When a person prays alone in the loud prayers, does he recite loudly, or is he given the choice between reciting loudly and quietly, or is he not?
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The questioner : When a person prays alone in a loud prayer, does he recite loudly, or is he given the choice? Because we see many people reciting loudly when they pray alone, and may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) say: If a person prays alone in the night prayer, he is given the choice between reciting loudly or quietly. However, if someone is praying with him, he must recite loudly. The evidence for this is the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman that he prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) one night, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) began reciting Surat al-Baqarah. He would not pass a verse of mercy without asking for it, nor a verse of warning without seeking refuge. Hudhayfah said: I thought he would bow when he reached the one-hundredth verse, meaning when he completed one hundred verses of al-Baqarah. But he continued until he finished it, then he recited Surat al-Nisa and Surat Ali 'Imran after it. That is, he recited al-Nisa after al-Baqarah, then Ali 'Imran, and then he bowed.
This indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) recited loudly. Otherwise, Hudhayfah would not have known what he was saying at the verse of mercy, the verse of punishment, and the verse of glorification, for he would glorify Allah when he passed a verse of glorification.
There are two issues in this hadith:
The first issue: Is the tahajjud prayer prescribed in congregation, or not?
The answer to this issue is to say: The tahajjud prayer is not prescribed in congregation on a continuous basis. However, occasionally, there is nothing wrong with it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed with Hudhayfah, as in this hadith. On another occasion, he prayed with Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). On a third occasion, he prayed with 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. However, he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not make this a regular, constant practice. It is not prescribed except in the standing of Ramadan. So if he occasionally prayed in congregation for tahajjud, there is nothing wrong with it, and it is from the Sunnah.
As for what some of the young brothers living in the same place do, establishing the tahajjud prayer in congregation every night, this is contrary to the Sunnah.
The second issue: In this hadith of Hudhayfah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) recited Surat al-Nisa after al-Baqarah, then Ali 'Imran. But what is before us is that Ali 'Imran comes after al-Baqarah, and al-Nisa comes after Ali 'Imran. So how is the matter?
The answer is to say: The matter settled on Ali 'Imran coming after al-Baqarah. For this reason, the hadiths explaining the virtues of the Qur'an mention al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran together, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): So the matter followed the order found in the mushaf now.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) say: If a person prays alone in the night prayer, he is given the choice between reciting loudly or quietly. However, if someone is praying with him, he must recite loudly. The evidence for this is the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman that he prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) one night, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) began reciting Surat al-Baqarah. He would not pass a verse of mercy without asking for it, nor a verse of warning without seeking refuge. Hudhayfah said: I thought he would bow when he reached the one-hundredth verse, meaning when he completed one hundred verses of al-Baqarah. But he continued until he finished it, then he recited Surat al-Nisa and Surat Ali 'Imran after it. That is, he recited al-Nisa after al-Baqarah, then Ali 'Imran, and then he bowed.
This indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) recited loudly. Otherwise, Hudhayfah would not have known what he was saying at the verse of mercy, the verse of punishment, and the verse of glorification, for he would glorify Allah when he passed a verse of glorification.
There are two issues in this hadith:
The first issue: Is the tahajjud prayer prescribed in congregation, or not?
The answer to this issue is to say: The tahajjud prayer is not prescribed in congregation on a continuous basis. However, occasionally, there is nothing wrong with it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed with Hudhayfah, as in this hadith. On another occasion, he prayed with Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). On a third occasion, he prayed with 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. However, he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not make this a regular, constant practice. It is not prescribed except in the standing of Ramadan. So if he occasionally prayed in congregation for tahajjud, there is nothing wrong with it, and it is from the Sunnah.
As for what some of the young brothers living in the same place do, establishing the tahajjud prayer in congregation every night, this is contrary to the Sunnah.
The second issue: In this hadith of Hudhayfah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) recited Surat al-Nisa after al-Baqarah, then Ali 'Imran. But what is before us is that Ali 'Imran comes after al-Baqarah, and al-Nisa comes after Ali 'Imran. So how is the matter?
The answer is to say: The matter settled on Ali 'Imran coming after al-Baqarah. For this reason, the hadiths explaining the virtues of the Qur'an mention al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran together, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
Read the two luminaries: al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran, for they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds or two flocks of birds in a row, pleading for their owners on the Day of Resurrection.
اقرءوا الزهراوين : البقرة وآل عمران، فإنهما يأتيان يوم القيامة كأنهما غيايتان أو غماماتان أو فرقان من طير صواف، تحاجان عن أصحابهما يوم القيامةThe questioner : May Allah bless you.