Daraqutni

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever performs prayer behind the Imam should recite Surah Al-Fatihah during the Imam's pause, and whoever completes the Surah, that will suffice for him." The narrator named Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ubaid is weak.

Yazid bin Sharik reports: He asked Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about the issue of recitation behind the Imam, so he replied: "You should recite Surah Al-Fatihah." (The narrator says) I asked: Even if (the Imam) is you? He replied: "Even if (the Imam) is me." (The narrator says) I asked: Even if you are reciting aloud? He replied: "Even if I am reciting aloud (still you should recite Surah Al-Fatihah)." All the narrators of this narration are trustworthy.

Yazid bin Sharik reports: I asked Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about the issue of reciting (Qur'an) behind the Imam, so he instructed me: "I should recite." The narrator says: I asked, "Even if you are the Imam (should I still recite)?" He replied, "Even if I am the Imam (you should also recite)." (The narrator says) I asked, "Even if you are reciting aloud?" He replied, "Even if I am reciting aloud." Its chain of narration is authentic.

Abdullah bin Huzail narrates: I asked Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him): Should I recite (Qur'an) behind the Imam? He replied: "Yes."

Sayyiduna Mahmood bin Rabee’ Ansari, who was residing in Ilya, narrates from Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the morning prayer and found some difficulty in recitation. When he finished the prayer, he said: “I think you were reciting behind your Imam.” The narrator says: We said, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah! That is so.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not do so, but recite Surah Al-Fatihah, for whoever does not recite it, his prayer is not (complete).” This chain is ‘Hasan’ (good).

This narration is also transmitted with some other chains in the same manner, however, in it are these words: "(It seems) as if you are reciting behind me." We said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah! We recite quickly." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not do so, but recite Surah Al-Fatihah, for without it the prayer is not valid."

This narration is also transmitted with some other chains of transmission.

This same narration is transmitted with some other chains as well, however, in it are these words: "The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'I think you people recite behind your Imam when he is reciting aloud.'" We said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, we recite quickly." The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do not do so, but recite Surah Al-Fatihah, because whoever does not recite it, his prayer is not valid."

Sayyiduna Nafi’ bin Mahmood narrates: On one occasion, Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived late for the Fajr prayer. A muezzin named Abu Na’eem had already given the iqamah for the prayer. Abu Na’eem was the first person to give the adhan in Bayt al-Maqdis. Abu Na’eem began to lead the people in prayer, and during this, Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit arrived. I was with him, and we formed a row behind Abu Na’eem, following him in prayer. When Abu Na’eem began to recite aloud, Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah also started reciting Surah al-Fatihah. (The narrator says) When they completed the prayer, I said to Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him): “You did an act about which I am not sure whether it is Sunnah or you did it by mistake?” Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah asked: “What is that?” The narrator says: I said: “I heard you reciting Surah al-Fatihah while Abu Na’eem was reciting aloud.” So Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “That is correct. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in a prayer in which the recitation is done aloud, and during it, it became difficult for him to recite. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he turned to us and said: ‘When I was reciting aloud, were you also reciting?’ Some of us said: ‘We did so.’ The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Do not do so. I was thinking whether you were competing with me in the Qur’an. When I am reciting aloud, do not recite the Qur’an, except for Surah al-Fatihah.’” All the narrators of this narration are trustworthy.

Abu Nu’aim narrates: Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Do you recite (the Qur’an) while praying behind me?” We replied: “Yes.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not do so, except recite Surah al-Fatihah.” This narration is also transmitted with another chain of narration.

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked us: "Do you recite (Qur'an) with me when I am leading the prayer?" We replied: "We do recite, but we recite quickly." The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not recite (with me), except for Surah Al-Fatihah, and that too, recite it in your heart." This narration is mursal.

