Prayer is accompanied by Allahu akbar ...
Prayer is accompanied by Allahu akbar , which announces, the invalidity of all falsehoods and futile powers, and is repeated eighty five times throughout the daily obligatory and recommended prayers. It is also uttered as a recommended act under various labels. This slogan is repeated during prayers and the secret behind our growth in spiritual dimensions lies in the very repetitions. God is greater than everything! God is greater the one who is compared with others.
He is greater than human comprehension, the claims of others, the insinuations of Satan, and the visages of the world. If Allahu akbar springs forth from the depth of our souls and on the basis of faith and belief, the world and its temptations, the splendor of power and its manifestations, will become trivial and insignificant in our sight. His Pleasure will become superior to everything else.
Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) says that when you utter takbir at the beginning of prayer, everything except God must be insignificant in your sight, and if not, it shall be said: ‘You are a liar!’ If in the mind of the one praying there is someone greater, he will be considered a liar, just as the hypocrites { munafiqun } used to verbally bear witness to the apostleship of the Messenger of Allah (S), but they had no faith in what they were saying.
God described them as liars: “And Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed liars.” [^3] Because such duality of speech and belief is hypocrisy. As such, the same Imam ( ‘a ) says: “God addresses such worshippers, saying: “Are you deceiving and duping Me? By My Honor and Glory!
I shall deprive you of nearness to Me, the sweetness of remembering { dhikr } Me, and the pleasure of My litanies.”[^4] After narrating this hadith , the late Faydh Kashani says: Whenever you attain the pleasure and sweetness of litanies during prayer, be aware that your takbir is accepted and confirmed by God, the Exalted, and if it is not, you will feel that God has expelled you from His Court, does not confirm your utterance, and regards you as a liar.” ^5 Yes, God is the greatest!