VIRTUES of the TAKBÎR IFTITÂH

When a person makes the takbîr iftitâh together with the imâm, his sins will fall like leaves falling with autumnal winds.

One morning, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ was performing namâz, when someone arrived, but he was too late for the takbîr iftitâh of morning prayer, (that is, he failed to make the takbîr iftitâh with the imâm.) He manumitted a slave. Afterwards, he asked Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’: “Yâ Rasûlallah (O Messenger of Allah!) Today I was unable to catch up with the takbîr iftitâh of morning prayer. I manumitted a slave. I wonder if I was able to attain the thawâb inherent in the takbîr iftitâh?” Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ asked Hadra Abû Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’: “What would you say concerning this takbîr iftitâh?” Abû Bakr Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ replied: “Yâ Rasûlallah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’! If I had forty camels all forty of which laden with jewelry and I gave all of them as alms to the poor, I would still not attain the thawâb to be earned by making the takbîr iftitâh with the imâm.” Thereafter, when the cause of the entire creation asked: “Yâ ’Umar! What would you say about this takbîr iftitâh?” Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated: “Yâ Rasûlallah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’! If I had as many camels as to cover the distance between Mekka and Medîna and all those camels were laden with jewelry, and if I gave them all to the poor in the name of alms, I would still not be able to attain the thawâb earned by making the takbîr iftitâh with the imâm.” Thereupon, when the most blessed Prophet asked: “Yâ ’Uthmân, what would you say about this takbîr iftitâh?” Hadrat ’Uthmân zin-nûreyn ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ said: “Yâ Rasûlallah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’! If I performed a namâz of two rak’ats at night and recited the entire Qur’ân al-’adhîm-ush-shân at each rak’at, I would still fail to attain the thawâb that would be earned by making the takbîr iftitâh with the imâm.” Thereafter, Hadrat ’Alî ‘kerrem-Allâhu wejheh’ was asked: “Yâ ’Alî! What do you say about this takbîr iftitâh?” He replied as follows: “Yâ Rasûlallah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’! If all the unbelievers between the west and the east attacked for the purpose of annihilating the Muslims and Allâhu ta’âlâ gave me power and I made jihâd against the unbelievers and slew them all, I still would not attain the same thawâb as that to be given for making the takbîr iftitâh made together with the imâm.

Thereafter Rasûlullah ‘sallAllâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “O my Ummat and Sahâba! If seven layers of earth and seven layers of heaven were paper and if all oceans were ink and if all trees were pens and if all angels were scribes and if they wrote (continuously) until Doomsday, they would still fail to write the thawâb for making the takbîr iftitâh with the imâm.”