Is it obligatory to listen to the Qur'an when it is recited outside of prayer?
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The student: Shaykh, may Allah reward you. Regarding the correct ruling: if a person speaks while the Qur'an is being recited in other than al-Fatihah, is it obligatory to listen or not?
The Shaykh : In prayer, you mean?
The student: Yes, outside of prayer.
The Shaykh : No, the correct view is that one does not sit there [to listen], but it is not permissible to make noise. Therefore, Imam Ahmad said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-A'raf: 204], he said: "We have agreed that this is in prayer". As for other than prayer, it is not obligatory to listen. Because if we said that listening is obligatory, we would say: if a reciter begins to recite and you are next to him, it becomes forbidden for you to stand up, due to the obligation of listening. And I do not think any of the scholars says that. What is prohibited is idle talk and noise. Yes.
The Shaykh : In prayer, you mean?
The student: Yes, outside of prayer.
The Shaykh : No, the correct view is that one does not sit there [to listen], but it is not permissible to make noise. Therefore, Imam Ahmad said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: