Friday’s Call: A Journey to Jumu'ah: Selections from the Hadith, Part 1 of 2

We now present selections from the Hadith on the prayer and its importance. These hadiths highlight the physical, spiritual, and social dimensions of prayer, stressing its central role in a Muslim relationship with Allah.

“The most frequently occurring dhikr (a form of worship to God) in prayer is the takbīr (magnifying). i.e., the utterance of Allāhu Akbar (Allāh is the Greatest). These words are uttered first when a man begins the prayer-service and then on every change from one position to another, except when he rises from rukū'.

Abu Hurairah said, When the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on Him, got up for prayer, He used to say Allāhu Akbar when He assumed qiyām; then He said Allāhu Akbar when He bowed down for rukū'; then He said, “Allāh listens to him who praises Him”, when He raised his back from rukū'; then He said while He was standing, “Our Lord, Thine is the praise” then He said Allāhu Akbar when He fell down (In sajdah); then He said Allāhu Akbar when He raised His head; then He said Allāhu Akbar when He performed the (second) sajdah; then He said Allāhu Akbar when He raised His head; then He did this in the whole of His prayer until He finished it, and He said Allāhu Akbar when He rose from the sitting posture after two (rak'ahs). […]

It is, however, with the Fātihah (the first chapter of the Quran) that the service really opens. It is so essential to prayer, that without it no prayer is acceptable. Anas reported that The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on Him, and Abu Bakr and 'Umar used to open the prayer with al-hamdu lillāhi Rabbi-l-'ālamīn. ' […]

Abu Mūsā said, The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on Him, said: When you pray, set right your ranks; then one of you should act as your imām, so when he says the takbīr, say the takbīr, and when he says ghairi-l-maghdzūb- i 'alai-him wa la-dzzāllīn, say āmīna, Allāh will accept your prayer. […] In the first two rak'ahs the Fātihah is followed by the recital of any portion of the Holy Qur'ān. […]”