Opening with "Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdik"

(a) It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, he would recite: 'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaraka ismuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruk' (You are free of all imperfection, O Allah, and with Your praise (I remember You); Your name is blessed, Your majesty is exalted, and there is no true god besides You).
Abu Dawud al-Sijistani said: This hadith is not well known from Abd al-Salam bin Harb; only Talq bin Ghannam narrated it, and a group narrated the account of the prayer from Budayl without mentioning anything of this in it. It has also been narrated from Aishah through another, weak, route.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, he would raise his hands up to his shoulders, then say: 'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaraka ismuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruk' (You are free of all imperfection, O Allah, and with Your praise (I remember You); Your name is blessed, Your majesty is exalted, and there is no true god besides You).
We have only recorded this through the narration of Harithah bin Abi al-Rijal, and he is da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood for prayer at night, he would recite this: "'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaraka ismuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruk' (O Allah, You are free of all imperfection and You are with Your praises; Your name is blessed, Your majesty is exalted, and there is no god besides You)." Then he would recite three times: "'La ilaha illallah, la ilaha illallah, la ilaha illallah' (There is no true god except Allah)." Then he would say the takbir three times: "'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar' (Allah is the Greatest)." Then: "'A'udhu billahi al-sami'i al-'alimi min al-shaytani al-rajimi min hamzihi wa nafthihi wa nafkhih' (I seek refuge with Allah Almighty, who is All-Hearing and All-Knowing, from Satan the accursed, and from his whispering, from the wind of arrogance and from the puffing of magic)." Ja'far said: By hamz is meant madness, fainting.
And by nafth is meant poetry and the like, and by nafkh is meant arrogance.
The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is also reported about beginning the prayer with 'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdik'.
Abu Dawud said: About this hadith they say it is from Ali bin Ali, from al-Hasan, and the error is from Ja'far. The hadith of Ibn Mas'ud is not strong, and the most authentic report on this is the mawquf report from Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from al-Aswad that when Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) began the prayer, he would say the takbir, then say: 'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaraka ismuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruk' (You are free of all imperfection, O Allah, and praise is Yours; Your name is blessed, Your majesty is exalted, and there is no true god besides You).