Among them is: “Wajjahtu wajhiya lilladhī faṭara as-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ …,” (“I have turned my face toward the One who created the heavens and the earth …”). Among them also is: “Subḥānaka allāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik, wa tabāraka ismuk …,” (“Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; blessed is Your Name …”). All of these formulas are permissible, for they are soundly transmitted.

Imām Aḥmad, however, preferred the last of them—“Subḥānaka allāhumma …”—because it contains praise, exaltation, and an affirmation of Allah’s oneness. ʿUmar used to recite it aloud so that the people might learn it.

The worshipper should not restrict himself permanently to a single formula; rather, he should rotate among them all so as to attain complete conformity to the Prophet’s example and to revive every aspect of the sunnah. He may employ the shorter supplications in congregational obligatory prayers and reserve the longer ones for the night prayer.

Second Benefit: It is common knowledge that hot water cleanses and removes filth more effectively than the substances mentioned in the transmitted supplication. Why, then, does the wording invoke snow and hail when the aim is purification?

Answer: Scholars have offered many suggestions, and the finest is the one Ibn al-Qayyim relates from Shaykh al-Islām: sins generate heat, so it is fitting that the agent which removes them be something cold, in order to extinguish that heat and burning.

Hadith 2

ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would inaugurate the prayer with the takbīr (saying ‘Allāhu akbar’) and with the recitation of ‘Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds.’ When he bowed, he would neither raise his head high nor lower it, but keep it level. When he rose from bowing, he would not prostrate until he had stood up straight. When he lifted his head from prostration, he would not prostrate again until he was sitting upright. In every two rakʿahs he would recite the tashahhud. He would spread his left foot and keep his right foot upright. He forbade the kneeling posture of Satan and forbade a man to spread his forearms as a beast of prey spreads them. He concluded the prayer with the taslīm.”

Overall meaning:
In this noble report ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) describes the Prophet’s prayer ﷺ, stating that he would begin the prayer with the takbīr