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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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When does the follower say "Ameen"?

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The Shaykh : The Exalted Allah said:
And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers. وذكر فإن الذكرى تنفع المؤمنين
[Adh-Dhariyat 51:55]
The place of this reminder or admonition is that the majority of the praying people are contradicting the majority of the praying people regarding the saying of the Noble Messenger, because it is a matter upon which they all agreed, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
When the Imam says Amin, say Amin, for if anyone’s utterance of Amin synchronnises with that of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins. إذا أمّن الإمام فأمّنوا فإنه من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه
Sunan Abi Dawud 936Sahih (Al-Albani)
It is astonishing to every observer of the condition of the Muslims in their creed, their dealings, and their worship that they contradict the Shari'ah of their Lord, and yet with that, they desire to strive in the path of Allah. And with this desire, for which they have not taken the necessary means, they hope that Allah will support them. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has conditioned His support for them against their enemy upon their supporting Him, Blessed and Exalted is He, with their own selves. So, you have just heard that the Muslims have deviated in creed from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the way of their righteous predecessors. Then you know another matter, which I do not think we need to dwell on at length, and that is that most of the Muslims today who are people of wealth deal in forbidden riba (usury or interest), which is one of the greatest of sins. Now, face to face, you, O assembly of praying people, are supposed to be praying to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and so it is, if Allah wills, in terms of intention, purpose, and sincerity, that you are praying to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. But I say, with regret, that you are praying in a manner other than what Allah prescribed through the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). There are many examples, and very many indeed, but the greatest of them as a lesson and reminder is what is an open phenomenon among the praying people themselves in their congregation in their mosques, and not something that might be between one of them and his Lord in his prayer or in another act of worship. Now, in any mosque we attend, whether we are followers or the imam, we hear the majority of the praying people contradicting the previously mentioned saying of the Messenger:
When the Imam says Amin, say Amin إذا أمّن الإمام فأمنوا
Sunan Abi Dawud 936Sahih (Al-Albani)
The imam, after he has finished reciting "And not the astray," and you, O assembly of praying people who are sincere to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and who are neglecting to follow the Sunnah of the Master of the Messengers, you turn the hadith upside down. It is hardly the case that the imam has finished "And not the astray" before you begin with "Ameen," and he becomes a follower of you, and you become his imam. What does this indicate? It indicates one of two things, and as they say, the sweeter of the two is bitter: either ignorance of Islam, or contradicting Islam. The contradiction is very clear. What I mentioned just now about dealing in riba—is there any Muslim who does not know that riba is one of the greatest of sins? No. Yet people today deal in riba. Now, here in the mosque, you are racing ahead of the imam. Why? I say: it is not the other, i.e., contradiction, but rather the first, which is ignorance of the Sunnah, ignorance of the sayings of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), ignorance as a general principle.
offer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayers صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي
Sahih al-Bukhari 6008
I do not say that you are in this mosque and in this country, but in the lands of the world all over, first by attending some of them and hearing from others in some other places. I have not attended a mosque, not in the Sacred Mosque, not in the Prophet's Mosque, not in al-Aqsa, nor in any country of other lands, whether Islamic or Western with Muslim communities, where they have not all agreed to race ahead of the imam in saying "Ameen." This is the least thing that indicates ignorance of the sayings of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the specific manner of his prayer.
So I return to say: How astonishing it is of a nation that desires victory from Allah while they contradict Allah in their belief, in their tawhid (the oneness of Allah), in their worship, and in the other rulings that came through the tongue of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Therefore, I say, as an advisor and a reminder: if you are sincere, earnest, and truthful in that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will support us against our enemies, and especially those who have occupied our land, then you must turn to our Lord and repent to Him with sincere repentance. And this sincere repentance will not be achieved except through beneficial knowledge and beneficial action, through beneficial knowledge and righteous action. So, learn the rulings of your religion, then act upon them, and Allah will support you against your enemies. And the first enemy for you is your souls that reside in your persons. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The one who strives is the one who strives against his self, and in another wording, against his desire, for the sake of Allah. المجاهد من جاهد نفسه وفي لفظ هواه لله
So, strive against your desires for the sake of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, until we are upright on the straight path and until we are among those who support Allah, so He will support them. This is what I wanted to remind you of, and we ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to benefit us with what we say and what we hear.
There is no god but Allah... I repeat the reminder to the brothers regarding what was previously mentioned about not racing ahead of the imam in saying "Ameen." And I first remind the imam of the mosque here to follow up with his congregation by reminding them of this hadith:
When the Imam says Amin, say Amin, for if anyone’s utterance of Amin synchronnises with that of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins. إذا أمّن الإمام فأمّنوا فإنه من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه
Sunan Abi Dawud 936Sahih (Al-Albani)
I remind you a second time, and I hope I will not hear it as I heard it the first time, so that I may be reassured that you are with me, not only with your bodies, but also with your minds and hearts. But if it is the other, may Allah forbid, then that means you have translated yourselves to me in a translation that I do not approve of from you, and that you do not approve of from me. This is a reminder: do not race ahead of the imam with "Ameen." And I remind the imam of the mosque to remind his brothers, and it may be that those who usually pray in two or three rows—I do not know how the situation is here—so that they may be upright with him on the straight path, and this Sunnah (recommended practice) may move to other mosques, to other villages, until goodness spreads throughout the lands of Islam, if Allah wills, all of them. And so whoever has this Sunnah will have its reward and the reward of whoever acts upon it until the Day of Resurrection, as is in the authentic hadith. And be orderly in your prayers, if Allah wills.
Source www.al-albany.com

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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