The agreement between the Ameen of people and angels has been discussed by scholars with several opinions, detailed as follows:
First Opinion:
Explaining the meaning of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) statement:
فمن وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
The angels of Allah say Ameen without any defect, ostentation, show-off, fame, arrogance, or pride. Rather, their saying Ameen is purely for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. When the one who recites the Quran says Ameen without any fame, ostentation, arrogance, or pride, then his sincere Ameen coincides with the angels’ Ameen, and at that time all his previous sins are forgiven.
Second Opinion:
Imam Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, explaining the meaning of the statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
من وافق قوله قول الملائكة
says:
The meaning of من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة is that the saying of Ameen should coincide with the time when the angels say Ameen; the worshipper should say Ameen at the same time as the angels. The meaning of the worshipper saying Ameen together with the angels is the correct and proper one. Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, states that the meaning of the Messenger of Allah’s, peace be upon him, statement is that if the worshipper’s saying of Ameen coincides with the angels’ saying of Ameen with humility, submissiveness, and sincerity, then all his previous sins are forgiven at that time.
Third Opinion:
Imam Ibn Daqiq al-Eid, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The apparent meaning of the Imam’s saying “Ameen” being in agreement with the angels’ saying “Ameen” is the concurrence in time and moment. This position is strengthened and supported by another hadith:
إذا قال أحدكم آمين قالت الملائكة فى السماء آمين فوافقت إحداهما الأخرى
When one of you says Ameen and the angels in the sky say Ameen, and one of them agrees with the other.
There is also the possibility that the agreement in Ameen is in the attribute of Ameen, meaning that the worshiper’s saying Ameen in sincerity and devotion corresponds to the attribute of the angels’ Ameen, or it corresponds to other praiseworthy attributes, but the first opinion and position is more apparent and clear.
Fourth Opinion:
Imam Ibn Abdul Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in this hadith:
من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه
Whose saying “Ameen” coincides with the saying of the angels’ Ameen, his past sins are forgiven.
There are several different opinions among the scholars regarding this. One of them is that in this hadith, it is possible that the meaning is that whoever says Ameen sincerely, with a correct, pure intention and without negligence or carelessness, his saying Ameen coincides with the Ameen of those angels in the heavens who pray to Allah for forgiveness for the people on earth.
Some others have said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, meant by his statement من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة to encourage praying for believing men and believing women, because the angels in the heavens also pray for forgiveness and pardon for the people on earth.
So whoever prays for the believers in his prayer, his sins are forgiven, because at that time his prayer coincides with the prayer of those angels who pray for forgiveness and pardon for the believers on earth.
Some others have said: The angels who protect and take care of humans, who record deeds, and those angels who are present with the believers one after another during the times of prayers, when the reciter says وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ, at that time those angels say Ameen. So whoever does like them and says Ameen, his sins are forgiven. Along with this, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, encouraged saying Ameen, which indicates his urging.
Fifth Opinion:
Imam Zarqani, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة
means that the angels say Ameen, and whoever’s saying Ameen coincides with the angels’ saying Ameen in terms of speech and time, his sins are forgiven.
Sixth Opinion:
Imam Iraqi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
فوافقت إحداهما الأخرى
has been interpreted differently. The correct position is that here the meaning is concurrence in time, that the angels’ saying Ameen and the son of Adam’s saying Ameen occur at the same time, then his sins are forgiven. The apparent meaning of the Prophetic hadith indicates this.
Seventh Opinion:
Imam Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
There are different opinions regarding the conformity of saying Ameen. One opinion is that it conforms to acceptance. Another opinion is that it conforms in timing. The third opinion is that if it conforms in the attribute of sincerity in the supplication, then all sins are forgiven.
Eighth Opinion:
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
Regarding the statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة
What is its intended meaning? There are different opinions about this. One opinion is that whoever says Ameen in conformity with the angels’ saying Ameen in timing, his sins are forgiven. Another opinion is that it conforms in acceptance. The third opinion is that it conforms in the attribute of sincerity.
Ninth Opinion:
Imam Ibn al-Munir, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The wisdom behind the agreement in saying “Ameen” between the angels and humans in both speech and timing is that when a believer comes to perform prayer, there should be alertness and attentiveness at that time, because angels do not have negligence or laziness. So, whoever becomes like the angels in being alert-minded, his sins are forgiven.
Tenth Opinion:
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The agreement of people’s saying “Ameen” with the angels’ saying “Ameen” means that there should be agreement in speech and timing, contrary to those who interpret agreement as sincerity and humility, as Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, said.
Eleventh Opinion:
Mubarakpuri, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him:
من وافق تأمينه تأمين الملائكة
Its meaning is intended to be agreement in speech and timing.
The Preferred Position on This Issue:
The prevailing view in this matter, which is evident from the entire discussion, is this, and Allah knows best what is correct: that the agreement of the people in saying Ameen with the angels means agreement in the statement, that is, agreement in saying Ameen, and agreement in time. The people’s saying Ameen should be at the same time when the angels say Ameen in the heavens.
All the esteemed scholars tend towards this view, and among those whose statements have been mentioned earlier, except Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) and Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him), because it is easier and preferable to apply the ruling based on the apparent rather than the inner reality, and applying the ruling based on the inner reality is very difficult.
For this reason, we have considered the view of those who said that agreement means agreement in statement and time as the prevailing one. والله اعلم بالصواب.
