The tahlil pertains exclusively to divinity
39 — The tahlil, la ilaha illa Allah, singles Him out as the only true deity. No being at all possesses that attribute such that anyone could be said to surpass Him in it; rather, there is no god but Allah.
40 — This declaration therefore negates divinity for everything besides Him and affirms it for Him alone, whereas the takbir affirms that He is greater in an unqualified sense. The former conveys exclusivity, the latter conveys superiority—just as tasbih and tahmid join negation to affirmation—for every perfection is either His alone or, if shared, none resembles Him in it.
Legislation of the takbir when witnessing something majestic in creation
41 — For that reason the takbir is prescribed upon seeing any created thing that bears a degree of grandeur, such as elevated places.
42 — The devils flee when they hear the adhan. (1)
43 — A blaze, too, is extinguished with the takbir, (2) for the rebellious among mankind and the jinn wax arrogant
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 608, and Muslim, no. 389/19, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah: the Prophet ﷺ said, “When the call to prayer is made, Satan turns his back and breaks wind …,” etc.
(2) Reported by Ibn al-Sunni in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa-l-Laylah, nos. 295–296 and 297–298, through ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb—his father—his grandfather, with the wording: “When you see a fire, pronounce the takbir (saying Allahu akbar), for the takbir extinguishes the flames.” Its chain is extremely weak, as al-Albani notes in Takhrij al-Kalim al-Tayyib, p. 221. The compiler himself signals its weakness in al-Kalim al-Tayyib by introducing it with the formula “it is reported.”
Additional reports on the subject:
– From Ibn ʿAbbas: cited by al-Suyuti in al-Jamiʿ al-Saghir with reference to Ibn ʿAdi and graded hasan; see Fayd al-Qadir, 1/360.
– From Abu Hurayrah: recorded by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat, no. 8569, and in al-Duʿa, no. 1001, with the wording: “Extinguish fire with the takbir.” Al-Haythami comments in Majmaʿ al-Zawaʾid, 10/138: “Its chain contains narrators I do not know.”