They replied to the proof drawn from the ḥadith of the man who prayed incorrectly by noting that, in the chains transmitted by Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasāʾī, the Prophet said to the man: “Then he says: ‘Allāhu akbar,’ and then he bows,” and the rest of the takbīrs are mentioned as well.

Scholars then disagreed over whether the worshipper should combine both the tasmiʿ—saying, “Allah hears whoever praises Him”—and the taḥmid—saying, “Our Lord, to You belongs all praise.”

A number of scholars considered this combination obligatory for every worshipper—imam, congregant and solitary alike. Among the Companions this was the view of Abū Barzah; among the Successors, Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ; among the ḥadith masters, Isḥāq and Abū Dāwūd; and among the leading jurists, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī and Dāwūd. Their evidence is the present ḥadith and what al-Dāraqutnī related from Buraydah, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “O Buraydah, when you raise your head from bowing, say: ‘Allah hears whoever praises Him. O Allah, our Lord, to You belongs all praise…,’” and so on. They also argued from the consensus that a person praying alone must make both statements, and they extended the ruling to the congregant on the grounds that whatever is obligatory for one worshipper is equally obligatory for another.

A second group held that the congregant is not obliged to unite the tasmiʿ and the taḥmid. This was the position of Abū Hurayrah and Ibn Masʿūd among the Companions; al-Shaʿbī among the Successors; Sufyān and al-Thawrī among the ḥadith scholars; and, from the jurists, Abū Ḥanīfah and his two associates, Imām Aḥmad, al-Awzāʿī—and it is also narrated from Mālik. Their proof is the ḥadith of Abū Hurayrah recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “The imam has only been appointed to be followed… When he says, ‘Allah hears whoever praises Him,’ you should say, ‘Our Lord, to You belongs all praise.’”

They answered the evidence cited by the first group as follows:

1. The ḥadith under discussion describes the Prophet’s prayer while he was leading others or praying alone; the disputed ruling concerns the follower.
2. The ḥadith of Buraydah has a weak chain of transmission and cannot be used as proof.
3. One may not draw an analogy for the congregant when an explicit text exists. Allah knows best.

Lessons drawn from the ḥadith:
1- The opening takbīr is prescribed and must be pronounced while standing.