What is your opinion on collective dhikr, and is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
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The questioner : He says: I have heard many times that collective dhikr is a religious innovation and is not permissible, but according to my humble knowledge, I have looked into some hadiths that indicate that there is no harm in it. Among those hadiths is what Muslim narrated, to the effect that: "No group sits in one of the houses of Allah reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy envelops them, the angels surround them, and Allah mentions them among those with Him" " And I believe that al-Suyuti referred to this hadith in his book "al-Hawi li al-Fatawa," and based on that, he said: that collective dhikr is permissible. Then the other hadith, which means that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to a group of his Companions and said to them: "What has made you sit?" They said: "We sat to remember Allah," and he did not disapprove of that. It is clear that the dhikr there is general, knowing that all of this contradicts and conflicts with what came in the end of Surat al-A'raf in the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-A'raf 7:205] We hope that you clarify the correct view in this matter for us. May Allah guide you?
The Shaykh : The correct view in this matter is that the hadith the questioner referred to, indeed the two hadiths regarding those who study the Book of Allah and recite it, as well as the one regarding the people who remember Allah, is general, so it is to be understood in light of the specific practice that was customary in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. It was not customary among them that they would remember Allah the Exalted with a collective phrase or recite the Qur'an with a collective phrase. And in his saying it indicates that this study is to be done in turn, either one person reads, and when he finishes his reading, the second reads what the first read, and so on, or each one of them reads a portion, and then the other reads from where the first stopped. This is the apparent meaning of the hadith.
As for the other hadith in which they remember Allah the Exalted, we say that this is general, so it is to be understood in light of what was customary in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. It was not customary among them that they would gather and remember with a single dhikr collectively. And this is indicated by the fact that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during Hajj, had some who were saying "Allahu Akbar," some who were saying "Allahu Akbar" (tahlil), and some who were saying the Talbiyah, so each person remembered Allah the Exalted by himself.
As for the saying of Allah the Exalted: this refers to the specific dhikr of the individual, and it is also specific to what the Sunnah indicates regarding raising the voice with it. For it has been established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), from the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that raising the voice with dhikr when the people finish the obligatory prayer was the practice in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, it is prescribed to raise the voice with dhikr after the obligatory prayer, because this is what was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the saying of some scholars that keeping it secret is better, and their response to the hadith of Ibn Abbas by saying that it was for teaching, there is a consideration in that.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And that is because teaching can be achieved without this. For the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught the poor Muhajireen what to say after the prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 1349Sahih (Darussalam) Then, teaching is achieved once, not by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) maintaining it in every prayer, or by them maintaining it in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in every prayer.
Then we say: even if we concede that it was for teaching, it was for teaching the origin of the dhikr and its description, meaning that the Messenger was teaching them what the dhikr is that is said after the prayers, and how to recite this dhikr and perform it, that it is to be done aloud. And this is the view supported by the aforementioned hadith of Ibn Abbas, which is in Sahih al-Bukhari. Yes.
The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good and do you well.
And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings
واذكر ربك في نفسك تضرعا وخيفة ودون الجهر من القول بالغدو والآصالThe Shaykh : The correct view in this matter is that the hadith the questioner referred to, indeed the two hadiths regarding those who study the Book of Allah and recite it, as well as the one regarding the people who remember Allah, is general, so it is to be understood in light of the specific practice that was customary in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. It was not customary among them that they would remember Allah the Exalted with a collective phrase or recite the Qur'an with a collective phrase. And in his saying
and studying it among themselves
ويتدارسونه بينهمAs for the other hadith in which they remember Allah the Exalted, we say that this is general, so it is to be understood in light of what was customary in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. It was not customary among them that they would gather and remember with a single dhikr collectively. And this is indicated by the fact that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during Hajj, had some who were saying "Allahu Akbar," some who were saying "Allahu Akbar" (tahlil), and some who were saying the Talbiyah, so each person remembered Allah the Exalted by himself.
As for the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And remember your Lord within yourself with humility and fear, and without loudness of speech, in the morning and in the afternoon
واذكر ربك في نفسك تضرعا وخيفة ودون الجهر من القول بالغدو والآصالThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And that is because teaching can be achieved without this. For the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught the poor Muhajireen what to say after the prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Glorifying Allah (SWT) thirty-three times following each prayer, and praising Him thirty-three times, and magnifying Him thirty-four times
تسبحون وتحمدون وتكبّرون دبر كل صلاة ثلاثا وثلاثينThen we say: even if we concede that it was for teaching, it was for teaching the origin of the dhikr and its description, meaning that the Messenger was teaching them what the dhikr is that is said after the prayers, and how to recite this dhikr and perform it, that it is to be done aloud. And this is the view supported by the aforementioned hadith of Ibn Abbas, which is in Sahih al-Bukhari. Yes.
The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good and do you well.