The ruling on the imam changing his voice in the takbirs
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Question : Shaykh, regarding some imams, when they say the takbir, they start to change their voice in the ruku' or in the ruku' itself. You can tell whether he is bowing or prostrating from his voice. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a hadith, "I only did this so that they would be imitated in it and learn my prayer." So if this had been permissible or prescribed, the Prophet would have done it and the matter would have been elevated.
Answer : Correct. This indicates that the Messenger does not change in the following. But someone might say that the Messenger said, "Follow me and learn my prayer," and if it is raised, it is more eloquent for learning, so the cause would be composed of two things. But I asked some of the brothers who care about hadith, and I said to them: Has it been reported that the Messenger (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) used to change in the takbirs?
They said, "No, absolutely not." I looked through the books of knowledge as much as was possible, and I did not find any scholar who mentioned that he used to change between the words of the takbir. However, some of them said that he would prolong the takbir by which he descends from standing to prostration or rises from prostration to standing, and that is because of the length of the interval, so that the remembrance covers the entire rising, so that he does not remain silent during part of the rising. Because if he shortened it, and it is a long distance, he would finish the takbir before reaching the next pillar, and some of the rising would remain without remembrance. They said, "What about when he sits from prostration for the tashahhud?" I have seen some imams change even when sitting for the first tashahhud from the second tashahhud, if it is a tree, "Allahu Akbar."
Did you hear him say "Akbar"? No. He says it, no doubt, but he cuts it off. You see, this is the short tashahhud. And if it is the final tashahhud, he prolongs it. I saw this man praying in the mosque, so, glory be to Allah, they are being creative. Then we found that not distinguishing between the takbirs has a benefit for the ma'mums, which is alertness. Because if there is a mark in the takbir, the men move according to this mark, and it becomes automatic. So if the imam's takbir is covered and it is the same, and he has a rak'ah remaining, what does he do with it?
He sits following, is it? Following the tone. So for this reason, we saw that it is in the interest. Otherwise, we used to do it at first; we used to distinguish between the takbirs as our shaykhs used to do. But some people who prayed with me, who were from outside the country, said to me, "O so-and-so, why do you change? Do you have evidence for this?" I have no evidence, but this is the practice of the people. He said, "No, there is no evidence." So when I did it the first time, the people behind me shouted, "Glory be to Allah, glory be to Allah." They did not know, but, praise be to Allah, the matter has become customary.
Answer : Correct. This indicates that the Messenger does not change in the following. But someone might say that the Messenger said, "Follow me and learn my prayer," and if it is raised, it is more eloquent for learning, so the cause would be composed of two things. But I asked some of the brothers who care about hadith, and I said to them: Has it been reported that the Messenger (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) used to change in the takbirs?
They said, "No, absolutely not." I looked through the books of knowledge as much as was possible, and I did not find any scholar who mentioned that he used to change between the words of the takbir. However, some of them said that he would prolong the takbir by which he descends from standing to prostration or rises from prostration to standing, and that is because of the length of the interval, so that the remembrance covers the entire rising, so that he does not remain silent during part of the rising. Because if he shortened it, and it is a long distance, he would finish the takbir before reaching the next pillar, and some of the rising would remain without remembrance. They said, "What about when he sits from prostration for the tashahhud?" I have seen some imams change even when sitting for the first tashahhud from the second tashahhud, if it is a tree, "Allahu Akbar."
Did you hear him say "Akbar"? No. He says it, no doubt, but he cuts it off. You see, this is the short tashahhud. And if it is the final tashahhud, he prolongs it. I saw this man praying in the mosque, so, glory be to Allah, they are being creative. Then we found that not distinguishing between the takbirs has a benefit for the ma'mums, which is alertness. Because if there is a mark in the takbir, the men move according to this mark, and it becomes automatic. So if the imam's takbir is covered and it is the same, and he has a rak'ah remaining, what does he do with it?
He sits following, is it? Following the tone. So for this reason, we saw that it is in the interest. Otherwise, we used to do it at first; we used to distinguish between the takbirs as our shaykhs used to do. But some people who prayed with me, who were from outside the country, said to me, "O so-and-so, why do you change? Do you have evidence for this?" I have no evidence, but this is the practice of the people. He said, "No, there is no evidence." So when I did it the first time, the people behind me shouted, "Glory be to Allah, glory be to Allah." They did not know, but, praise be to Allah, the matter has become customary.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 504- حكم تغيير الإمام صوته في التكبيرات - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
