for an imam omitting