The Takbirat: The Word That Walks Beside You
In the name of Allah. Blessings and peace upon our
Master Muhammad and upon his family and Companions.
For five days, the Muslim community speaks one sentence together. After every
prayer, from the dawn of Arafa to the afternoon of the thirteenth, the takbirat
fill the air:
The Takbirat
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ.
Allah is greater. Allah is greater. There is no deity but
Allah. And Allah is greater. Allah is greater. And to Allah belongs all praise.
A sentence the Companions said in the streets
Imam al-Bukhari (Allah have mercy on him) reports that Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) would say the takbirat in his tent at Mina. Those around him would hear him and join in. The people in the markets would hear them and join in, until Mina shook with takbirat [al-Bukhari]. Ibn Umar and Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with them both) used to walk through the markets in these days saying the takbirat aloud, and the people would echo it after them [al-Bukhari, ta‘liqan].
What the word does
Allahu akbar is not a comparison. It does not mean “Allah is bigger than X.” It means Allah is greater than anything you can imagine: greater than what you fear, greater than your loss, greater than your unknown future, greater than all greatness in creation.
When you say it, every greatness in the room sits below one Greatness. Ibrahim’s fire was a cause, and the cause was beneath Allah. The takbir teaches what Ibrahim’s phrase taught, in a different shape.
Takbir: A companion to the phrase
The takbir does for the public square what
حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ
Allah is sufficient for us, and the Best of Guardians He is.
does for the private heart. One says the world is small. The other says my matter is placed. Together, they walk the believer through these ten days.
What is asked of you today
Say the takbir after every prescribed prayer, from Fajr of Arafa to Asr of the thirteenth. Say it aloud in the masjid, so others hear and join in. At home, say it as part of daily life so children grow up hearing it. Before sleep, say
it slowly to yourself.
As you say Allahu akbar, take a greatness from your life a worry, an ambition, or a fear place it beneath the word. The word is wide enough to hold it.
And to Allah belongs all praise.
