The Stronger Position on the Issue of the Ma'mum Reciting al-Fatihah
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The Shaykh : And among the things that confirm this is that this hadith, which contains the aforementioned cause, appeared in *Musnad al-Imam Ahmad* with a wording that confirms this command does not mean obligation but rather the weaker position of permissibility, where its wording was: , so his saying: means that if one of you absolutely must read, let him read with al-Fatihah of the Book, because the original ruling is that there is no prayer for one who does not read al-Fatihah of the Book.
Therefore, the stronger opinion is what Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) held in this issue, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah followed him in that, namely that the ma'mum must read in the silent prayers and remain silent in the loud prayers, and not read as long as he hears the recitation of the Qur'an from the imam. By this, the evidences that appear to contradict each other are gathered and saved from contradiction when we place each evidence in its proper place, taking into account what may contradict it.
Do not do anything except that one of you recites with the opening of the Book
فلا تفعلوا إلا أن يقرأ أحدكم بفاتحة الكتابexcept that one of you reads
إلا أن يقرأTherefore, the stronger opinion is what Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) held in this issue, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah followed him in that, namely that the ma'mum must read in the silent prayers and remain silent in the loud prayers, and not read as long as he hears the recitation of the Qur'an from the imam. By this, the evidences that appear to contradict each other are gathered and saved from contradiction when we place each evidence in its proper place, taking into account what may contradict it.