be found at all; indeed, Ibn Hazm went so far as to deny its existence outright in al-Muhalla (3/234), declaring: “It has never been known!” Yet it is preserved in the Musnad of al-Bazzar with a chain of unquestionable reliability. Al-Hafiz remarks: “I say: it meets the conditions set by Muslim.” I add: Muslim himself actually placed it in his Sahih (2/187); it is also reported by Abu Dawud (1/91), al-Nasa’i (1/142), al-Darimi (1/382), al-Daraqutni (p. 111), and al-Bayhaqi (2/32) through al-Tayalisi (no. 22), as well as by Ahmad (1/94, 102) along several routes from Abd al-Aziz ibn Abi Salamah—“my uncle al-Majishun narrated it to me”—with the wording: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood for prayer he pronounced the takbir (Allahu akbar) and then said: “Wajjahu wajhi… (I have turned my face…)” and so forth; the complete text will be quoted shortly. Al-Bayhaqi also transmits it through Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr—“Yusuf al-Majishun related to us; my father related it to me”—omitting the initial takbir. Likewise, Abu Dawud (1/119), al-Daraqutni (p. 107), al-Bayhaqi, al-Tahawi (1/131-132), Ibn Majah (1/284) and Ahmad (1/93) record it through another chain from al-Araj with the wording: When he rose for an obligatory prayer he pronounced the takbir, raising his hands level with his shoulders… . In Talkhis (3/371) al-Hafiz notes: “Ahmad declared it sound, as cited by al-Khallal.” It is further supported by a narration of Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Hurmuz, from Muhammad ibn Maslamah: when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose to offer a voluntary prayer he said: “Allahu akbar; wajjahtu wajhi….” Al-Nasa’i records this (1/143), and its chain is strong.