✍ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
It is Sunnah to pause for a brief moment after saying the opening Takbīr (Takbīrat al-Taḥrīmah) and before starting the Qur'anic recitation in Salah. This pause is to allow for the recitation of the opening supplication (Duʿāʾ al-Istiftāḥ).
He narrates:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا كَبَّرَ لِلصَّلَاةِ سَكَتَ هُنَيْئَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ...
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he said the Takbīr for prayer, would pause briefly before beginning the recitation..."
(This pause was to recite the Duʿāʾ al-Istiftāḥ.)
[Bukhārī: 744; Kitāb al-Adhān: Bāb Mā Yaqūlu baʿda al-Takbīr; Muslim: 598; Aḥmad: 2/231; Dārimī: 1/283; Abū Dāwūd: 781; Ibn Mājah: 805; Abū Yaʿlā: 6081; Ibn Khuzaymah: 465]
This Hadith clearly proves the legitimacy and practice of a pause before the recitation begins in Salah.
The narration from Sayyidunā Samurah ibn Jundub رضي الله عنه which suggests a pause after the recitation is not authentic.
[Ḍaʿīf: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 505; Tamām al-Minnah: p. 188; Ḍaʿīf Abū Dāwūd: 164–166; Ḍaʿīf Tirmidhī: 42; Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah: 180; Abū Dāwūd: 778–779; Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb al-Saktah ʿinda al-Iftitāḥ; Tirmidhī: 251; Ibn Mājah: 488; Aḥmad: 7/5]
Thus, the pause after the recitation (before going into rukūʿ) has no reliable evidence and is not legislated in the Sunnah.
❖ A brief pause after Takbīr and before recitation is Sunnah, to allow for the opening supplication (Duʿāʾ al-Istiftāḥ).
❖ A pause after the recitation (before rukūʿ) is not established from any authentic narration and is not considered a Sunnah practice.
❖ The correct and prophetic way is to move into rukūʿ immediately after completing the recitation, without inserting an additional pause.
❀ The Pause Before Recitation in Salah
It is Sunnah to pause for a brief moment after saying the opening Takbīr (Takbīrat al-Taḥrīmah) and before starting the Qur'anic recitation in Salah. This pause is to allow for the recitation of the opening supplication (Duʿāʾ al-Istiftāḥ).
① Hadith of Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
He narrates:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا كَبَّرَ لِلصَّلَاةِ سَكَتَ هُنَيْئَةً قَبْلَ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ...
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he said the Takbīr for prayer, would pause briefly before beginning the recitation..."
(This pause was to recite the Duʿāʾ al-Istiftāḥ.)
[Bukhārī: 744; Kitāb al-Adhān: Bāb Mā Yaqūlu baʿda al-Takbīr; Muslim: 598; Aḥmad: 2/231; Dārimī: 1/283; Abū Dāwūd: 781; Ibn Mājah: 805; Abū Yaʿlā: 6081; Ibn Khuzaymah: 465]This Hadith clearly proves the legitimacy and practice of a pause before the recitation begins in Salah.
The Pause After Recitation – Weak Narration
The narration from Sayyidunā Samurah ibn Jundub رضي الله عنه which suggests a pause after the recitation is not authentic.
[Ḍaʿīf: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 505; Tamām al-Minnah: p. 188; Ḍaʿīf Abū Dāwūd: 164–166; Ḍaʿīf Tirmidhī: 42; Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah: 180; Abū Dāwūd: 778–779; Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb al-Saktah ʿinda al-Iftitāḥ; Tirmidhī: 251; Ibn Mājah: 488; Aḥmad: 7/5]Thus, the pause after the recitation (before going into rukūʿ) has no reliable evidence and is not legislated in the Sunnah.
Summary of Rulings:
❖ A brief pause after Takbīr and before recitation is Sunnah, to allow for the opening supplication (Duʿāʾ al-Istiftāḥ).
❖ A pause after the recitation (before rukūʿ) is not established from any authentic narration and is not considered a Sunnah practice.
❖ The correct and prophetic way is to move into rukūʿ immediately after completing the recitation, without inserting an additional pause.
