Narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talib
The key to prayer is purification, its beginning (that makes things forbidden) is the takbir, and its ending (that makes them allowed again) is the taslim.
Sunan Abi Dawud 61, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3
What this hadith teaches
This short hadith gives the frame of every prayer: wudu first, enter with "Allahu Akbar", leave with "As-salamu alaykum".
Reference and grade
- Grade
- Hasan sahih (al-Albani)
- Narrator
- Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Chapter
- Wudu and purity
The hadith in Arabic نص الحديث
مِفْتَاحُ الصَّلاَةِ الطُّهُورُ وَتَحْرِيمُهَا التَّكْبِيرُ وَتَحْلِيلُهَا التَّسْلِيمُ
Arabic text of Sunan Abi Dawud 61, as given on sunnah.com.