In "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer," you stated your opinion that the one praying behind the imam recites in the silent prayers and does not recite in the loud prayers.

The questioner : In "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer," you stated your opinion that the one praying behind the imam recites in the silent prayers and does not recite in the loud prayers. In the book "Subul al-Salam," the author presented evidence indicating that reciting the Mother of the Book in prayer is always required, and he stated that the prayer is invalid without it. So, first, what is the authenticity of these hadiths? And how do we reconcile them with what you mentioned?

The Shaykh : I do not recall a question like this, nor is it possible to answer it; because this requires recalling the evidence, some of which is authentic and some is not, and the authentic ones have one answer or more, butThe questioner : the one who truly wants to benefit by the shortest path is to study "The Description of Prayer" and the hadiths reported in it, setting them aside for a moment, then study what is in "Subul al-Salam" or other books of hadith jurisprudence. So, the hadith that confuses him and conflicts with what is in "The Description of Prayer," he marks it and records it on a paper and asks: "What is your opinion of this hadith? First, is it authentic? Yes, it is authentic. Second, does it indicate the obligation of reciting al-Fatihah behind the imam in the loud prayers, or is it not obligatory? The answer is possible, but if you give us the topic, the scholars of the Muslims have differed on it, and one side said it is an addition, and there is much evidence for each of the two groups. If I were to memorize the world, I could not answer this question except in hours; so what can be said of us—may Allah include us in His mercy and favor—we recall some things and many things are missed.
I give you an example of this from these hadiths that those who hold the view of the obligation of reciting al-Fatihah behind the imam in the loud prayers use as evidence: the hadith: . The scholars who hold that view have used this hadith as evidence, ... but it contains no evidence at all; why? And this naturally appears especially to one who has some knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence. The principles of jurisprudence say: if a command for something comes after a prohibition of it, this command does not indicate obligation. If the wise Lawgiver commands something and had previously prohibited it, then this command does not indicate the obligation of that thing, but rather it lifts the prohibition of it. So here the hadith is like this: ? They said: Yes. He said: Do not recite behind the imam. This is a prohibition. He said: This is an exception to the prohibition. An exception to a prohibition does not indicate obligation, but rather it indicates permissibility. So where is the evidence for obligation? There is no evidence in this hadith for obligation. This is an example. And therefore the research—as I told you—says: look at the hadith like this one—for example—it may be one of the hadiths that confused you. Look at another hadith, maybe we can give you the answer, or else the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah agree on this topic: . And the hadiths that appear on their surface to indicate obligation, they are either of this type that does not indicate obligation, all it indicates is permissibility, and permissibility is the weaker position, or that it was in a stage of legislation. And on this we proceeded in our book "The Description of the Prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.