Reminding the Shaykh to follow the imam in (Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him, Our Lord, to You belongs the praise) and the saying of Ameen.

The Shaykh : Before I present a fiqh and hadith note, I want to verify the accuracy of my observation. If my observation is correct, I will proceed with my reminder; if it is not correct, I will turn the matter to something else than what I planned. I noticed that while I was praying with you, it seemed that when you raised your head from the bowing behind the imam, you would say: "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise." Only that, meaning you do not say: "Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him, Our Lord, to You belongs the praise." Is this observation correct?

The questioner : Yes, yes.

The Shaykh : Fine, so now I proceed to what I said.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : It is known to all worshippers, among the students of knowledge like us all, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say "Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him" when he raised his head from the bowing, and when he stood upright or settled in standing, he would say "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise." This means, as some jurists say, that there are two recitations: the recitation of the transition from bowing to standing, and the recitation of standing. The recitation of the transition from bowing to standing: here I am in bowing, so when I want to raise my head from the bowing, I do not say "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise," nor do I say "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise" in this manner, but rather I say: "Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him, Our Lord, to You belongs the praise." This is clear and known, and agreed upon, as far as I know, among the scholars regarding the imam and the one praying alone. There is disagreement regarding the follower: does the follower say "Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him" or not? There are two opinions. The well-known opinion among the Hanafis and their like is that the follower does not say "Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him," unlike the Shafi'is, who combine them. And what we see, and Allah knows best, is that the opinion of the Shafi'is in this issue is more correct. For two reasons. The first reason is that the Sunnah, as we mentioned earlier, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates that there are two recitations: the recitation of the transition from bowing to standing, and the recitation of standing. The second reason is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as is known to everyone: Therefore, we should pray like his prayer, whether we are the imam, the follower, or the one praying alone. This does not contradict the well-known hadith in the authentic collections: This hadith does not contradict the aforementioned practical and verbal Sunnah because the only indication in this hadith that is inescapable and to which one must submit is that the follower says "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise" with certainty, after the imam has said "Hear Allah the praise of those who praise Him." This is all that this hadith specifies, and it is a different hadith. This leads us to the other issue I mentioned: if I am not correct in my observation of the first issue, I will move to the other. And now another occasion has arisen. There is also an authentic hadith: This also means that the follower does not say Ameen until the imam has finished But this does not mean that the follower does not say Ameen, due to his saying (peace be upon him) in the authentic hadith: At that point, as is known from the science of usul, the extra wording is always taken from the texts. So the extra wording: his saying (peace be upon him) in the first hadith regarding the other issue We add to it: "And when the imam says: Ameen, then you say: Ameen," because we added the extra wording that came in the other authentic hadith to the first hadith. So we arrive at the following result: "And when the imam says: Ameen, then you say: Ameen." At that point, the widespread error in all Islamic lands, within the scope of my knowledge and information, is that all the followers precede the imam with Ameen. And I have noticed, and no blame, and it is a reminder, that I hardly finish before the person behind me precedes me with Ameen, so I become the follower of him, instead of him being the follower of me. Thus the principle This is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers. This is the first point, and you are the best to convey this to those behind you because whenever I attend, travel, or pray in a mosque, I must see this deviation; it must be there, in the Sacred Mosque, in the Prophet's Mosque, in the mosques of the whole world, according to what I have prayed and what has reached me, this deviation is prevalent. And therefore, you are the best to convey and the best to implement, and to establish a good practice for the people. That is what we desire, and may Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. We will act upon it, with the permission of Allah the Exalted.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.