The Book of Prayer
Description of Prayer

بَابُ صِفَةِ الصَّلاَةِ

Description of Prayer

When he stands for the prayer, he should say: Allâhu akbar (Allah is the Greatest). The imam says it aloud. 234 Likewise, the other takbeers [should be said aloud] so that those behind him can hear them. Everyone else says them to himself. When he begins saying the takbeer, he should raise his hands235 to the level of his shoulders or his earlobes, 236 and then put them underneath his navel.237

وَإِذَا قَامَ إِلَى الصَّلاَةِ، قَالَ: اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، يَجْهَرُ بِهَا الإِمَامُ وَبِسَائِرِ التَّكْبِيْرِ، لِيُسْمِعَ مَنْ خَلْفَهُ، وَيُخْفِيْهِ غَيْرُهُ. وَيَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ عِنْدَ ابْتِدَاءِ التَّكْبِيْرِ إِلَى حَذْوِ مَنْكِبَيْهِ أو إلى فُروعِ أُذُنَيْهِ. وَيَجْعَلُهُمَا تَحْتَ سُرَّتِهِ. وَيَجْعَلُ نَظَرَهُ إِلَى


234 ‘Aloud’ means that the people around you can hear you, while ‘to oneself’ means that you can hear yourself, but those next to you cannot.


235 (A): The fingers should be extended and together. [INSERT IMAGE 3]


236 Ibn al-Mundhir reported the consensus of the scholars on the legitimacy of the sunnah of raising the hands. Al-Albâni said in The Prophet’s Prayer: "… And he (pbuh) would put them level with his shoulders" (B), although occasionally "he would raise them until they were level with [the tops of] his ears." (B)


237 Where to Place Your Hands

There is clear evidence that the sunnah is to put the right hand on the left, for the Prophet (SA) used to do that (M), and he commanded the Companions to do it (B). He also said:

“We, the company of prophets, have been commanded to delay the pre-dawn meal, to hasten the breaking of the fast, and to place our right hand over the left.” (Ma – from Ibn ‘Abbâs. Ma: S)

إنا معاشر الأنبياء أمرنا أن نؤخر السحور ونعجل الإفطار وأن نمسك بأيماننا على شمائلنا


It is, however, not as clear where he put his hands: (A) + (+H): Below the navel. (a) + (-S): Above the navel.

He should look at the site of his prostration [where his forehead touches the ground]. 238

مَوْضِعِ سُجُوْدِهِ

Then one says: Subḥânaka Allâhumma wa biḥamdika wa tabâraka-smuka wa ta‘âlâ jadduka wa lâ ilâha ghayruk (O Allah, Exalted are You; and [all] praise is due to You; Your name is the most blessed, and Your power is the most supreme; and there is none worthy of worship but You). 239 Then one says: A‘oodhu billâhi min ash-shayṭânir-rajeem (I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil). 240

ثم يقول:" سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ." ثم يقول: "أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ." ثم يقول: "بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْمِ."


Some other Hadith scholars: On the chest. There are conflicting and controversial reports in this regard. (a, Ibn al-Mundhir, and t): One may choose between the first two positions.


238 The Prophet (SA) would lower his head and look at the ground when he prayed. (H,Ba – from Anas. al-Albâni:S) (A) + (+S): The only time during the prayer when the person is to look elsewhere is during the tashahhud (when one states the testimony of faith), for the Prophet (SA) used to look at his index finger then. (N – from ‘Abdullâh ibn az-Zubayr. al-Albâni:S)


239 (D, T, Ma – from ‘Â’ishah. Controversial chain) Another narration of it is traceable to ‘Umar (RA). There are several opening supplications reported from the Prophet (SA); this is the one chosen by (A).


240 Seeking refuge with Allah from Satan The Prophet (SA) used to seek refuge with Allah before reciting Soorat al-Fâtiḥah. (D. al-Albâni:S) The scholars (may Allah bestow His mercy on all of them) disagreed on whether it is mandatory or not. Some, including (a), ath-Thawri, al-Awzâ‘i, and Ibn Ḥazm, argued that it was mandatory because of the saying of Allah (ST):

Then he should say: Bismillâhir-raḥmân-ir-raḥeem (In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful). He should not say any of this aloud, based on the statement of Anas (RA), “I prayed behind the Prophet (SA), Abi Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmân, and I never heard any one of them say aloud: Bismillâhir-raḥmânir-raḥeem (In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful).” 241

