Then
he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
commence the prayer by saying:
Allaah
is the Greatest60
He ordered "the man who prayed badly"
to do likewise as has been mentioned,
and he said to him: Verily, the prayer
of a person is not complete until he
has made an ablution which has included
the necessary parts of the body and has
then said: 'Allaahu Akbar'.61
He would also used to say: The key
to the prayer is purification, it is
entered by takbeer and exited by tasleem.62
Also, "he used to raise his voice for
the takbeer such that those behind him
could hear."63
But, "when he fell ill Abu Bakr used
to raise his voice to convey the takbeer
of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) to the people."64
He would also say: When the Imaam
says: Allaahu Akbar, then say: Allaahu
Akbar.65
He
would raise his hands sometimes with
the takbeer,66
sometimes after the takbeer,67
and sometimes before it.68
"He
would raise them with fingers apart [not
spaced out, nor together]",69
and "he would put them level with his
shoulders"70,
although occasionally, "he would raise
them until they were level with [the
tops of] his ears."71
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used
to place his right arm on his left arm"72,
and he used to say: We, the company
of prophets, have been commanded to hasten
the breaking of the fast, to delay the
meal before the fast, and to place our
right arms on our left arms during prayer.73
Also "he passed by a man who was praying
and had placed his left arm on his right,
so he pulled them apart and placed the
right on the left."74
"He
used to place the right arm on the back
of his left palm, wrist and forearm"75,
"and he commanded his companions to do
likewise"76,
and (sometimes) "he would grasp his left
arm with his right."77
"He
used to place them on his chest."78
Also "he used to forbid putting one's
hand on the waist during prayer [and
he put his hand on his waist (to demonstrate)]"79.
And this is the "silb" which he used
to forbid.80