What is the ruling on the imam remaining silent after reciting al-Fatihah until the ma'mum (those praying behind him) recite al-Fatihah?

The questioner : It is obligatory for the imam...

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : The imam prays and recites al-Fatihah, then listens until those behind him recite, then he continues...?

The Shaykh : It is not permissible for the imam to remain silent after reciting al-Fatihah, for two reasons. The first reason is that this has no basis in the Sunnah. The second reason is that it inverts the principle of leadership, because the imam here becomes a follower, and the followers become the imam. He remains silent so that the followers can recite; he remains silent for the sake of those behind him. He is the imam; what does "imam" mean? It means one who is followed. So those behind him should walk with him, whereas here he is accommodating them and remaining silent for their sake. So there are at least two errors. The first, as we mentioned, is that this introduces into the prayer something that did not exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: The other thing is that it inverts the system of leadership by making the imam, who is the model for the people, make himself a follower of the people. This is not permissible. This action is done by one of two types of people: either one who follows the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, which states that reciting al-Fatihah is obligatory in all cases, whether in the loud prayers or the silent ones; or it is a man who is from the people of the Sunnah but assumes that the hadith of Jabir ibn Samurah and Abu ibn Ka'ab is that This hadith is weak in its chain of narration and is not authentic, because it is narrated by al-Hasan al-Basri, who is known for tadlis (concealment of a defect in a chain). All the paths that reached the narrator from al-Hasan, which is Yunus ibn Ubayd, all mention him with "an'anah" (a vague connection), and there is no path, even if it were weak or defective, in which he said, "I heard." What did we say?

The questioner : Abu and Jabir.

The Shaykh : No, it is Jundub ibn Samurah. Jundub and Abu, yes. There is no Samurah ibn Jundub. Yes, there is no narration that explicitly states hearing. Second, what confirms the weakness of the hadith and its unsuitability for being cited as evidence in this issue is that the narrations differed in a strange way. In some, the second pause is after reciting al-Fatihah, in some it is after finishing the recitation, and in some, which is the most correct according to the majority of narrations, it is after finishing the entire recitation, meaning before bowing. So if the hadith were authentic, it would have no relation to the innovated pause that was introduced to reconcile the statement that reciting al-Fatihah is obligatory for the followers in the loud prayers. The truth here is a lesson. Those who held the view that reciting al-Fatihah is obligatory for the follower in the loud prayers, as if they felt in their own souls that it is unreasonable in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) to say, "Listen and recite." They found it very strange. So they solved the problem by saying to the imam, "You remain silent instead of the followers remaining silent to listen to the imam's recitation." It was said to the imam, "You remain silent from reciting anything after al-Fatihah so that the followers can devote themselves to reciting it." This inverts the system of leadership. So the hadith is weak and it is not permissible to act upon it. Therefore, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that if there were a pause after the imam recites al-Fatihah that is long enough for the followers to recite al-Fatihah, there would be a gap that would prompt the people praying behind the Messenger of Allah to ask him what to do in this pause, just as they did regarding the first pause. The hadith of Samurah mentions two pauses, and the hadith of Abu Hurayrah also mentions two pauses, but the hadith of Samurah is weak because of al-Hasan's "an'anah." The hadith of Abu Hurayrah is authentic in al-Bukhari and Muslim. Its text says: to the end of the well-known supplication, which is the most authentic of the opening supplications. So there, it was found that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had a pause after the takbir of ihram (opening takbir) that was not customary for him. So this silence was among the factors that prompted the Companions to say to him, "What does this pause mean?" He said, "I say such and such." So if the Messenger had paused this pause after reciting al-Fatihah, he or someone else would have asked him, as he was asked regarding the first pause, "What do you say?" He said, "I say, O Allah, distance me from my sins..." to the end of the hadith. Well, here no one asked, "What are you pausing for, O Messenger of Allah, in this long pause after al-Fatihah?" So there was no silence, and therefore the question did not come. Please.

The questioner : Suppose the imam knows that this silence is not prescribed and knows the ruling well, but he came to a people who have drunk the love of sectarianism and innovations in their hearts, and he wanted, with the wisdom of da'wah (calling others to Islam), to proceed gradually until Allah helps him to eliminate such innovations. So Allah helped him to eliminate many of them, and this one remained, and he intends in his heart that, for example, in the near future or at some time when Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) makes it easy, it will end, just as Allah ended many such innovations through his hands. So what should he do in the situation described, knowing that he has tried and attempted, and this caused fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) or a disaster?

The Shaykh : This cannot be answered, and we say at that time that a person has clear insight into himself. But I believe that gradualism in reality requires matters, especially since some of it happens from those who are not gradualists. We find some of the Shafi'i imams whose school of jurisprudence includes this pause, and we are amazed at them; they are neither silent nor reciting. By that, I mean this pause: they say it for what reason? For the followers to recite. He barely recites half of al-Fatihah before he starts reciting the other surah after al-Fatihah, or some verses. So either be silent like people, or recite like people. I am saying now to this gradualist Salafi you referred to: do not prolong it.

The questioner : Like this.

The Shaykh : How is that?

The questioner : I mean, do not prolong it.

The Shaykh : Well, that is what we want. This is a step. I still have something: it should not be prolonged. There will come a time when it becomes customary for people that the amount of time it takes is a full breath, and then you start reciting the surah that follows, and things proceed. The second thing: it must be emphasized that this pause has no basis, my brothers. This is not said by but one school of the four schools of jurisprudence. And I see you as a group of "Jumhuriyyun" (majoritarians) who like to follow the majority. The majority here has no pause. (laughs)The Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on him.

The questioner : ... the Muslim, when he does not realize this matter, a problem occurs, especially in the mosque?

The Shaykh : Here the professor answered with an answer.

The questioner : A person sometimes sins by trying to apply the Sunnah and finds people rising up against him. You find...

The Shaykh : This is well known.

The questioner : I mean, what is to be done in this matter? Should he leave the matter and the place, and he is unable to apply the Sunnah, meaning he leaves this mosque and opens the way...

The Shaykh : Aim for the right and be near. Aim for the right and be near.

The questioner : Some of the watching brothers, when they see the ruling like this, want to do it with iron and fire, meaning between a blink of an eye and its opening, they change the situation from bid'ah (religious innovation) to Sunnah, from bad to good...?

The Shaykh : This is not easy.

The questioner : I wish they would be patient.

Another questioner : Is there only one pause in the recitation?

The Shaykh : In the recitation, which recitation do you mean?

The questioner : The beginning of the prayer, the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, because I heard you, or as if I did not catch the hearing, that you mentioned two pauses. You said the hadith of Abu Hurayrah has two pauses. You mentioned the first pause but did not mention the second pause?

The Shaykh : Of course, because we are not talking about the hadith of Abu Hurayrah except regarding the first pause. As for the second pause, it is at the bowing.

The questioner : Before the bowing?

The Shaykh: Yes.
Al-Halabi : A pause to catch one's breath.
The questioner: There are two pauses.

The Shaykh : Yes, two pauses. I mean, the hadith of Samurah agrees with the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in that they are two pauses. But the most correct view regarding the hadith of Samurah is that it is after finishing the entire recitation. Yes, well, we need to pray, my brothers.
Abu Layla : We prayed the combined prayer, our Shaykh, and we want to go.

The Shaykh : This habit overcame us.