What is better in supplication: keeping it secret or raising the voice, and is this what is meant by the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And keep your words secret or make them public"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The first question in his letter asks: What is better in supplication, keeping it secret or raising the voice, and is this what is meant by the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Mulk 67:13]?
The Shaykh : If a person is supplicating for himself and for others, he should raise his voice in supplication, just as the imam raises his voice in the qunut, because he is supplicating for himself and for others. He should also use the plural form, saying for example: "O Allah, guide us among those You have guided, and grant us health among those You have granted health", and not say: "O Allah, guide me among those You have guided". This is because if he singles himself out for supplication while they are listening and saying "Ameen," that is a type of betrayal. This is because when the supplication is shared between the supplicant and others, singling oneself out for it is a type of betrayal. Therefore, we say that if the supplication is shared between the supplicant and others, he should raise his voice. However, the shared supplication for the supplicant and others is limited to what has come in the Shari'ah, so it is not permissible to invent collective supplications without the Shari'ah having come with them, because inventing such matters is among the religious innovations (bid'ah) that are forbidden.
As for when a person is supplicating for himself, this requires detail. If he is in prayer, he should not raise his voice. I mean, if he is in congregational prayer, he should not raise his voice, because that disturbs those around him. For this reason, you find some of the followers (ma'mum) raising their voices in what they supplicate to Allah with, either between the two prostrations, or in prostration, or in the tashahhud. This is not befitting of them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to his Companions one day while they were praying and raising their voices with the Qur'an, so he forbade them from raising their voices over one another.
As for when a person is supplicating for himself and no one is around him, he should look at what is best for his heart. If what is best is to keep it secret, he keeps it secret; and if what is best is to raise his voice, he raises his voice. But when he raises his voice, he should not burden himself, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions when they had raised their voices in dhikr: And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is near and responsive, and He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above His Throne, over all His creation. Yes.
And conceal your speech or publicize it
وأسروا قولكم أو اجهروا بهThe Shaykh : If a person is supplicating for himself and for others, he should raise his voice in supplication, just as the imam raises his voice in the qunut, because he is supplicating for himself and for others. He should also use the plural form, saying for example: "O Allah, guide us among those You have guided, and grant us health among those You have granted health", and not say: "O Allah, guide me among those You have guided". This is because if he singles himself out for supplication while they are listening and saying "Ameen," that is a type of betrayal. This is because when the supplication is shared between the supplicant and others, singling oneself out for it is a type of betrayal. Therefore, we say that if the supplication is shared between the supplicant and others, he should raise his voice. However, the shared supplication for the supplicant and others is limited to what has come in the Shari'ah, so it is not permissible to invent collective supplications without the Shari'ah having come with them, because inventing such matters is among the religious innovations (bid'ah) that are forbidden.
As for when a person is supplicating for himself, this requires detail. If he is in prayer, he should not raise his voice. I mean, if he is in congregational prayer, he should not raise his voice, because that disturbs those around him. For this reason, you find some of the followers (ma'mum) raising their voices in what they supplicate to Allah with, either between the two prostrations, or in prostration, or in the tashahhud. This is not befitting of them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to his Companions one day while they were praying and raising their voices with the Qur'an, so he forbade them from raising their voices over one another.
As for when a person is supplicating for himself and no one is around him, he should look at what is best for his heart. If what is best is to keep it secret, he keeps it secret; and if what is best is to raise his voice, he raises his voice. But when he raises his voice, he should not burden himself, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions when they had raised their voices in dhikr: