The Sunnahs of Prayer, Part 1: Opening and Standing

1. How a Sunnah Differs from a Wajib

The author gives a teaching list of 51 Sunnahs of prayer.

• Deliberately leaving a Sunnah does not invalidate the prayer and does not by itself require Sujud al-Sahw.
• A person loses the completeness and reward attached to following the Sunnah.
• The commentary treats deliberate habitual neglect as blameworthy, but lighter than deliberately leaving a Wajib.

The next levels follow the author's list progressively.

2. Sunnahs 1–3: Raising the Hands, Fingers, and the Follower's Takbir

رَفْعُ الْيَدَيْنِ لِلتَّحْرِيمَةِ حِذَاءَ الْأُذُنَيْنِ لِلرَّجُلِ، وَحِذَاءَ الْمَنْكِبَيْنِ لِلْحُرَّةِ، وَنَشْرُ الْأَصَابِعِ، وَمُقَارَنَةُ إِحْرَامِ الْمُقْتَدِي لِإِحْرَامِ إِمَامِهِ

1. A man raises his hands to ear level; the text gives shoulder level for a free woman.
2. Keep the fingers naturally open — neither tightly closed nor excessively spread.
3. The follower's opening Takbir is joined closely with the Imam's opening Takbir. The commentary discusses juristic detail over exact simultaneity versus immediate following, so the beginner rule is: do not precede the Imam and do not insert an unnecessary gap.

3. Sunnahs 4–5: Hand Placement

وَوَضْعُ الرَّجُلِ يَدَهُ الْيُمْنَى عَلَى الْيُسْرَى تَحْتَ سُرَّتِهِ ... وَوَضْعُ الْمَرْأَةِ يَدَيْهَا عَلَى صَدْرِهَا مِنْ غَيْرِ تَحْلِيقٍ

4. A man places the right hand over the left below the navel. The described hand form places the right palm over the back of the left hand and forms a ring around the wrist with the thumb and little finger.
5. A woman places her hands on the chest without forming that wrist-ring.

The lesson states the source's posture without inventing an additional legal cause beyond the text.

4. Sunnahs 6–8: Thana, Ta'awwudh, and Tasmiyah

وَالثَّنَاءُ، وَالتَّعَوُّذُ لِلْقِرَاءَةِ، وَالتَّسْمِيَةُ أَوَّلَ كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ

6. Recite the opening Thana.
7. Recite Ta'awwudh for the act of recitation. The source ties it to the reciter; a latecomer who will recite while completing missed rak'ahs says it at the relevant point.
8. Recite Tasmiyah silently before al-Fatihah at the beginning of each rak'ah.

5. Sunnahs 9–11: Amin, Tahmid, and Silent Delivery

وَالتَّأْمِينُ، وَالتَّحْمِيدُ، وَالْإِسْرَارُ بِهَا

9. Say Amin after al-Fatihah.
10. Say the Tahmid connected with rising from Ruku according to the worshipper's role.
11. The opening formulas mentioned in this sequence are recited silently as the source specifies.

The full division between Imam, follower and solitary worshipper at Ruku is applied in L021.

6. Sunnah 12: Upright Posture at the Opening Takbir

وَالِاعْتِدَالُ عِنْدَ التَّحْرِيمَةِ مِنْ غَيْرِ طَأْطَأَةِ الرَّأْسِ

At the opening Takbir, remain upright without deliberately bowing or drooping the head. This is a posture Sunnah; it should not be confused with the separate validity rule that the opening Takbir of a Fard prayer is given while standing when one is able.

7. Sunnahs 1–12 at a Glance

1. Raise hands at Tahrimah
2. Fingers naturally open
3. Follower's opening Takbir closely connected to Imam's
4. Men's hand placement below navel
5. Women's hand placement on chest without wrist-ring
6. Thana
7. Ta'awwudh for recitation
8. Tasmiyah at each rak'ah
9. Amin
10. Tahmid
11. Silent delivery of these formulas
12. Upright posture at Tahrimah