Al-Fātihah also contains praise and the declaration of Allah’s oneness. Praise and the declaration of His oneness are therefore an essential pillar required in the recitation; proclaiming Allah’s greatness is an essential pillar at the opening of prayer; and the final testimony of faith is an essential pillar while sitting, according to the well-known position reported from Ahmad, which is also the position of al-Shāfi‘ī. This sitting includes the testimony of faith, which encompasses the declaration of Allah’s oneness.

That leaves glorification. Ahmad considers it obligatory in bowing and prostration, and it is also reported from him that it is an essential pillar. This is a strong position, since the command to glorify Allah is established in the Quran and Sunnah. How, then, can invoking blessings upon the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) be considered obligatory, when no command specifically requires it within prayer, while glorification is not considered obligatory, despite the command to perform it in prayer and despite prayer itself being called “glorification”? Every component after which prayer is named is an essential pillar of it: prayer is called “standing,” “bowing,” “prostration,” and “recitation,” and it is also called “glorification.”

Nothing has been reported from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that would waive its obligation when it is forgotten, unlike the first testimony of faith: it is reported that when he omitted it, he performed the prostrations of forgetfulness. It may, however, be argued that his not commanding the man who prayed incorrectly to recite glorification indicates that it is obligatory but not an essential pillar. A detailed discussion of these questions belongs elsewhere.

The point here is that glorification has been assigned specifically to the lowered posture, just as proclaiming Allah’s greatness has been assigned to rising. Thus, in his lowered and humbled state, the servant is reminded of the attributes possessed by