The Scholars' Disagreement on the Issue of the Follower Reciting Behind the Imam, and the Stronger Position Therein

The Shaykh : The first position is that of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him), who held that the follower does not recite behind his imam at all, whether the prayer is silent or loud. The second position is that of Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), which is the exact opposite: the follower recites behind the imam whether the prayer is silent or loud. The third position, which is the school of Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad, the Imam of the Sunnah, is to distinguish as follows: reciting behind the imam in silent prayers, but not reciting behind the imam in loud prayers. The role of the follower behind the imam when he recites aloud in the first two rak'ahs of the loud prayers, such as the 'Isha' prayer, the Maghrib prayer, and the Fajr prayer, is that since the follower hears the imam's recitation, it is not permissible for him to occupy himself with reciting for himself to the exclusion of listening to the imam's recitation. This is because completing the following of the imam in this case—meaning when the imam recites aloud and the follower listens to this recitation—includes silence and attentiveness. This is part of the completion of the statement of Allah the Exalted: . The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed the generality of this verse in this case by saying: , . The meaning of attentiveness implies that you are hearing something. If I were silent, it would not be permissible for me to say "listen," because someone would ask, "Why should we listen? We might be remembering Allah or sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah." But when you hear the recitation, here comes the divine command: . There are two commands: the first is listening, which means being attentive to the Qur'an being recited to you; the second is silence, i.e., being quiet. Therefore, according to this third position, which is the school of Malik and Ahmad, the follower should not recite anything. The secret of this, in the end, is contained in his (peace be upon him) saying: . Whoever has an imam, the imam's recitation in the loud prayers, when you hear his recitation, is a recitation on your behalf. If you know these three positions and know the viewpoint of the two imams, Malik and Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them all), then this school is the middle school, as Allah the Exalted said: . You do not hear the imam's recitation, and that is in the loud prayer, or in another case where the imam's voice might be faint or the follower's hearing might be weak, so that in the end he does not hear the imam's recitation even though the imam is reciting aloud. In that case, he recites. But when you hear the imam's recitation, your hearing suffices you from your own recitation. Your hearing of the imam suffices you from your own recitation. Why? Because your attentiveness to the imam's recitation is more beneficial for you than your reciting for yourself. Therefore, it came in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said one day—these are two hadiths and two stories, one concerning Abu ibn Ka'b and the other concerning 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them both)—he said to him (peace be upon him): . He said: "O Messenger of Allah, shall I recite the Qur'an to you, and it was revealed to you?!" He said: . This is the Messenger of Allah to whom the Qur'an was revealed, saying to one of the Companions: . He said: "Shall I recite to you, and it was revealed to you?!" He said: This is the summary of what can be said specifically on this issue: three schools, the middle of which is the most just and the most correct, and it is: recite in the silent prayers, and be attentive and listen in the loud prayers.
This is sufficient.