Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

The evidence for this is that (supplication) in the opening is among the differences that are permissible, and it is allowed for the one praying to begin the prayer with (any supplication) that is proven from the Prophet ﷺ that he used to begin the prayer with after the takbeer, whether it is with the praise and glorification of Allah Almighty, or those supplications that are mentioned in the Qur'an, or those supplications that are not mentioned in the Qur'an.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » at the beginning of the prayer, he would remain silent for a short while. So I asked, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), may my parents be sacrificed for you, please tell me what you recite in your silence between the takbeer and the recitation?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "I recite this supplication « اللّٰهُمَّ بَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ، اللّٰهُمَّ نَقِّنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ، اللّٰهُمَّ اغْسِلْنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ بِالثَّلْجِ وَالْمَاءِ وَالْبَرَدِ » 'O Allah, distance me from my sins as You have distanced the East from the West. O Allah, purify me of my sins as a white garment is purified of dirt. O Allah, wash away my sins with water, snow, and hail.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came (to the mosque) while he was out of breath, so he said « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » (and added these words) « الـحَمْدُ لِلَّه، حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا طَيِّبًا مُبَارَكًا فِيهِ » "All praise is for Allah, very blessed praise." Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his prayer, he said: "Who among you said these words?" So all the people remained silent. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked again: "Who said these words?" because he had not said anything bad. So that man said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I said them. I came and I was out of breath, so I said those words." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw twelve angels competing with each other as to who would take these words up (to the presence of Allah Almighty)."

Whereas in the narration of Abu Musa, it is stated: "Indeed, a man entered the prayer and he said, 'All praise is for Allah, very blessed praise,' and he also said..." Then one of the people said, "I said these words, and my intention in saying them was only good and righteousness." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, twelve angels competed with each other to acquire these words (but) they did not know how to write their reward, until they asked their Lord, so He said: 'Write it as My servant has said it' (that is, there is no fixed reward for it, rather I Myself will grant its reward)."

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the supplications related to the beginning of the night prayer (tahajjud) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) have been narrated in different wordings. I have mentioned those supplications in the chapters of Salat al-Layl. As for the supplication which the common people of Khurasan recite at the beginning of their prayer, « سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ » "O Allah, You are pure with Your praise, Your name is very blessed, Your majesty is very exalted, and there is none worthy of worship except You," we do not know of any authentic hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this supplication according to the experts of the science of hadith. According to our knowledge, the best chain regarding this supplication is the one narrated by Abu al-Mutawakkil from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), and it is as follows:

Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night, he would say « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » three times, then recite this supplication: « سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ » “O Allah, You are pure with Your praise, blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no deity worthy of worship except You.” Then he would say « لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله » (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah) three times, then say « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » (Allah is the Greatest) three times. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would then recite this supplication: « أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِن الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، مِنْ هَمْزِهِ وَنَفْخِهِ وَنَفْثِهِ » “I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Satan, from his evil suggestions, his arrogance, and his poetry.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite (Qur’an). Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding this supplication in this hadith: “It has not been heard, neither in ancient nor recent times, that it was acted upon exactly as mentioned. And regarding those scholars whom we have not seen, it has also not been reported to us that they would begin the prayer by saying « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » three times, then recite this supplication « سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ », then recite « لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله » three times, and then say « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » three times.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jubair bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer, he would say « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » "Allah is the Greatest" three times, recite « الـحَمْدُ لِلَّه كَثِيرًا » "All praise is abundantly for Allah" three times, and recite « سُبْحَانَ اللّٰہِ بُکْرَۃً وَأَصِیلًا » "O Allah, I declare Your purity morning and evening" three times. Then he would recite the ta'awwudh as mentioned in the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him). However, the scholars of hadith have differed regarding the chain of narration of the hadith of Sayyiduna Jubair bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him). This is the narration of Shu'bah.

The Imam has also narrated the hadith of Sayyiduna Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him) through the chain of Husayn bin Abdur Rahman. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Asim Anazi and Abbad bin Asim are both unknown narrators; it is not known who they are. And it has also not been established whether the narration of Husayn or Shu’bah is authentic.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer, he would raise both his hands up to his shoulders « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » and say, then he would recite this supplication: « سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ » "O Allah, I declare Your purity with Your praise, blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no true deity except You." The teacher of the Imam, Salm bin Junadah, did not mention these words. Then « اللهُ أَكْبَرُ » was said. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Harithah bin Muhammad is not among those narrators whose hadith is accepted as evidence and proof by the scholars of hadith.

Instead of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), it is authentically proven from Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to begin the prayer with a supplication similar to the one mentioned in the hadith of Harithah (may Allah have mercy on him). I do not dislike beginning the prayer with this supplication « سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ » because it is proven from Sayyiduna Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to begin the prayer with this supplication. However, I prefer beginning the prayer with this supplication more, and that is more deserving of being acted upon, which has been narrated with a connected chain from just narrators from Sayyiduna Ali and Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with them both) in the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Because following and adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is superior, higher, and better than following the Sunnah of other individuals.