What is the answer to the one who cites the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Companions used to recite behind him, where he said:

Abu Malik: When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting in the prayer, when he finished he said: .

The Shaykh: Yes.
Abu Malik: So the people stopped reciting behind him except for the Opening of the Book.

The Shaykh: Yes.
Abu Malik: This hadith, in reality, also means it refutes... May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh: Yes, exactly, as an exception here, “except with the Opening of the Book,” as I mentioned in my book *The Description of Prayer*, it does not mean the obligation of recitation. This is clarified by a narration in *Musnad al-Imam Ahmad* with a sound chain, where he (peace be upon him) said: . So this exception does not establish the obligation of reciting the Opening of the Book; because an exception that permits a part of what is excluded, when one has been prohibited from everything, this exception is only for that part. As we all know, the command for something after its prohibition does not establish its obligation, but rather its permissibility. For example, His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . So His saying “then hunt” does not mean that it is obligatory for the pilgrim who was in a state of ihram and then exited it to hunt. Rather, this text means that what was forbidden to him before has become permissible to him after he exited the state of ihram. Similarly here, , meaning: do not recite. This is a general text in which the Messenger (peace be upon him) prohibited those who were behind him from reciting . Then he introduced a specification and said: . This does not mean the obligation of reciting the Opening of the Book, but rather the permissibility of reciting the Opening of the Book at that time when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke this sound hadith.
And it confirms that this recitation which he (peace be upon him) permitted is not for the sake of obligation is the other narration, which is very precise and subtle: . So this expression means that if a person did not recite, he owes nothing, and also if he recited, he owes nothing. And therefore I said that this hadith only establishes a weaker permissibility, let alone that it does not establish obligation. Then came the hadith of Abu Hurayrah which indicates that he said, when he (peace be upon him) said: , the people stopped reciting behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite aloud.
Yes, in short: this hadith establishes permissibility, not obligation, and the permissibility is a weaker permissibility. Then this permissibility was negated and abrogated by the ruling that the people stopped reciting behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) absolutely in what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting.
This is what comes to my mind now regarding this issue, and Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is the bestower of success.

The questioner: Our Shaykh, the questions of the women.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: The questions of the women that the head of the household requested.

The Shaykh: Bring them so we can see, my brother.