What is the ruling on the follower reciting al-Fatihah in the loud prayers, and how do you reconcile the hadiths indicating the obligation of reciting al-Fatihah with the hadiths indicating listening to the imam's recitation?

The questioner : My master, some of the brothers say that the imam says there is no need for the follower to recite al-Fatihah, as he does not give him the opportunity.

The questioner : The Shaykh : I discussed this last week. In fact, based on my readings, I commented on it. This is an authentic hadith without doubt, and the noble verse also obligates us to listen to the imam's recitation so that we may reflect and contemplate the meanings of the Qur'an. The Council of Senior Scholars at al-Azhar brought the hadith and the hadith is general; it was not restricted to one who is alone or one who is an imam, generally. Therefore, they said regarding the imam's pause after al-Fatihah, they said the follower recites secretly, giving him the opportunity, and there is no sin on him... This is what I related, but I do not know...

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. The hadith, as you said, but as they say, you memorized something and other things escaped you. The hadith is a general hadith that truly includes every prayer, whether it is a prayer alone, a prayer as a follower, or a prayer as an imam. But it is opposed by texts, which are also general texts, and you yourself referred to the verse earlier: (may Allah be pleased with him).
It is also said regarding this verse, as you quoted from the scholars of al-Azhar, and of course you are responsible for this quotation, meaning it is on your conscience. We do not know what they said. Yes, they said that this hadith is general and not restricted. Likewise, it is said regarding the verse. You need to be patient with me, and only Allah gives you patience. The verse, as you hear, says "listen to it and be silent," it did not say "in prayer" or "inside prayer" or "outside prayer," and "inside prayer" is the first point. Second, it did not say "in the secret prayers" as opposed to the loud ones, but the verse is general. So here we have two general texts. Which text restricts and specifies the other? This is one of the subtleties of the science of fiqh, which is called the science of usul al-fiqh. Then, added to the verse is an explicit and authentic hadith, which is also general and not restricted, and it is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): He did not say "and when he recites, be silent," he did not distinguish between a follower and a secret prayer and a loud prayer, but it is general. And it is very clear that the word "be silent," whether in this hadith or the previous verse, means that you should be quiet if there is audible recitation. Yes. Therefore, the verse and the hadith, with their generality and comprehensiveness, obligate the follower not to recite behind the imam who recites loudly. The Shafi'i school, unlike the other schools, obligates the follower to recite al-Fatihah even if the imam is reciting loudly. They say the hadith: is general or comprehensive, not restricted to secret prayers as opposed to loud ones. But the same Shafi'is, over time and as knowledge became more liberated, found themselves compelled to join the majority of scholars who say that it is not prescribed for the follower to recite while the imam raises his voice. And for whom does the imam raise his voice? If the follower is occupied with himself and not listening to his imam's recitation. Therefore, allow me, may Allah bless you, we told you to be patient, and only Allah gives you patience. If you had been patient with me for a moment, I would have told you: therefore, they found an exit for themselves by imposing on the imam to make that pause. Why? Because they did not understand with the majority that the follower recites while the imam recites loudly. So they said, "We say that the imam must pause after reciting al-Fatihah so that the follower can devote himself to reciting al-Fatihah for himself." We say now that this exit is not a valid exit unless it is established in the Sunnah... and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was for more than twenty years, and he recited loudly in the loud prayers and secretly in the secret prayers. Did he pause after reciting al-Fatihah in the loud prayers so that those behind him could recite al-Fatihah? The answer is no. So why do we create exits for ourselves when the reason for creating them existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), yet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not create this exit? This exit came from a mistaken understanding of the hadith that it is general, including the follower behind the imam in the loud prayers. Where did the mistake come from? From not paying attention to the hadith that you said there is no doubt in its authenticity: So when the imam recites loudly and you hear and you contemplate what he is reciting, you have achieved the purpose of your own recitation if you had recited while the imam was silent and the imam was reciting secretly. In fact, I observe something: the listener to the recitation is able to contemplate more than the reciter himself, is that right or not? If that is the case, then when the imam recites and you listen to his recitation, you have achieved the recitation and more. Therefore, it came in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to one of his companions—there are two narrations, once from Ibn Mas'ud and once from Abu al-Ka'b: He said: So our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), when He obligated listening on the followers who hear the recitation of the Qur'an, He only obligated that for a matter desirable to Allah, which is that this listener listens to the imam's recitation and contemplates what is being recited. But if you recite and the imam is reciting, you cannot contemplate what you are reciting at all, because you are occupied with listening and occupied with reciting. And Allah says: So you are one of two: either you pay attention to the imam's recitation and contemplate in it, or you pay attention to what you are reciting to yourself. For this reason, the three schools hold that the follower recites in the secret prayers and listens in the loud prayers, and by this the legal texts are reconciled. And here is an issue with some precision from the fiqh perspective. The first hadith when you quote from the scholars of al-Azhar that they said the hadith is general, we say this hadith is not in its generality, for it has been specified by the consensus of the majority of Muslim scholars, including the Shafi'is themselves. If you now enter the mosque and find the imam bowing, and you follow him and bow with him, did you catch the rak'ah or not? You caught the rak'ah. What did you do with his saying: The hadith is no longer in its generality; restriction and specification have entered it. So the meaning of the hadith became: there is no prayer for one who does not recite al-Fatihah of the Book, except for one who is unable to recite al-Fatihah in one of the forms, such as coming to the mosque and finding the imam bowing, so he is unable to recite al-Fatihah because he will raise his head. So he bows with the imam, and the rak'ah is counted for him, and the rak'ah is counted for him even though he did not recite al-Fatihah. So this hadith is not in its generality.

The questioner : If you would be kind regarding the Shafi'i scholars from the usul perspective now, if the hadiths contradict each other among these, isn't it better to reconcile them? Did the Shafi'is say that one should recite behind the imam after the imam's pauses and make the followers recite al-Fatihah? Did they reconcile the contradictory hadiths?

The Shaykh : Excuse me, it appears we forgot what we said. Reconciling the hadiths is not done by contradicting the Sunnah. As I mentioned earlier, may Allah reward you, the text of the speech says there is no answer to it. So I say: We mentioned earlier that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), throughout his blessed life, when he led people in the loud prayers, did not remain silent. So how can the reconciliation of the hadiths be achieved? We answer: The solution contradicts the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) throughout his blessed life. We answer with a solution from the same hadiths, and this is what I was in the process of completing the explanation of, because I said that, for some reason, I mentioned that the hadith is not absolute as you quoted from the scholars, but rather it is restricted in some cases. I mentioned a case agreed upon by the scholars, which is if one enters the mosque and finds the imam bowing, so he follows him and bows with him, his prayer is valid even though he did not recite al-Fatihah. So this hadith is no longer in its generality and comprehensiveness, and its absoluteness. Now, the answer to your last question comes, which would have come to you, excuse me, without you asking. If two general hadiths conflict, each of them being general, which one is applied to the other and restricted? The scholars said: If one of the general texts has entered it a restriction or specification such that its generality and absoluteness are weakened, then it is the one to which the general text that remained in its generality and comprehensiveness, and into which no specification or restriction has entered, is applied. This is a very, very important rule from the jurisprudential perspective. Regarding our current issue, it is clear: .
The Shaykh : Is there any case where a person does not hear and it is permissible for him to play while the Qur'an is being recited? Absolutely not. Also, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the previous hadith has no restriction entered into it because it is in complete agreement with the verse. So here, two generalities conflict: the generality of "no prayer" and the generality of "listen." With: , the restricted general is restricted by the unrestricted general. For example, for the sake of benefit, its example is...