Are the Transitional Takbirs in Salah Sunnah Muakkadah?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Are the Transitional Takbīrāt of Salāh Sunnah Muʾakkadah or Ghair Muʾakkadah?
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: Are the takbīrāt-e-intiqāl (transitional takbīrāt) of salāh sunnah muʾakkadah or ghair muʾakkadah, such as the takbīr uttered when going into rukūʿ, going into sajdah, and when returning from sajdah?
Answer
The transitional takbīrāt are sunnah muʾakkadah. In the books of fiqh, it is explicitly mentioned that the transitional takbīrāt are sunnah, but no clarification was found on whether they are sunnah muʾakkadah or ghair muʾakkadah. However, Sultān al-ʿUlamāʾ ʿAllāmah ʿAlī Qārī علية الرحمة has explicitly mentioned in his commentary of ḥadīth, Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ, that they are sunnah muʾakkadah.
Regarding the transitional takbīrāt being sunnah, it is stated in Sharḥ Mukhtasar al-Karkhī, Badāʾiʿ al-Sanāʾiʿ, Sharḥ al-Wiqāyah, and its commentary Ḥāshiyah ʿUmdah al-Riʿāyah (the following text is cited from the latter):
(ثم یکبر للرکوع) و ھذا التکبیر و کذا تکبیر جمیع الانتقالات سنۃ ثابتۃ بأحادیث کثیرۃ
Translation: Then one should utter the takbīr for rukūʿ. This takbīr and all other transitional takbīrāt are a sunnah which are proven from numerous aḥādīth. (ʿUmdah al-Riʿāyah ʿAlā Sharḥ al-Wiqāyah, Vol. 02, p. 92, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah)
ʿAllāmah ʿAlī Qārī علية الرحمة states regarding the transitional takbīrāt being sunnah muʾakkadah:
التکبیرات التی للانتقال من السنن المؤکدۃ
Translation: The takbīrāt for transitioning are from among the sunnah muʾakkadah acts. (Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ, Vol. 02, p. 659, Publ. Dār al-Fikr, Beirut)
The following reasonings support the statement of ʿAllāmah ʿAlī Qārī علية الرحمة:
(1): The basic difference which distinguishes sunnah muʾakkadah from ghair muʾakkadah is whether the Noble Rasūl ﷺ would perform the act consistently or not. If he performed it consistently, then it becomes muʾakkadah. In light of this principle, it becomes clear that the transitional takbīrāt are sunnah muʾakkadah because the Noble Rasūl ﷺ continued to utter, until his apparent demise, the transitional takbīrāt in salāh when going into any rukn, and it is not proven that he omitted them even once.
The Noble Prophet ﷺ consistently performing an action or performing it only occasionally is the distinguishing factor between sunnah muʾakkadah and ghair muʾakkadah, as mentioned in al-Wajīz Fī Usūl al-Fiqh:
السنة المؤكدة: و الضابط لهذا القسم أنه ما واظب عليه النبي صلى اللہ عليه وسلم و لم يتركه إلا نادرا ليبين جواز الترك ۔ ۔ ۔ السنة غير المؤكدة: و الضابط لهذا القسم أنه ما لم يواظب عليه النبي صلى اللہ عليه و سلم، و إنما كان يفعله النبي في بعض الأحيان
Translation: Sunnah muʾakkadah: The principle of this division is that this is whatever the Noble Prophet ﷺ consistently performed and did not omit except to prove that it is permissible to omit it… Sunnah ghair muʾakkadah: The principle of this division is that this is whatever the Noble Prophet ﷺ did not perform consistently, but He ﷺ would perform it occasionally. (Al-Wajīz Fī Usūl al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, Vol. 01, p. 340, Publ. Dār al-Khayr Lil-Tabāʿah Wal-Nashr, Damascus)
It is stated in al-Nahr al-Fāʾiq with reference to Fatḥ al-Qadīr:
ھی ما واظب علیہ النبی صلی اللہ تعالیٰ علیہ و آلہ و سلم مع الترک احیاناً
Translation: (Sunnah muʾakkadah) is what the Noble Prophet ﷺ performed consistently but occasionally omitted it. (Al-Nahr al-Fāʾiq, Vol. 01, p. 36, Summarized, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah)
It is stated in Radd al-Muḥtār:
يأثم لا لنفس الترك بل لأنه استخفاف وعدم مبالاة بسنة واظب عليها النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم مدة عمره، وهذا مطرد في جميع السنن المؤكدة
