The Follower Reciting Surah Fatiha During the Imam’s Pauses
First, observe the hadiths related to this:
1.
states:
«وحدث سمره بن جندب انه حفظ عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سكتتين سكته اذا كبر و سكته اذا فرغ من قرأه غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين»
Meaning, Samrah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated two pauses from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). One pause when he says Takbeer to start the prayer, and the second pause when he finishes reciting غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين.
In another hadith:
قال سمره حفظت سكتتين فى الصلاة سكته اذا كبر الامام حتي يقرأ سكته اذا فرغ من فاتحة الكتاب و سوره عند الركوع
Meaning, Samrah says that I memorized two pauses in prayer. One when the Imam says Takbeer al-Tahreemah until he starts recitation, and the second pause at the time of Ruku’ when he finishes Al-Fatiha and the Surah.
2.
states:
«عن سمره بن جندب قال سكتتان حفظت عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فانكر ذلك عمران بن الحصين فكتبتا الي ابي بن كعب بالمدينه فكتب ان سمره قد حفظ قال سعيد فقلنا لقتاده ما هاتان السكتتان قال اذا دخل فى صلاته و اذا فرغ من القرأه ثم قال بعد و اذا قرأ غير المغضوب عليهم والضالين قال كان يعجبهم اذا فرغ من القرأه ان يسكت حتي يترأ اليه نفسه»
Samrah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I memorized two pauses from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), which Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) denied. The narrator says that we wrote to Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him), and he replied that Samrah indeed memorized them. The narrator Sa’eed says that we asked Qatadah what these two pauses are? He said: when entering the prayer and when finishing the recitation. Then he said that the one who says غير المغضوب عليهم والضالين and they preferred that when finishing the recitation, they remain silent for a short while so that the breath returns to them.
3.
states:
عن عبدالله بن عثمان بن خيثم قال قلت لسعيد بن جبير اقرأ خلف الامام قال نعم و ان سمعت قراءته انهم قد احدثوا ما لم يكونوا يصنعونه ان السلف كان اذا ام احدهم الناس كبر ثم انصت حتي يظن ان من خلفه قد قرأ فاتحة الكتاب ثم قرأ و انصتوا
Narrated from Abdullah bin Uthman bin Khaytham that I asked Sa’eed bin Jubayr: Can I recite behind the Imam? He said: Yes, even if you hear his recitation. They have done a new thing which the Salaf (companions) did not do. Their method was that whoever led the prayer, they would say Takbeer and remain silent until they thought those behind had recited Surah Al-Fatiha, then the Imam would recite, and they would remain silent.
4.
states:
«عن ابي هريره رضى الله عنه قال كل صلاة لا يقرأ فيها بأم الكتاب فهي خداج ثم هي خداج فقال بعض القوم فكيف اذا كان الامام يقرأ قال ابو سلمه للامام سكتتان فاغتنموهما سكته حين يكبر و سكته حين يقول غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين»
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the prayer in which Surah Al-Fatiha is not recited is incomplete and deficient. Someone from the people asked: What should one do when the Imam is reciting? Salmah replied that the Imam has two pauses, benefit from them. One when he says Takbeer al-Tahreemah, and the second when he says غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين.
Benefit: This answer was in front of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), and he did not deny it, so this is also his ruling.
5.
states:
«عن ام سلمه رضي الله عنها قالت ان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقطع قرأته آيه آيه الحمد لله رب العالمين ثم يقف الرحمن الرحيم ثم يقف»
Narrated from Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would separate the verses during recitation. He would pause after saying الحمد لله رب العالمين, then pause after saying الرحمٰن الرحيم.
From these hadiths, it is understood that multiple pauses (saktat) are Sunnah. The first in the first rak’ah after Takbeer al-Tahreemah, then after completing Surah Al-Fatiha, and then after completing the entire recitation, i.e., before Ruku’. Similarly, a slight pause after each verse. In these states, the follower may recite the entire Surah Al-Fatiha or verse by verse as he wishes. The Tabi’een (may Allah have mercy on them) understood from the practice of the Sahabah as mentioned by Sa’eed bin Jubayr and Abu Salmah, and Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) also supported Abu Salmah’s view, and you also mentioned the view of Urwah. Also,
states:
«قال مكحول اقرأ فيما جهر به الامام اذا قرأ بفاتحة الكتاب و سكت سرا فان لم يسكت اقرأ بها قبله و معه و بعده لا تتركها على حال»
Meaning, Makhool says that when the Imam pauses after reciting Surah Al-Fatiha in loud prayer, you should also recite slowly. If he does not pause, then recite before, after, or with him, but never leave it.
You mentioned the practice of the Sahabah from Juz’ al-Qira’ah that when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) paused, they recited behind him, and when he recited, they remained silent. This proves that the Imam must make pauses so that the follower can easily recite Surah Al-Fatiha. The Ahl al-Hadith do not give precedence to hadith over the Quran but consider hadith as the interpretation of the Quran and understand the Quran in its light, which was the practice of the Sahabah. Accordingly,
contains a hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioning the pilgrimage journey of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), including these words:
«رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بين اظهرنا وعليه ينزل القرآن و هو يعرف تأويله و ما عمل من شيء عملنا به»
Meaning, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was among us, and the Quran was being revealed to him, and he alone knew its interpretation, and whatever he practiced, we did the same.
