Abu Huraira said that when God's Messenger got up after the second rak'a he began the recitation with, “Praise be to God, the Lord of the universe,” without observing a period of silence.
It is given thus in Muslim’s Sahih. Al-Humaidi mentioned it among those given by Muslim but not by Bukhari, as did the author of al-Jami' (Ibn Al-Athir) from Muslim alone.
Samura b. Jundub said that he remembered from God's Messenger two periods of silence, one when he said the takbir, and one when he finished reciting, “Not of those with whom Thou art angry, nor of those who go astray,”* and Ubayy b, Ka‘b corroborated him.
*Al-Qur’an, 1:7
Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted something similar.
Jabir said that when the Prophet began prayer he said the takbir, then said, “My prayer and my devotion, my life and my death belong to God, the Lord of the universe, who has no partner. I have been so commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims. O God, guide me to the best deeds and the best qualities, Thou who alone canst guide to the best of them; and guard me from evil deeds and evil qualities, Thou who alone canst guard from their evil ones.”
Jubair b. Mut'im said that he saw God’s Messenger observing a prayer in which he said, “God is altogether great; God is altogether great; God is altogether great. Praise be to God in abundance; praise be to God in abundance; praise be to God in abundance. Glory be to God in the morning and afternoon (saying it three times). I seek refuge in God from the accursed devil, from his puffing up (nafkh), his magic (nafth) 1, and his evil suggestion (hamz) 2.”
1. Literally ‘sputtering’, but used of working magic by sputtering on knots. Cf. Qur’an, 113:4.
2. For this meaning cf. Qur’an, 23:97.
Abu Dawud transmitted it, as did Ibn Majah, but he did not mention, “Praise be to God in abundance,” and he mentioned at the end of it “from the accursed devil.” ‘Umar said that his nafkh is pride, his, nafth is poetry, and his hamz is madness.
