Standing
Takbīr — the opening
The four words that begin the prayer and shut the world out.
اللهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar
Allah is greater.
Why it is said here
It is called takbīrat al-iḥrām — the takbīr that makes things forbidden. From this word onward, eating, talking and turning away are closed off to you. Notice that the word is not 'great' but 'greater': greater than the work waiting for you, greater than the worry you walked in with. You raise your hands as if setting all of it down behind your shoulders.
Allāh
اللهُ
Allah, the name of God Himself
akbarroot ك ب ر
أَكْبَرُ
greater — greater than anything you left outside
- Allah
The prayer does not begin without it. The Prophet ﷺ told the man who prayed badly: 'When you stand for prayer, say Allāhu akbar.'
Where the schools differ: All four schools treat it as required. They differ on whether another wording could ever stand in its place; the Ḥanafīs allow any wording of glorification in an emergency, the other three do not.
al-Bukhārī 757; Muslim 397 (ṣaḥīḥ)
Every statement of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these. Āyah references open here in AyaSeerah with the canonical text, translation and abridged tafsīr; ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com. Nothing here has to be taken on trust.