When does the follower complete the recitation of al-Fatihah behind the imam in the loud prayers if the imam does not pause, meaning the pause, and is the imam's silence a recommended practice or obligatory?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, he saysThe questioner : When does the follower complete the recitation of al-Fatihah behind the imam in the loud prayers if the imam does not pause, meaning the pause after al-Fatihah, and is the imam's silence a recommended practice or obligatory?

The Shaykh : The silence of some imams after finishing the recitation of al-Fatihah has no basis in the Sunnah at all; and I mean a long silence that takes up as much time as the imam took when he recited al-Fatihah. For example, the imam's recitation of al-Fatihah might take two minutes; there is nothing in the Sunnah that this imam should remain silent for two minutes after finishing al-Fatihah, a duration sufficient for the followers to recite al-Fatihah. Everything that has come in the Sunnah, despite differences in its authenticity, is only that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had two pauses: a pause at the opening takbir of the prayer, and a pause at the completion of the recitation. This is the hadith of al-Hasan al-Basri from Samurah ibn Jundub and Ubayy ibn Ka'b. This second pause has differences among the narrators regarding its specification; some of them stated it generally, saying—and this is an example of what we mentioned earlier—some of them stated it when he finished the recitation, meaning the entire recitation, meaning before bowing. And some of them said: when he finished reciting al-Fatihah. Here, we cannot say that these are two images, one absolute and one restricted; because the narration is one. Rather, the science of hadith intervenes here to prefer one narration over another. Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) did this in his book "Zad al-Ma'ad," where he mentioned that the narrators who said "when he finished the entire recitation" are more trustworthy and more numerous than those who said "when he finished reciting al-Fatihah." Therefore, this pause after al-Fatihah was not reported; rather, it was reported through al-Hasan, as we said, from Samurah and Ubayy, before bowing. Ibn al-Qayyim says that this pause is a natural pause to catch one's breath and spirit; such that he intends to bow and prostrate, and so on, of the actions of the prayer. Then, even if it were established that the stronger opinion is the opposite of what we mentioned; that is, that the imam who was the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to pause after finishing the recitation of al-Fatihah; still, this pause did not have that length that would allow the follower to recite al-Fatihah. The Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) confirms this by saying: If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had paused a long pause after finishing the recitation of al-Fatihah, the motivations would have been present to transmit this pause and to approach the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask him about this pause, as came regarding the first pause. He reportedThe Shaykh : al-Bukhari and Muslim in their "Sahihayn" from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pause for a moment when he said the takbir for the prayer. So we said: O Messenger of Allah, what do you say in your silence between the takbir and the recitation? He said: to the end of the supplication mentioned in the "Sahihayn" and mentioned in the books of prayer and other books of dhikr. So this long pause, which was sufficient for this supplication, attracted the attention of the Companions, so they approached him (peace be upon him) asking: What do you say? And he answered them. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had paused after this pause, after finishing al-Fatihah, they would have asked him as well, and he would have answered them: I pause so that the follower can recite al-Fatihah; because there is no prayer for one who does not recite al-Fatihah of the Book. But none of that happened, which indicates that this pause was a natural pause; because when the imam began to finish reciting al-Fatihah, he began to take a breath, began to read the recitation that follows. So this pause is a completely ordinary pause, not a long devotional pause to create time for the follower to recite al-Fatihah of the Book.
On this occasion, I say: It is upon those people, and especially the imams among them who see the legitimacy of this pause after the imam finishes reciting al-Fatihah, if they see that and it is not established as we explained. But we cannot impose an opinion on people if they have adopted an opinion themselves. But it is obligatory upon us to clarify to people what we have of knowledge. Then, whoever wishes adopts it, and whoever wishes remains on what he was adopting. But if he adopts something, he must apply it as he adopted it. So you, O imam, see the legitimacy of your silence after al-Fatihah in order for the follower to be able to recite it, but you do not pause this long pause. The reader behind this imam or that one hardly reads less than half of al-Fatihah before he does what? He says the takbir for bowing. So either you continue the recitation after finishing al-Fatihah without a long intentional pause, or you lengthen it by an amount that allows the followers behind you to recite this blessed surah, Surat al-Fatihah.
Yes.