this is widely reported from him. It is also a well-known point of disagreement among the scholars.

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr cited Abū Salama’s report:

“Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, used to lead them in prayer, pronouncing the takbīr whenever he lowered or raised himself. When he finished, he said: ‘By Allah, my prayer most closely resembles that of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.’”

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr then said: “Not everyone used to do this. This is indicated by what Ibn Abī Dhiʾb narrated in his Muwattaʾ, from Saʿīd ibn Samʿān, from Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

‘There are three things that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do which people have abandoned: when he stood for prayer, he raised his hands outstretched; he paused briefly before reciting, asking Allah for His bounty; and he pronounced the takbīr whenever he raised or lowered himself.’”

I say: A number of imams and jurists have abandoned these three practices: those who neither raise their hands nor regard the takbīr as obligatory; those who do not consider the opening supplication and seeking refuge in Allah recommended; and imams who do not pronounce the takbīr aloud when moving between postures.

He said:

Some scholars have said: “The takbīr serves only to signal the imam’s movements and is a distinguishing feature of prayer. It is a Sunnah practice only in congregational prayer. As for someone praying alone, there is no harm in his omitting the takbīr.”

For this reason, Mālik cited this report, as well as the report of Ibn Shihāb from ʿAlī ibn Husayn, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pronounce the takbīr in prayer whenever he lowered or raised himself. He continued to pray in this manner until he met Allah, Mighty and Majestic.”

And the report of Ibn ʿUmar and Jābir, may Allah be pleased with them