and be at ease in that upright position⦗1⦘; then prostrate until you are at ease in prostration; then raise your head from prostration and sit until you are at ease while sitting.

Perform these actions and utter these words in every unit of your prayer, except for the opening takbīr, for it is confined to the first rakʿah and not repeated in the others.

The ḥadīth contains three areas of discussion.

First issue: the scholarly disagreement.

The Ḥanafīs hold that the prayer is valid with the recitation of any portion of the Quran, even for someone capable of reciting al-Fātiḥah. They cite as proof the verse, “Recite, then, whatever is easy for you of it,” as well as one version of this ḥadīth that says, “then recite whatever is easy for you from the Quran.”

The majority, however, maintain that the prayer is not sound without al-Fātiḥah for anyone who can recite it. Their evidence is the Prophet’s statement, “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book,” agreed upon. The purport is that no prayer exists; and, in legal usage, non-existence means invalidity—this is the default rule when such negation occurs.

There are many other proofs that the prayer is invalid without it.

They reply to the verse by saying that it deals with recitation in the night vigil prayer—that is, recite whatever is easy for you of the Quran after al-Fātiḥah, without hardship.

They answer the ḥadīth variant by explaining that the wording is general and is clarified by other reports recorded by Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Ḥibbān: “then recite the Mother of the Quran and whatever Allah wills.” Abū Dāwūd remained silent about that report, and whatever he is silent about is treated as free of criticism.

In Ibn Ḥibbān’s version it reads, “Recite the Mother of the Quran, then recite whatever you wish.” Ibn al-Humām said, “The preferable view is that the Prophet ﷺ said all of this to the man who prayed poorly.”

Some scholars nonetheless regard al-Fātiḥah as obligatory only in the first rakʿah,

whereas the majority deem it obligatory in every rakʿah. Supporting this view is his statement, “Then do that in every unit of your prayer.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar added: the ḥadīth of Abū Qatadah in al-Bukhārī, which states that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite al-Fātiḥah in every rakʿah, together with his command, “Pray as you have seen me pray,” is conclusive evidence of obligation.

They also differed over the obligation of stillness (ṭumaʾnīnah) in the upright posture after bowing and after prostration.

The Ḥanafīs held that it is not obligatory,

while the majority ruled that it is obligatory, their proof being this sound, unequivocal ḥadīth and the report of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib that he “observed the prayer of the Prophet ﷺ and found his standing….”