Then he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would commence the prayer by saying:
Allaah is the Greatest60
He ordered "the man who prayed badly" to do likewise as has been mentioned, and
he said to him: Verily, the prayer of a person is not complete until he has made
an ablution which has included the necessary parts of the body and has then said:
'Allaahu Akbar'.61
He would also used to say: The key to the prayer is purification, it is entered by
takbeer and exited by tasleem.62
Also, "he used to raise his voice for the takbeer such that those behind him could
hear."63 But, "when he fell ill Abu Bakr used to
raise his voice to convey the takbeer of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
to the people."64
He would also say: When the Imaam says: Allaahu Akbar, then say: Allaahu Akbar.65
He would raise his hands sometimes with the takbeer,66
sometimes after the takbeer,67 and sometimes before
it.68
"He would raise them with fingers apart [not spaced out, nor together]",69
and "he would put them level with his shoulders"70,
although occasionally, "he would raise them until they were level with [the tops
of] his ears."71
"He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to place his right arm on his left arm"72, and he used to say: We, the company of prophets,
have been commanded to hasten the breaking of the fast, to delay the meal before
the fast, and to place our right arms on our left arms during prayer.73
Also "he passed by a man who was praying and had placed his left arm on his right,
so he pulled them apart and placed the right on the left."74
"He used to place the right arm on the back of his left palm, wrist and forearm"75, "and he commanded his companions to do likewise"76, and (sometimes) "he would grasp his left
arm with his right."77
"He used to place them on his chest."78
Also "he used to forbid putting one's hand on the waist during prayer [and he put
his hand on his waist (to demonstrate)]"79. And this
is the "silb" which he used to forbid.80
Footnotes
60 Muslim & Ibn Maajah. The hadeeth contains an indication
that he did not use to commence it with the words of some people: "I intend to pray
_etc." which is in fact agreed to be an innovation. But they differ as to whether
it is a good or bad innovation, to which we say: "Indeed all innovations in worship
are misguided, from the generality of his statement (`alaihis salaatu was salaam),
`_and all innovations are misleading, and every misleading thing is in the Fire'."
But this is not the place for a detailed discussion of this.
61 Tabaraani with a saheeh isnaad.
62 Abu Daawood, Tirmidhi and Haakim who declared it saheeh
and Dhahabi agreed. It is given in Irwaa' (no. 301).
Literally, "the takbeer makes it haraam", i.e. the actions which Allaah has made
haraam during it, "and the tasleem makes it halaal" i.e. what is allowed outside
prayer. Just as the hadeeth proves that the door to prayer is shut, no worshipper
being able to open it except with purification, it similarly proves that the prayer
cannot be entered except with takbeer, and that it cannot be exited except with
tasleem. This is the view of the majority of scholars.
63 Ahmad & Haakim, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi
agreed.
64 Muslim & Nasaa'i.
65 Ahmad & Baihaqi with a saheeh isnaad.
66 Bukhaari & Nasaa'i.
67 ibid.
68 Bukhaari & Abu Daawood.
69 Abu Daawood, Ibn Khuzaimah (1/62/2, 64/1), Tammaam
& Haakim who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.
70 Bukhaari & Nasaa'i.
71 Bukhaari & Abu Daawood.
72 Muslim & Abu Daawood. It is also given in Irwaa'
(352).
73 Ibn Hibbaan & Diyaa', with a saheeh isnaad.
74 Ahmad & Abu Daawood, with a saheeh isnaad.
75 Abu Daawood, Nasaa'i & Ibn Khuzaimah (1/54/2) with
a saheeh isnaad, and Ibn Hibbaan declared it saheeh (485).
76 Maalik, Bukhaari & Abu `Awaanah.
77 Nasaa'i and Daaraqutni with a saheeh isnaad. In this
hadeeth there is evidence that grasping is from the sunnah, and in the previous
hadeeth that so is placing, so both are sunnah. As for the combination of holding
and placing, which some of the later Hanafis hold to be good, then that is an innovation;
its form as they state is to place the right hand on the left, holding the wrist
with the little finger and the thumb, and laying flat the remaining three fingers,
as described in Ibn `Aabideen's Footnotes on Durr al-Mukhtaar (1/454);
so do not be confused by what they say.
78 Abu Daawood, Ibn Khuzaimah in his saheeh (1/54/2),
Ahmad & Abu Shaikh in Taareekh Isbahaan (p. 125); Tirmidhi declared
one of its isnaads hasan, and its meaning is found in Al-Muwatta' and Saheeh
Al-Bukhaari if considered carefully. I have fully quoted the isnaads of
this hadeeth in my book Ahkaam al-Janaa'iz (p. 118)
NOTE: To place them on the chest is what is proved in the Sunnah, and all
that is contrary to it is either da`eef or totally baseless. In fact, Imaam Ishaaq
ibn Raahawaih acted on this sunnah, as Marwazi said in Masaa'il (p. 222):
"Ishaaq used to pray witr with us _he would raise his hands in qunoot, and make
the qunoot before bowing, and place his hands on his breast or just under his breast."
Similar is the saying of Qaadi `Iyaad al-Maaliki in Mustahabbaat as-Salaah
in his book al-I`laam (p.15, 3rd edition, Rabat): "the right arm is to
be placed on the back of the left, on the upper part of the chest." Close to this
is what `Abdullaah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal related in his Masaa'il (p. 62):
"I saw that when praying, my father placed his hands, one on the other, above the
navel." See Appendix 4.
79 Bukhaari & Muslim. It is given in Irwaa'
(374) as well as the following one.
80 Abu Daawood, Nasaa'i and others.
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