Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal also related from ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—that when he prayed on his own he would not pronounce the takbīr. From this it seems that these scholars deemed the takbīr merely a signal by which the imām informs the congregation of his standing and sitting; and it is plausible that whoever viewed all the intervening takbīrs as optional held the same opinion.

Second issue. Mālik said: No formula of the takbīr is valid except “Allāhu akbar” (“Allah is Most Great”).
Al-Shāfiʿī said: Both “Allāhu akbar” and “Allāhu l-akbar” are acceptable.
Abū Ḥanīfah said: Any expression that conveys the same meaning is sufficient, such as “Allāhu l-aʿẓam” or “Allāhu l-ajall.”

The root of their disagreement is whether the wording itself is prescribed for the opening takbīr or only the meaning it carries. The Mālikīs and Shāfiʿīs cite as proof the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—statement: “The key to prayer is purification; its consecration is the takbīr, and its conclusion is the taslīm.” They argue that the definite article al- here serves to restrict the ruling to the very phrase uttered, so nothing else may replace it. Abū Ḥanīfah does not concur with this principle, for to him such reasoning falls under the category of dalīl al-khiṭāb (argument from the unspoken), whereby what is left unmentioned is judged to carry the opposite ruling of what is mentioned—and Abū Ḥanīfah does not treat dalīl al-khiṭāb as operative.

Third issue. Some scholars held that the invocation of “facing” (tawjīh) in prayer is obligatory after the opening takbīr. One should then say, either
“I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth,”
which is al-Shāfiʿī’s view; or engage in a tasbīḥ (glorification), which is Abū Ḥanīfah’s view; or combine the two, which is the position of his disciple Abū Yūsuf. Mālik, however, maintained that the tawjīh is neither obligatory nor even recommended in the prayer.

The cause of the dispute lies in Mālik’s weighing of the narrations that prescribe the tawjīh against established practice, or in divergent assessments of the soundness of those narrations.

The Qāḍī said: It is authentically reported in both Ṣaḥīḥs from Abū Hurayrah that “the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—would pause briefly between the takbīr and the recitation.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransomed for you, during your pause between the takbīr and the recitation, what do you say?” He replied, “I say: ‘O Allah, distance me from my sins as You have distanced the East from the West; O Allah, cleanse me of sins as a white garment is cleansed of defilement; O Allah, wash away my sins with water, snow, and hail.’”

Some scholars therefore considered it commendable to observe several short silences during the prayer—one when pronouncing the takbīr, another when completing