Takbiratul Ehram

970. To say Allahu Akbar in the beginning of every prayer is obligatory, and one of its Rukns, and it is necessary that every letter of “Allah” and “Akbar” and the two words are uttered in proper succession. It is also necessary that these two words incorrectly, or utters their translation, for example in Farsi, it will not be void.

971. The obligatory precaution is that one should not join Takbiratual Ehram of the prayers with any preceding recitations, like Iqamah or with a Dua which he may be reciting before the Takbir.

972. If a person wishes to join Allahu Akbar with a recitation to follow, like with Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, he should pronounce the “R” of Akbar as Akbaru.

973. It is necessary that when a person pronounces Takbiratul Ehram, his body is steady, if he pronounces Takbiratul Ehram intentionally when his body is in motion, his Takbir is void. And if he moves mistakenly, as an obligatory precaution, he must do something, which makes Namaz void and say Takbir again.

974. A person should pronounce Takbir, Hamd, Surah, Zikr, and Dua in such a manner that he should at least hear the whisper. And if he cannot hear it because of deafness or too much noise, he should pronounce them in such a manner that he would be able to hear, if there was no impediment.

975. If a person is dumb, or has some defect in his tongue, rendering him unable to pronounce Allahu Akbar, he should pronounce it in whatever manner he can. And if he cannot pronounce it at all, he should say it is his mind, and should make a suitable sign with his finger for Takbir, and should also move his tongue, if he can.

976. It is recommended that after the Takbiratul Ehram, a person should say this: Ya muhsinu qad atakal musiu wa qad amartal muhsina an yatajawaza ‘anil musiei antal Muhsinu wa anal Musio bihaqqi Muhammadin wa Ali muhammadin salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa Ali Muhammadin wa tajawaz ‘an qabihi ma ta’lamu minni, which means O Lord! Who are beneficent! This sinful has come before You and You have ordered the charitable to show indulgence to the sinners. You are Beneficent, and I am a sinner. Bestow Your blessings on Muhammad and his progeny, and pardon my evil acts of which You are aware.

977. It is Mustahab for a person pronouncing the first Takbir of the prayers, and also the Takbirs, which occur during the prayers, to raise his hands parallel to his ears, and acting vice versa is not allowed and it has Ishkal.

978. If a person doubts whether he has pronounced Takbiratul Ehram or not, and if he has started Qira’at, he should ignore his doubt. But if he has not recited anything, he should pronounce the Takbir.

979. If after having pronounced Takbiratul Ehram, a person doubts whether he has pronounced it correctly, he should ignore his doubt at any stage, but it is recommended to complete Namaz and repeat it.