Takbir

The takbir written on a piece of paper using black pen ink.

Takbir is the name for the Arabic phrase Allahu Akbar which is a Muslim saying. The exact words in Arabic mean "God is greater", but people know that saying "God is great" in the right time and place means the same as "God is Greater." "Allahu Akbar" is the first part of the Adhan, which people hear 5 times a day where Muslim people live together. Saying "God is Great" tells people in a few words what Islam believes and teaches.

This Arabic phrase was added to the Iraqi flag, which is claimed to be Saddam Hussein's handwriting,^[1]^[2] in 2001. Muslims say it before changing positions during their prayers. Allahu Akbar was the anthem of Libya during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.

Takbir Media

The takbīr in nastaʿlīq
A Muslim raises both of his hands to recite the takbīr in prayer.
Calligraphic Takbir in minaret of Sancaklar Mosque
Allāhu akbar in a memorial, Desouk, Egypt
Allāhu akbar in Arabic calligraphy seen on Imam Ali Mosque architecture (center of the Iwan), 1994
A sign with Allāhu akbar written on the side of a road in Iran
Flag of Iraq, with stylized Kufic script, introduced in 2008
Flag of Iran, introduced in 1980
Former flag of Afghanistan, with the phrase beneath the Shahada, used from 2004 to 2021
Flag of 1930s Waziristan (Pakistan) resistance movement