The Ruling on the Use of Loudspeakers in Mosques

The questioner : He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some of the imams of the mosques place a sound amplifier or an echo device behind them so that it repeats the verses of the Qur'an after them. This sometimes makes it so that you do not know what he is reciting; in fact, he may recite one verse while the previous one is still echoing. Please give us a ruling on this, may Allah reward you, and what is the obligation of the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) behind him?

The Shaykh : And what is it?

The questioner : The obligation of the ma'mum behind him.

The Shaykh : The truth is that we are deeply sorry. People go to extremes here and there. Some of our brothers oppose recitation with a loudspeaker absolutely, saying that recitation with a loudspeaker is forbidden because it makes the sound heard through the speaker like the trumpets of the Jews, by which they announce the time for entering their prayer, and it is well known that imitating the Jews is forbidden. Therefore, recitation with a loudspeaker is not permissible at all. And some of our brothers have gone to the extreme in the other direction, treating the Qur'an as if it were song records, by introducing into it what the questioner referred to, and thus distorting the words, like those of whom it is said, "Among them is a group who twist their tongues," yes, did you forget the verse? in the Book, so that they make the words of the Qur'an twisted and wavering. A person does not know what is being said. What is the reciter saying? And this is wrong.
And the general rule is that moderation is the correct path. Using a loudspeaker to enliven the congregation and improve the sound is permissible, and it may even be recommended for this purpose. However, excess or deficiency in it is contrary to moderation. But here is a matter that must be addressed: turning on the loudspeaker on the minarets is a harm to the Muslim brothers near this mosque, whether they are people of the mosque or people of the houses. Some people turn on the recitation on the minaret, which harms the worshippers in the surrounding mosques. It has even reached me that some people, if the sound coming from outside is better than the recitation of their imam, leave their imam and follow the incoming sound. It was even said to me that in some places, when the imam said "and not the astray," the people behind the imam said "Ameen," and their imam might have been rising from the bowing, so these people said "Ameen." Undoubtedly, this is a clear harm. Likewise, when people prostrate while hearing this high, resonant sound entering their ears, it disturbs their supplication, their tashahhud, and their glorification of Allah. This is not a matter of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) or personal desire; it is a matter of evidence and guidance. It is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he saw his Companions one day reciting in prayer, each one reciting for himself and raising his voice. He said, "Every worshipper is conversing with his Lord. He is not conversing with one who does not hear; he is conversing with One who hears the secret and what is even more hidden. So do not harm one another in recitation." Listen to his saying "do not harm him," and in another wording, "Let not one of you raise his voice over the other." This hadith, or rather these two hadiths—the hadith of Fawrah al-Bayadi and the hadith of Abu Sa'id—both were authenticated by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him). So the ruling is not mine, nor Zayd's, nor so-and-so's. The ruling belongs to Allah and His Messenger. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade some of us from raising our voices over others in recitation so that we do not harm one another, then no one has a word after the word of Allah and His Messenger, and no one has a desire after the guidance of Allah and His Messenger. Therefore, I hope that everyone who hears a mosque raising its voice and harming those around it will advise them. And I say, between you and me, the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the houses: women are praying. If this recitation enters them, it disturbs them. The strange thing is that some people say that one of the benefits of this is that those in the houses can listen to it. Well, one of the benefits is that some of those in the houses listen to it, but it harms others. Moreover, the one listening in the house may have the radio on with songs, or the recorder on with songs, or the television on with satellite channels and the calamity broadcast in them. So this becomes a mockery of the words of Allah. The words of Allah are thundering above his head while he is looking at these forbidden things. So there are harms in it.
And the legal principle is: if a harm and a benefit coincide with equality, what is considered? The avoidance of the harm is considered. So how much more so if the harm is greater? This is truly a problem, a problem for some people, meaning that in their own view, they want people to listen to the recitation from outside so that perhaps they may benefit from it. But we say: yes, if people benefit from it, others are harmed by it.