Therefore, the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that there is no prayer without Al-Fatiha is not against the Quran, and the verse ﴿اِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْاٰنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوْا لَهٗ وَ اَنْصِتُوْا﴾ does not prohibit Al-Fatiha; it is general, and the hadiths mention a specific command about Al-Fatiha. Hence, faith requires understanding the command about Al-Fatiha separately. If this verse prohibited Al-Fatiha, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would never have given such a command. Rather, the noble Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them), who were more knowledgeable of the Quran than us, when they heard this command from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for the followers: “When I recite aloud the Quran, do not recite anything except Surah Al-Fatiha, because whoever does not recite Surah Al-Fatiha, his prayer is invalid,” as you also narrated, none of the Sahabah objected by saying that Allah’s Quran commands: “When the Quran is recited, listen to it and remain silent so that mercy may be upon you.” How can we then violate both Quranic commands by neither listening nor remaining silent? No one raised this concern because they understood that this Quranic command does not prohibit Al-Fatiha; otherwise, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would not have commanded it. Consider another example.
narrates from Abu Sa’id bin Mu’alla that:
قال كنت اصلي فدعاني النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فلم اجبه قلت يا رسول الله اني كنت اصلي قال ألم يقل الله ﴿اسْتَجِيْبُوْا لِلّٰهِ وَ لِلرَّسُوْلِ اِذَا دَعَاكُمْ﴾
Meaning, I was praying when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called me, but I did not respond. Then I excused myself saying: O Messenger of Allah, I was praying (meaning one should remain silent in prayer). He (peace be upon him) said: Did Allah not say that you should respond to Allah and His Messenger whenever He calls you?
And
also contains a similar incident of Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him):
عن ابي هريره رضى الله عنه ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خرج على ابي بن كعب فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يا ابي و هو يصلي فالتفت ابي و لم يجبه و صلى ابي فخفف ثم انصرف الي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال السلام عليك يا رسول الله فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم و عليكم السلام ما منعك يا ابي ان تجيبني اذ دعوتك فقال يا رسول الله اني كنت فى الصلاة قال ألم تجد فيما اوحي الله الي ان استجيبوا لله وللرسول اذا دعاكم لما يحييكم قال بلي و لا اعود ان شاء الله
Narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went towards Ubayy bin Ka’b and called him while he was praying, but he did not respond. Then he finished the prayer lightly and came to him and greeted him, and he replied. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: When I called you, who prevented you from responding? He said: I was praying. He said: In the revelation that came to me, there is no command that you should respond to Allah and His Messenger whenever He calls you. He said: O Messenger of Allah, I will not do that again.
Obviously, this verse does not mention prayer, but since these people believed that he alone knew the Quran and it must be understood in light of his teachings, despite knowing that talking or responding in prayer is not allowed, they misunderstood their understanding and vowed not to do so again. Many such examples can be found in hadith. فيما نحن فيه should be understood similarly. If the Quran explicitly prohibited a specific Surah Al-Fatiha, then there would be a contradiction between the Quran and hadith, but it is a general command, and the hadith contains explicit and specific commands, so it is an explanation of the Quran, not contradictory or opposing.
You yourself quoted from “Fawa’id Sattariyyah” that “Initially, people used to talk during prayer.” This itself proves that although the verse is accepted regarding prayer, it is not about recitation but about talking, so there is no question of contradiction. The full text in
is: “People used to talk in prayer, so this verse was revealed prohibiting talking.” Hence, the decision is that the verse prohibits talking, not reciting Al-Fatiha, and the hadith commands reciting Al-Fatiha, not talking. Therefore, there is no contradiction. The accusation against Ahl al-Hadith that they give precedence to hadith over the Quran based on their understanding is incorrect. The obligation to recite during pauses is متضمن, meaning the Imam must make pauses. و ما لا يتم الواجب الا به واجب Therefore, the follower can complete Surah Al-Fatiha during the Imam’s pauses, before, in between, or at the end, throughout the standing until Ruku’.
Additionally, another issue is that in loud prayer, it is prohibited to recite anything behind the Imam except Al-Fatiha, not Al-Fatiha itself, because the words, as you quoted from Abu Dawood and Dar Qutni, are:
فلا تقرؤوا بشيء من القرآن اذا جهرت الا بأم القرآن فانه لا صلاة لمن لم يقرأ بها
And it is very clear from اذا جهرت. Also,
states:
قال هل تقرؤون فى الصلاة معي قلنا نعم قال فلا تفعلوا الا بفاتحة الكتاب
Meaning, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Do you recite along with me in prayer? We said: Yes! He said: Do not recite anything except Al-Fatiha.
It is proven that there is no objection to reciting Al-Fatiha. However, the command is to recite during pauses. If the opportunity does not arise, still do not leave Al-Fatiha; it must be recited in all cases, as the statement of Makhool the Tabi’i passed and this is the requirement of the hadith’s wording.
و ما لا يدريك كله لا يثترك كله
والله يقول الحق وهو يهدي السبيل
