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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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What is the ruling on reciting the morning and evening adhkar (remembrances) collectively?

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Question:
Regarding the recitation of the morning and evening adhkar in a group, is this part of Islam? Such that one of the girls recites the supplications and we, the family, repeat them behind her. May Allah reward you with good. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

Answer:
Reciting the prescribed adhkar in the morning and evening, and at other times established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is a required matter and contains much good. Allah the Exalted has commanded His remembrance many times. He said:
(41) O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance (42) And exalt Him morning and afternoon.يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا
[Al-Ahzab 33:41-42]
He said:
And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
[Al-Jumu'ah 62:10]
And the remembrance of Allah is the life of the heart.
Allah the Exalted said:
Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
[Ar-Ra'd 13:28]
But the remembrance of Allah must be from the Book of Allah or from the authentic, established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And it must be in the prescribed manner. Collective dhikr is not prescribed. This collective dhikr is a bid'ah (religious innovation) and is not from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah did not command us to remember Him in a collective manner, but He commanded us to remember Him much, without restricting us to a group or a specific state. Rather, each person remembers Allah as is easy for him and in appropriate circumstances, without being tied to a group, a collective voice, or melodic chanting, or anything else. This is a characteristic of the Sufis, and every innovation is misguidance, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. So the Muslim should remember Allah by increasing the remembrance through tasbih (glorification), general praise, and obligation, and there is no need to tie oneself to the voice of the group. Everyone knows how to say "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to Allah), "Alhamdulillah" (Praise be to Allah), and "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest) without being tied to a group or a leader, because this is what Allah the Exalted and Majestic has made easy.
So tying oneself to collective dhikr in the morning and evening is from the newly invented innovations, and there is no reward in it, but rather there is sin. He said:
God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone introduces into this affair of ours anything which does not belong to it, it is rejected.”صلى الله عليه وسلم من احدث في امرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد
Mishkat al-Masabih 140Muttafaqun 'alayh (Zubair `Aliza'i)
He said (peace and blessings be upon him):
Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and everyوَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحْدَثَاتِ الأُمُورِ فَإِنَّ كُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ
Sunan Abi Dawud 4607Sahih (Al-Albani)
No, no, collective dhikr is a bid'ah. And it is misguidance, and there is no [reward] in it either.
Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ماحكم قراءة الأذكار في الصباح والمساء بشكل جماعي؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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