ḤADĪTH OF THE DAY

“ Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said to al-'Abbās, “My uncle, shall I not bestow [a gift] upon you? Shall I not give you something? Shall I not benefit you?” He replied, “Indeed, Messenger of God!” He said, “My uncle, pray four units of prayer, reciting in each unit 'The opening of the Book,' [1] and another chapter [of the Qur'ān]. Then, when the recitation is completed, say, 'God is the greatest; praise be to God; exalted be God; and there is no god but Allāh,' [2] fifteen times before you bow down. Then bow down and say it ten times. Then raise your head and say it ten times. Then prostrate and say it ten times. Then raise your head and say it ten times. Then prostrate for the second time and say it ten times. Then raise your head and say it ten times before you stand up. Those are seventy-five [utterances] in each unit of prayer, and three hundred in four units of prayer. Then, even if your sins were like dunes of sand, God will indeed forgive them for you.” He asked, “Messenger of God, who would be able to say that every day?” He replied, “If you are unable to say it every day, then say it once a week. If you are unable to say it once a week, then say it once a month.” He continued instructing him in this manner until he said, “Then, say it once a year.” Footnotes: 1: i.e. al-Fātiḥah, the first chapter of the Qur'ān. 2: Allāh is the Arabic name for the One and Only God, the same God shared by all monotheistic faiths (the name Allāh is often used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews). The name Allāh encompasses all the divine names and attributes of the Lord of the worlds, and hence has vast scope in meaning. It is for this reason that Muslims consider it unique. Unlike the word 'God', Allāh in Arabic has no inflections of gender or number. ”

Sunan at-Tirmithiy كتاب الصلاة باب ما جاء فى تحريم الصلاة وتحليلها

حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ وَكِيعٍ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْفُضَيْلِ عَنْ أَبِى سُفْيَانَ طَرِيفٍ السَّعْدِىِّ عَنْ أَبِى نَضْرَةَ عَنْ أَبِى سَعِيدٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِفْتَاحُ الصَّلاَةِ الطُّهُورُ وَتَحْرِيمُهَا التَّكْبِيرُ وَتَحْلِيلُهَا التَّسْلِيمُ وَلاَ صَلاَةَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَقْرَأْ بِـ ( الْحَمْدُ ) وَسُورَةٍ فِى فَرِيضَةٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهَا. قَالَ أَبُوعِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ. وَفِى الْبَابِ عَنْ عَلِىٍّ وَعَائِشَةَ. قَالَ وَحَدِيثُ عَلِىِّ بْنِ أَبِى طَالِبٍ فِى هَذَا أَجْوَدُ إِسْنَادًا وَأَصَحُّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِى سَعِيدٍ وَقَدْ كَتَبْنَاهُ فِى أَوَّلِ كِتَابِ الْوُضُوءِ. وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَيْهِ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِىِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ. وَبِهِ يَقُولُ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِىُّ وَابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ وَالشَّافِعِىُّ وَأَحْمَدُ وَإِسْحَاقُ أَنَّ تَحْرِيمَ الصَّلاَةِ التَّكْبِيرُوَلاَ يَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ دَاخِلاً فِى الصَّلاَةِ إِلاَّ بِالتَّكْبِيرِ. قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَسَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ أَبَانَ مُسْتَمْلِىَ وَكِيعٍ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ مَهْدِىٍّ يَقُولُ لَوِ افْتَتَحَ الرَّجُلُ الصَّلاَةَ بِسَبْعِينَ اسْمًا مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ وَلَمْ يُكَبِّرْ لَمْ يُجْزِهِ وَإِنْ أَحْدَثَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسَلِّمَ أَمَرْتُهُ أَنْ يَتَوَضَّأَ ثُمَّ يَرْجِعَ إِلَى مَكَانِهِ فَيُسَلِّمَ إِنَّمَا الأَمْرُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ. قَالَ وَأَبُو نَضْرَةَ اسْمُهُ الْمُنْذِرُ بْنُ مَالِكِ بْنِ قُطَعَةَ.
Abu-Sa'īd said, "The Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said, 'The key to prayer is purification, its consecration[1]is [in the initial] testifying to God’s greatness, and the end of its consecration[2] is in saying the (final) salutation[3]. A peson's prayer is not valid without reciting "All praise"[4] and [another] chapter (of the Qur'ān) – whether in an obligatory prayer or otherwise.'"[5]
[1] (Tahrīm) Entering the state of sanctity for prayer. [2] (Tahlīl) Ending the state of sanctity for prayer. [3] Saying "God's peace and mercy be upon you" at the end of the prayer. [4] This refers to al-Fātihah, the first chapter of the Qur'ān. [5] Although this hadīth indicates that it is compulsory to recite another chapter after reciting al-Fātihah, it is weak and contradicts a more sound hadīth, therefore it cannot be used as evidence of a rule.