The Shaykh’s remarks on the follower saying “Hear from Allah those who praise Him” behind the imam.

The Shaykh : Before I present a jurisprudential and hadith-related note, I want to confirm 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. I noticed that while praying with you, it seemed to me that when you raise your head from bowing behind the imam, you only say “Our Lord, to You belongs all praise,” meaning you do not say “Hear from Allah those who praise Him, our Lord, to You belongs all praise.” Is this observation of mine correct?

The questioner : Yes, yes.

The Shaykh : Good. So now I proceed to what I mentioned. It is known to all worshippers, including students of knowledge like us, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he raised his head from bowing, would say: “Hear from Allah those who praise Him,” and when he stood upright or settled in standing, he would say: ربنا ولك الحمد Our Lord, to You belongs all praise. This means, as some jurists say, that there are two forms: the form of transitioning from bowing to standing, and the form of standing. So here I am in bowing; when I want to raise my head from bowing, I do not say “Our Lord, to You belongs all praise,” nor do I say it in this manner: “Our Lord, to You belongs all praise.” Rather, I say “Hear from Allah those who praise Him, our Lord, to You belongs all praise.” This is clear, known, and agreed upon, as far as I know, among scholars regarding the imam and the one praying alone. There is disagreement regarding the follower: does the follower say “Hear from Allah 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 from Allah those who praise Him,” unlike the Shafi'is, who combine both. What we see, and Allah knows best, is that the Shafi'i opinion 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 forms: the form of transitioning from bowing to standing, and the form of standing. The second reason is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as is known to everyone: صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي offer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayersSahih al-Bukhari 6008. Therefore, we should pray like his prayer, whether we are the imam, the follower, or praying alone. This does not contradict the well-known hadith in the Sahih: فإذا قال الإمام : سمع الله لمن حمده ؛ فقولوا : ربنا ولك الحمد When the Imam says: ‘Sami’ Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him),’ say: ‘Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (O our Lord, to You is the praise).’Sunan Ibn Majah 876. This hadith does not contradict the aforementioned practical and verbal Sunnah صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي offer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayersSahih al-Bukhari 6008. That is because the only indication in this hadith that is unavoidable and to which one must submit is that the follower says “Our Lord, to You belongs all praise” with certainty, after the imam has said “Hear from Allah those who praise Him.” This is all that this hadith specifies. And this leads us to the other issue I mentioned: if I was not correct in my observation of the first issue, I would move to another, and now another opportunity has arisen.