وَلاَ يَجْهَرُ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ؛ لِقَوْلِ أَنَسٍ : "صَلَّيْت خَلْفَ النَّبِيِّ  وَأَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ فَلَمْ أَسْمَعْ أَحَدًا مِنْهُمْ يجْهَرُ بِبسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

{So when you want to recite the Qur’an, seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the outcast (the accursed one).} (an-Naḥl 16: 98)

{فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ}


The majority (A) + (+H, +S) said it is a sunnah. They quoted the hadith about the man whose prayer was defective. The Prophet (SA) taught him how to pray and said, “When you go to pray, say takbeer, then recite whatever you can of the Qur’an. Then bow…” (Ag) They say that he did not tell him to seek refuge in Allah. It is to be recited in the first rak‘ah only, for the whole prayer is one supplication to Allah. (A) Others argued that it should be recited in every rak‘ah before the recitation of Soorat al-Fâtiḥah. (-S, -t)


241 Basmalah: To Oneself or Aloud?

There is controversy regarding the recitation of the basmalah: (S) maintains that the sunnah is to recite it aloud, Whereas the majority (A) + (+H, +S) does not. & Besides the hadith mentioned by the author, there is another from Abu Hurayrah (RA) in which he prayed, recited the basmalah aloud and said, “By the One in whose Hand is my soul, I have done what resembles how we prayed with the Messenger of Allah (sa).” (Ba – from Abu Hurayrah; sound chain) Ibn al-Qayyim tried to reconcile this hadith with the one from Anas (RA), mentioned by the author in the text above, by saying, “Sometimes the Prophet (SA) would recite it aloud, but most of the time he would say it quietly and not aloud.”

Then he should recite al-Fâtiḥah. There is no prayer for one who does not recite it, except for the ma’moom (the one led in prayer by an imam), for the recitation of the imam counts for him. It is recommended that he [the ma’moom] recites during the pauses of the imam and whenever he (the imam) does not recite (the Qur’an) aloud. 242

ثُمَّ يَقْرَأُ الْفَاتِحَةَ، وَلاَ صَلاَة َلِمَنْ لَمْ يَقْرَأْ بِهَا، إِلاَّ الْمَأْمُوْمُ فَإِنَّ قِرَاءَةَ الإِمَامِ لَهُ قِرَاءَةٌ. وَيُسْتَحَبُّ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ فِيْ سَكَتَاتِ الإِمَامِ، وَمَا لاَ يَجْهَرُ فِيْهِ

Then he recites a soorah,243 which is (preferably) from the long chapters of al-Mufaṣṣal244 in the morning [fajr] prayer, and from the shorter ones in the maghrib prayer, and from the medium ones in the rest of the prayers.

ثُمَّ يَقْرَأُ سُوْرَةً تَكُوْنُ فِيْ الصُّبْحِ مِنْ طِوَالِ الْمُفَصَّلِ، وَفِي الْمَغْرِبِ مِنْ قِصَارِهِ، وَفِيْ سَائِرِ الصَّلَوَاتِ مِنْ أَوْسَاطِهِ.

The imam should recite aloud in the two rak‘ahs of the morning (fajr) prayer and the first two rak‘ahs of the maghrib and ‘ishâ’ prayers, and recite to himself in the rest. 245

وَيَجْهَرُ الإِمَامُ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ فِيْ الصُّبْحِ وَالأُوْلَيَيْنِ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ وَالْعِشَاءِ، وَيُسِرُّ فِيْمَا عَدَا ذٰلِكَ


It is also fair to reconcile them by saying that he recited it aloud but more quietly than the rest of the recitation, so some heard it and others did not.


242 (S, Bukhari): It is mandatory to recite al-Fâtiḥah, even for the ma'moom. Their position is safer.


243 It is recommended to recite a whole soorah, but reciting part of a soorah is certainly permissible.


244 According to (A), al-Mufaṣṣal begins with Soorat Qâf (50). The long soorahs go from Soorat Qâf up to Soorat an-Naba’ (78), the medium soorahs go from Soorat an-Naba’ up to Soorat aḍ-Ḍuḥâ (93), and the short soorahs go from Soorat aḍ-Ḍuḥâ to the end.


245 This is the sunnah by consensus. However, if someone forgot and recited aloud or to himself when he should have done the opposite, nothing is due from them, for this is only the preferable way.