Nafi' bin Mahmood narrates: He heard Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reciting Surah Al-Fatihah (in congregational prayer), while Abu Na'eem (the Imam) was reciting aloud. (After the prayer, I said to Sayyiduna Ubadah:) "I saw you doing something during the prayer (which surprised me)." Sayyiduna Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "What is that?" Nafi' said: "I heard you reciting Surah Al-Fatihah while the Imam was reciting aloud." So Sayyiduna Ubadah said: "Yes. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in a prayer in which he recited aloud. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he said: 'When I was reciting aloud, was any one of you reciting the Qur'an?' We replied: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah!' The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I was thinking that the Qur'an was being contended with me. None of you should recite any part of the Qur'an when I am reciting aloud, except for Surah Al-Fatihah, so recite it.'" The chain of this narration is "Hasan" and all its narrators are trustworthy. This narration is also transmitted with another chain.

Nafi' bin Mahmood narrates: I was present in the service of Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him), so he mentioned this hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). (After this, the hadith is as previously mentioned.) However, in this version, these words are present (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said): "None of you should recite anything except Surah Al-Fatihah, for whoever does not recite it, his prayer is not valid."

Sayyiduna Mahmood bin Rabee’ Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) stood with me and began reciting (Qira’ah) behind the Imam, while the Imam was also reciting at that time. When they finished the prayer, I said to him: Abu Waleed! You also started reciting, even though you were hearing that the Imam was reciting aloud. So Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes, once we recited in the same way behind the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and it became difficult for him to recite. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said “Subhan Allah.” When he (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he said to us: “Was anyone reciting with me?” We replied: Yes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I was astonished, I was wondering who is competing with me in the recitation of the Qur’an. When the Imam is reciting, do not recite along with him, except for Surah Al-Fatihah, because whoever does not recite it, his prayer is not valid.” Mu’awiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and Ishaq bin Abu Farwah (may Allah have mercy on him), the narrators, are weak.

Amr bin Shu'aib, on the authority of his father, narrates from his grandfather: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever is performing an obligatory or voluntary prayer should recite Surah Al-Fatihah in it and along with it recite another Surah; if he only recites Surah Al-Fatihah, that will also suffice for him. And whoever is praying behind an Imam in a prayer in which the Imam recites aloud, he should recite Surah Al-Fatihah during the Imam's silence; if he does not do so, his prayer will be incomplete and not fulfilled." The narrator named Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ubaid bin Umair is weak.

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him to go and announce among the people: "The prayer is not valid until Surah Al-Fatihah is recited, and no further recitation is done."

Muhammad bin Rabee' narrates: Sayyiduna 'Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported this, that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prayer of the one who does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah is not valid." The narrator named Ziyad has narrated these words: "The prayer of the one who does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah in it is not correct." The chain of this hadith is authentic.

Sayyiduna Mahmood bin Rabee’ narrates this statement from Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him): The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The prayer of that person is not valid who does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah.” (This narration is also authentic.) The same narration has also been transmitted by some other narrators.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The imam is responsible, so do as he does." Shaykh Abu Hatim has stated that this narration confirms the position of those who hold that recitation should be done behind the imam.

Mahmood bin Rabee’ narrates from Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Surah Al-Fatihah is a substitute for all other surahs, but no other surah can be a substitute for it.” In narrating this tradition, the narrator named Muhammad bin Khallad is unique.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to instruct (the narrator is in doubt, perhaps these are the words): He used to say: "In following the Imam, in the first two rak'ahs recite Surah Al-Fatihah and along with it any other Surah, and in the last two rak'ahs recite only Surah Al-Fatihah."

It is narrated about Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): He used to command this (the narrator is in doubt, perhaps these are the words) he used to like this: "In the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and Asr, Surah Al-Fatihah and along with it any one Surah should be recited, and in the last two rak'ahs only Surah Al-Fatihah should be recited, at the time when a person is performing prayer behind the Imam." The chain of this narration is authentic.

This narration is also transmitted with another chain of transmission.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "In the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and Asr, when following the Imam, recite Surah Al-Fatihah and along with it another Surah." Its chain of narration is authentic.