✦ ① Facing the Qiblah and Saying
At the beginning of Salah, one should face the Qiblah and say "ﷲ اَكْبَر" (Allāhu Akbar).
At the same time, the hands should be raised — either up to the shoulders or the ears.
Hadith:
Sayyiduna ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrates:
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ when he said the first Takbeer of prayer, he raised his hands up to his shoulders. He did the same when he said the Takbeer for Rukūʿ, and he did the same when he said:
سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ,
and then said:
رَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ.
However, he did not raise his hands when going into or rising from Sujūd.”
(Bukhari: Al-Adhan, Chapter: Where Should the Hands Be Raised? 837; Muslim: 390)
✦ ② Narration Regarding Raising the Hands Up to the Ears
Sayyiduna Mālik ibn Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه states:
“Indeed, when the Prophet ﷺ used to say the Takbeer, he would raise his hands up to his ears; he did the same when going into Rukūʿ, and he did the same when rising from Rukūʿ.”
(Muslim: Kitab al-Salah, Chapter: The Recommendation to Raise the Hands at the Level of the Shoulders, 193)
✔ Explanation by Shaykh al-Albani رحمه الله:
◈ There is no evidence that the ears should be touched with the hands while raising them.
◈ Touching the ears with the hands is considered an innovation or a baseless notion.
◈ The Sunnah method is to raise the palms toward the shoulders or the ears, without touching.
◈ Men and women are equal in this act of raising the hands.
◈ There is no authentic Hadith that differentiates between men and women — that men raise to the ears and women to the shoulders.
❀ Explanation of
This Takbeer is called Takbeer Ula (The First Takbeer) because it is the first Takbeer of the Salah.
◈ Salah begins with this Takbeer.
◈ It is also called Takbeer Tahrimah, because:
After this Takbeer, certain actions become prohibited for the person in prayer — such as:
✖ Eating
✖ Speaking
✖ Any unprescribed movements
