The ruling on raising the voice in collective recitation and dhikr

Question:
May Allah bless you. Is it permissible to recite the Qur'an in a group with a loud voice, whether in mosques or in homes? And likewise for the takbir, tasbih, and tahlil? If that is not possible, is there any hadith indicating this? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.

Answer:
There is a distinction regarding raising the voice when reciting the Qur'an. If the voice is raised for the recitation for a group who are listening and following in the mosque, in the house, or in any place, then this is prescribed and sought after. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite the Qur'an to his Companions while they listened. Once, he said to 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), "Recite the Qur'an to me." Ibn Mas'ud said to him, "O Messenger of Allah, how can I recite it to you when it was revealed to you?" He said, "I love to hear it from someone else." So 'Abdullah began reciting Surat al-Nisa. When he reached the words of Allah the Exalted, , the Prophet said, "Is that enough?" He said to him, "Is that enough," meaning it is sufficient. Ibn Mas'ud said, "I looked at him and saw his eyes flowing with tears, weeping when he remembered this station, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him." However, if the voice is raised not for people who are listening, but as some people do in the rows of the mosque, then this should not be done; because it disturbs the worshippers and the reciters. Rather, the Sunnah and the obligatory practice is to recite in a low voice that does not harm people or disturb them. One should lower his voice and not do anything that disturbs the worshippers or the reciters. The evidence for this is what is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he came out one day to the gathering place of the mosque where they were reciting, and they were raising their voices. He said, "Let not some of you outdo others in recitation, for each of you is conversing with Allah," or as he said (peace and blessings be upon him). So he forbade them from outdoing one another in recitation, due to the harm in it. As for dhikr (remembrance of Allah), this is prescribed after the prayers. Each person raises his voice in dhikr without exaggeration, without intensity, so that those around him can hear it. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said, "Raising the voice in dhikr when the people disperse from the congregational prayer was the practice in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I used to hear it when they dispersed at night." This indicates that they used to raise their voices in dhikr after the taslim, until the people outside the mosque could hear that the prayer had ended. This is the Sunnah, so that the ignorant may learn and the forgetful may remember, and it becomes a benefit for everyone. However, if one person raises his voice and the people follow him with a single voice, all together in a collective voice, this is contrary to the Shari'ah, whether in recitation or in tasbih (glorification). Their reciting with a collective voice, or saying "Allahu" with a collective voice after the taslim, has no basis, and it is not from the religion of Islam as far as we know. We do not know any basis for it in the recitation of the Companions or those after them from the people of knowledge. It may be done in the context of teaching young boys, to practice the delivery of the Qur'an and the good voice with it. This may be excused for boys in schools, so that they learn and become accustomed to a good voice in recitation and controlling the words, and what the teacher tells them. This is purely for the education of boys in schools. This may be excused, or tolerated. But among people in houses and in mosques, this is not prescribed. Rather, each person recites for himself, or recites and a group listens to him and they are silent to him. As for them all reciting together with a collective voice, we do not know any basis for it at all. And so it is with dhikr. Yes.