Does the follower participate with the imam in saying: "Allah hears the one who praises Him"?

The questioner : To what extent is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, narrated by al-Daraqutni, authentic? He said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say: 'Allah hears the one who praises Him,' we would say: 'Allah hears the one who praises Him, our Lord, and to You belongs all praise' How do we respond to those who say that the follower says 'Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise' by adhering to the apparent meaning of the hadith and that the statement of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) was his independent legal reasoning?

The Shaykh : First, I do not have the chain of narration for this hadith that you are asking about memorized. Please be patient with me for a moment, because I see you looking to the right and left, and al-Daraqutni is here with me, so it will reach you shortly.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : However, I will answer regarding the content of the hadith and the jurisprudence of the hadith when it is confronted with the opinion of those who say that the follower says "Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise." Since we compiled the description of the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we have stated that the follower also participates with the imam in saying "Allah hears the one who praises Him," applying the generality of his statement: This is because there is no text indicating that the follower's obligation is to say only "Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise," and that it is not permissible for him to combine this with the takbir (saying Allahu akbar). There is no text for this; therefore, we apply the generality of his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): We do not contradict it or oppose it with the statements of some scholars who say, in essence, what you mentioned earlier, namely that the imam's role is to say "Allah hears the one who praises Him," and the follower's role is to say "Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise." I say: the imam's role and the follower's role are the same unless there is a text to the contrary. Just as the imam does not say only "Allah hears the one who praises Him" but combines both, so whoever claims a distinction in this specific detail between the imam and the follower must provide evidence; otherwise, he is contradicting the general text of his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): As it is said, "If I forget, I will not forget that the first time I came to Riyadh and prayed in the large mosque there behind the imam, and I was then with the Saudi group that had returned from Palestine as their guide, and I was wearing a suit that distinguished me and made me like a flag among the people, indicating that I was a stranger, a khaki outfit; when the imam said 'Allah hears the one who praises Him,' I said 'Allah hears the one who praises Him, our Lord, and to You belongs all praise.' After the prayer, a man who was older than me at the time said, 'You are saying in the prayer what the imam says, "Allah hears the one who praises Him," why?' I said to him, 'This is the Sunnah.' He said, 'No, the follower does not say "Allah hears the one who praises Him."' I said to him, 'Why?' He said, 'That is what Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab says.' I said to him, 'But I told you: Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Allah ... says: And he used to say both: "Allah hears the one who praises Him, our Lord, and to You belongs all praise." So we have nothing that restricts the combination of the two to the imam alone, excluding the follower. And I am still on this position, and therefore I recorded it in the book *Description of the Prayer*. So if this hadith is authentic, it is a text on the subject; and if it is not authentic, we lose nothing. Now, you mention that the hadith is in the *Sunan* of al-Daraqutni, and naturally in its expected chapter, which is prayer, is that correct?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And does it need to be researched, and is its form in your mind so that we do not waste any time?

The questioner : No, it does not need to be researched, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.