his companions and most scholars. Ibn Wahb and Ashhab narrated from Mālik that, if someone following an imam pronounced neither the opening takbīr nor the takbīr for bowing, he recommended repeating the prayer but did not require it. He said, “I hope that the imam’s opening takbīr will suffice for him.” This is an anomalous position within the school. Only the wording “Allāhu akbar” (Allah is the Greatest) suffices for the opening takbīr, because the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Entry into prayer is marked by the takbīr.”
Ibn Shihāb and Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab held that it is a sunnah, and this was also narrated from Ibn Mas‘ūd. For this reason, Mālik said that someone who omits the opening takbīr when following an imam but pronounces the takbīr for bowing should preferably continue with the imam, taking the disagreement into account, and then repeat the prayer as a recommended act according to his position. This is the explanation we learned from some of our shaykhs of the passage in al-Mudawwana concerning Mālik’s consideration of Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab’s view on continuing with the imam. The correct position, however, is that Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab regarded the opening takbīr as obligatory. We shall discuss this later, if Allah, Exalted is He, wills.
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Likewise, the salutation of peace concluding prayer is obligatory according to Mālik, his companions, and most scholars, because the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Entry into prayer is marked by the takbīr, and release from it by the salutation of peace.”
Abū Hanīfah held that the salutation of peace is not obligatory in prayer, and that once someone has sat at the end of his prayer for the time needed to recite the tashahhud, he has left the prayer even if he has not pronounced the salutation of peace. For this reason, Ibn al-Qāsim said that if the imam loses his state of ritual purity after the tashahhud, then deliberately continues until he leads the congregation in the salutation of peace, their prayer is valid.
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Likewise, reciting the Opening Chapter of the Quran in prayer is obligatory for the imam and someone praying alone according to Mālik, all his companions, and the great majority of scholars. According to one view, it is required within the prayer as a whole; according to another, in every unit of prayer. Mālik’s statements and the opinions of his companions differ considerably concerning someone who omits the Opening Chapter of the Quran in one or more units of a three- or four-unit prayer, or in one unit of a two-unit prayer. We shall discuss this later, if Allah, Exalted is He, wills. Some scholars did not require recitation of the Opening Chapter of the Quran or