in the bow, and Subḥāna Rabbiyal-Aʿlā (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High) in the prostration. Should he glorify Allah with other words, there is no objection.
He then raises his head, straightens up, and while rising says: Samiʿa-llāhu liman ḥamidah (Allah hears whoever praises Him). Some maintain that he should not pronounce these words until he is fully erect, but the first opinion is the sound one.
If he is praying alone he adds: Rabbanā laka l-ḥamd or Rabbanā wa-laka l-ḥamd, in whatever wording he prefers. Including the conjunction wa is better attested, and this was Mālik’s chosen view. If he wishes he may raise his hands, and if he wishes he may leave them down. When following an imam he does not say Samiʿa-llāhu liman ḥamidah; rather, he says: Rabbanā wa-laka l-ḥamd.
In the dawn prayer both the imam and the congregation perform the qunūt. A lone worshipper, however, may perform it either before the bowing or after it; both options are permissible. The more prevalent report from Mālik is that the qunūt precedes the bowing, and this is the settled position of his school.
According to Mālik, the two canonical formulas for the qunūt are: Allāhumma innā nastaʿīnuka (O Allah, we seek Your help) and Allāhumma iyyāka naʿbudu (O Allah, You alone we worship). If one makes qunūt with other wording there is no harm, and there is no objection to raising the voice while doing so. Whoever omits the qunūt incurs no sin.
He then descends to the prostration with the takbīr. If, during his descent, his knees touch the ground first, then his hands, then his face, that is commendable; but if the order differs there is no blame, for we impose no restriction on this sequence. In the prostration he says: Subḥāna Rabbiyal-Aʿlā. If he wishes he may supplicate, for this is a place of supplication. The minimum for completeness is three glorifications—or an equivalent span of supplication—and there is no upper limit, save that an imam should not prolong matters for the congregation.
He does not raise his head with the takbīr until he is sitting upright, resting on his left foot and keeping the right erect. He then descends with the takbīr to the second prostration just as in the first, after which he rises for his second rakʿah and does in it and in