Translation: The one who leaves a sunnah muʾakkadah will be sinful, not due to leaving the sunnah itself, but because this indicates belittling and carelessness for that which the Noble Prophet ﷺ performed consistently throughout his life. This principle applies to all sunnah muʾakkadahs. (Radd al-Muḥtār Maʿa al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Vol. 01, p. 474, Publ. Dār al-Fikr)
This has also been mentioned by the Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah رحمه اللہ:
ایك بدیہی بات، سنیت کا ہے سے ثابت ہوتی ہے مواظبت حضور سید المرسلین صلی الله تعالٰی علیہ و سلم سے مطلقًا یا مع الترك احیانًا اور وجوب کو کیا چاہیے، انکار علی الترك بھی یا صرف مواظبت دائمہ، اب دیکھ لیا جائے کہ حضور اقدس صلی اللہ علیہ و اٰلہ و سلم نے کس جماعت پر مواظبت فرمائی اور کس کے ترك پر نکیر آئی، ظاہر ہے کہ وہ جماعت اولٰی ہی تھی تو وجوب یا استنان موکد اسی کا حکم ہے نہ مطلق ثانیہ کا۔
Translation: One fundamental point is this: from what is a sunnah established? It is established by the Noble Prophet ﷺ consistently performing an act either unconditionally or while occasionally omitting it. And what is required for an act to be deemed wājib? It is condemnation for omitting it (in addition to consistency), or uninterrupted consistency. One should therefore ponder which congregation the Noble Prophet ﷺ consistently attended and regarding the omission of which congregation there is condemnation. It is evident that this was the first congregation. Therefore, the ruling of being wājib or sunnah muʾakkadah applies only to the first congregation, not congregations as a whole (which would include the second congregation as well). (Fatāwā Razawiyah, Vol. 07, p. 110, Publ. Raza Foundation, Lahore)
The Prophet ﷺ would consistently utter the transitional takbīrāt. This is proven from the following ḥadīth of Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
عن عمران بن حصين قال:صلى مع علي رضي اللہ عنه بالبصرة فقال: ذكرنا هذا الرجل صلاة كنا نصليها مع رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم، فذكر انه كان يكبر كلما رفع و كلما وضع
Translation: It is narrated that ʿImrān Bin Hussain mentioned that he offered salāh with ʿAlī رضى اللہ تعالى عنه in Basrah. Then he said: He has reminded us of the salāh we used to offer with the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. Then he said that the Prophet ﷺ would utter takbīr at each raising and each bowing. (Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth No. 784)
And He ﷺ observed this consistently until his apparent demise. Regarding this, Imām Mālik رحمه اللہ narrates in his Muwattā and Imām Shāfiʿī رحمه اللہ in his Musnad:
كان رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ و سلم يكبر في الصلاة كلما خفض ورفع، فلم تزل تلك صلاته حتى لقي اللہ
Translation: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ would utter takbīr in salāh at each bowing and each rising. This continued to be his method of salāh until his apparent demise. (Muwattā Imām Mālik, Vol. 01, p. 76, Publ. Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turās al-ʿArabiy)
ʿAllāmah ʿAlī Qārī رحمه اللہ writes in commentary on this ḥadīth:
(فلم يزل تلك) أي: تلك الصلاة المقترنة بذلك التكبير (صلاته حتى لقي اللہ تعالٰى)
Translation: He ﷺ continued to offer salāh with transitional takbīrāt until his apparent demise. (Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Masābīḥ, Vol. 02, p. 688, Publ. Dār al-Fikr)
It is not proven that He ﷺ omitted this even once. It is stated in al-Nihāyah:
فإن النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ۔ ۔ ۔ لم يصل صلاة أيضا بدون رعاية سننها كرفع اليد عند التحريمة، و التكبير عند كل خفض و رفع و غيرهما حيث لم ينقل أحدا أنه صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ما رفع اليد عند التحريمة و لا ترك التكبير عند الخفض و الرفع
Translation: The Prophet ﷺ never offered salāh without its sunnahs, such as raising the hands for taḥrīmah, uttering takbīr at every bowing and raising, etc. Moroever, it has not been narrated even once that the Prophet ﷺ did not raise his hands for taḥrīmah or did not utter takbīr when bowing or raising. (Al-Nihāyah Fī Sharḥ al-Hidāyah, Vol. 04, p. 71, Publ. Markaz al-Dirāsāt al-ʾIslāmīyah Bi Jāmʿah Umm al-Qurā)
