❖ With Which Words Did the Prophet ﷺ Begin the Prayer? ❖
Source: Fatāwā Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
✿ Question:
With which words did the Prophet ﷺ enter into prayer?
✿ Answer:
The Prophet ﷺ always began the prayer with the words “Allāhu Akbar.”
◈ Report of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (رضي الله عنه):
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا قام للصلاة، قال : الله أكبر .
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he stood for prayer, would say: Allāhu Akbar.”
(Musnad al-Bazzār 536 – chain ḥasan, origin in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 771)
◈ Report of Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī (رضي الله عنه):
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا قام إلى الصلاة، استقبل القبلة، ورفع يديه، وقال : الله أكبر .
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood for prayer, he faced the qiblah, raised his hands, and said: Allāhu Akbar.”
(Sunan Ibn Mājah 803 – chain ḥasan; authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah 587 and Ibn Ḥibbān 1865)
◈ Statement of al-Qurṭubī (رحمه الله) (671H):
هذا نص صريح وحديث صحيح فى تعيين لفظ التكبير .
“This is a clear text and an authentic ḥadīth specifying the wording of takbīr.”
(Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 1/176)
◈ Report of ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يستفتح الصلاة بالتكبير
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would begin the prayer with takbīr.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 498)
◈ Statement of Ibn al-Jawzī (رحمه الله) (597H):
هذا دليل على أنها لا تنعقد إلا بالتكبير .
“This is proof that prayer is not valid except with takbīr.”
(Kashf al-Mushkil 4/415)
Conclusion:The Prophet ﷺ always started the prayer with the words “Allāhu Akbar”, and the scholars affirm that the prayer cannot begin except with this takbīr.