(2) Another difference between sunnah muʾakkadah and ghair muʾakkadah is that omitting a sunnah muʾakkadah causes karāhah and ʾisāʾah, whereas omitting a ghair muʾakkadah does not result in ʾisāʾah. With regard to the transitional takbīrāt, it is explicitly stated in the books of fiqh that omitting them results in ʾisāʾah, which proves that the transitional takbīrāt are sunnah muʾakkadah. Thus, in the chapter of the sunnahs of salāh, the books of fiqh first state the ruling of the sunnah that: “omitting them results in ʾisāʾah”, and then they include the transitional takbīrāt from amongst those sunnahs. For example, it is stated in al-Durr al-Mukhtār:
(و سننها) ترك السنة لا يوجب فسادا و لا سهوا بل إساءة لو عامدا غير مستخف ۔ ۔ ۔ (و تكبير الركوع و) كذا (الرفع منه) ۔ ۔ ۔ (و تكبير السجود و) كذا نفس (الرفع منه) . . . (و) كذا (تكبيره)
Translation: (The sunnahs of salāh) omitting a sunnah does not result in invalidation of the salāh or sajdah al-sahw, but leaving them intentionally without belittling it results in isāʾah, (are: the takbīr for going into rukūʿ) and (the takbīr for standing from rukūʿ)…(the takbīr for bowing into sajdah) and (raising from sajdah itself) and (the takbīr when raising from sajdah). (Al-Durr al-Mukhtār Maʿa Radd al-Muḥtār, Vol. 01, p. 473-476, Publ. Dār al-Fikr)
Here, an objection could have been raised that, in al-Durr al-Mukhtār, the etiquettes are listed among the sunnah acts, leading to the possibility that the transitional takbīrāt are from the sunnah ghair muʾakkadah, etiquettes, and mustaḥabbāt. However, Fatāwā Razawiyah explicitly ruled that omitting the transitional takbīrāt constitutes ʾisāʾah and karāhah, thereby eliminating the possibility that they are from the sunnah ghair muʾakkadah or etiquettes.
The Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah رحمه اللہ states that if the imām omits the transitional takbīrāt, the muqtadi should not follow the imām and he should utter the takbīrāt, and he also mentions that omitting them constitutes ʾisāʾah and karāhah. Thus, he states:
اسی طرح ترك سنّت میں امام کی پیروی نہیں بلکہ موجبِ اساءت و کراہت ہے اگر وہ چھوڑے مقتدی بجالائے جبکہ اس کی بجا آوری سے کسی واجب فعل میں امام کی متابعت نہ چھوٹے ولہذا علماء فرماتے ہیں اگر امام وقت تحریمہ رفع یدین یا تسبیح رکوع و سجود یا تکبیر انتقال یا ذکر قومہ ترك کرے تو مقتدی نہ چھوڑے۔ کمانص علیہ فی نظم الزندویسی و الخانیۃ و الخلاصۃ و البزازیۃ و الھندیۃ و خزانۃ المفتین و فتح القدیر و الغنیۃ و الدرالمحتار و حاشیۃ الدرر للعلامۃ شرنبلالی و غیرھا وھذا نص البزازیۃ ملخصا، تسعۃ اشیاء اذا ترک الامام اتی بھا الماموم رفع الیدین فی التحریمۃ و تکبیرۃ الرکوع اوالسجود او التسبیح فیھما او التسمیع الخ
Translation: Similarly, one should not obey the imām in omitting sunnahs; rather this will constitute ʾisāʾah and karāhah. If the imām omits them, the muqtadī should perform them, given that this does not cause him to miss following the imām in any wājib act of salāh. Therefore, the scholars state that if the imām omits raising the hands in takbīr taḥrīmah, the tasbīḥ of rukūʿ or sujūd, the transitional takbīrāt, or the invocations of qawmah, then the muqtadī should not omit it, as mentioned in Nazm al-Zandūsī, al-Khāniyah, al-Khulāsah, al-Bazzāziyah, al-Hindiyah, Khizānah al-Muftīn, Fath al-Qadīr, al-Ghunyah, al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Ḥāshiyah al-Durar Lil-ʿAllāmah Shurumbulālī, etc. The following is summarized from the text of al-Bazzāziyah: There are nine things which the muqtadī should perform even if the imām abandons them: raising the hands in takbīr taḥrīmah, the takbīr for rukūʿ and sujūd, reciting tasbīḥ in them both, uttering tasmīʿ (سمع اللہ لمن حمده), etc.” (Fatāwā Razawiyah, Vol. 06, p. 408, Publ. Raza Foundation, Lahore)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: HAB-0718
Date: 10th Shaʿbān 1447 AH / 30th January 2026