Question:
“فانتهى الناس عن القراءة” – Ḥadīth or an Inserted Statement (Mudraj)?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Answer:
The first part of the narration is authentic; however, the concluding phrase “فانتهى الناس عن القراءة، فيما جهر به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم” is not part of the ḥadīth. Rather, it is an inserted statement (idraj) from Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله.
Its meaning is that after this incident, the Companions رضي الله عنهم stopped reciting (other Qur’ān) after Sūrat al-Fātiḥah in the loud prayers. It cannot be used as proof that recitation of al-Fātiḥah behind the Imām should be abandoned.
قال الزهري: قال أبو هريرة: فانتهى الناس
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said: People refrained (from reciting after al-Fātiḥah in loud prayers).
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 827)
This statement is munqaṭiʿ (disconnected), since Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله did not meet Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه. Imām Maʿmar رحمه الله explicitly declared these words as Zuhrī’s idrāj.
(Musnad Imām Aḥmad, 7270)
Scholarly Opinions:
❀ Imām Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Dhuhlī رحمه الله
قوله: فانتهى الناس من كلام الزهري
“The phrase ‘فانتهى الناس’ is the statement of al-Zuhrī.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 827)
❀ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله (241 AH)
الذي نرى أن قوله: فانتهى الناس عن القراءة أنه قول الزهري
“In our view, the words ‘فانتهى الناس عن القراءة’ are the words of al-Zuhrī.”
(Masāʾil Aḥmad – narration of his son Ṣāliḥ, 2/282)
❀ Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله (256 AH)
قوله: فانتهى الناس من كلام الزهري
“The phrase ‘فانتهى الناس’ is the statement of al-Zuhrī.”
(Juzʾ al-Qirāʾah Khalfa al-Imām, 68)
❀ Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī رحمه الله (463 AH)
الصحيح أنه كلام ابن شهاب الزهري
“The correct view is that it is the statement of Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī.”
(al-Faṣl lil-Waṣl, 1/292)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Nawawī رحمه الله (676 AH)
إن قوله: فانتهى الناس عن القراءة إلى آخره ليست من الحديث، بل هي من كلام الزهري مدرجة فيه، هذا متفق عليه عند الحفاظ...
“The phrase ‘فانتهى الناس عن القراءة’ to the end is not from the ḥadīth, but rather it is an inserted statement of al-Zuhrī. This is agreed upon by the ḥadīth masters—early and later—including al-Awzāʿī, Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Dhuhlī, al-Bukhārī, Abū Dāwūd, al-Khaṭṭābī, al-Bayhaqī and others.”
(Khilāṣat al-Aḥkām, 1/378)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله (852 AH)
قوله: فانتهى الناس عن القراءة إلى آخره مدرج فى الخبر من كلام الزهري...
“The phrase ‘فانتهى الناس عن القراءة’ to the end is an idrāj within the report from the words of al-Zuhrī. This was clarified by Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī and agreed upon by al-Bukhārī, Abū Dāwūd, Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān, al-Dhuhlī, al-Khaṭṭābī and others.”
(al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr, 1/565)
Conclusion:The phrase “فانتهى الناس عن القراءة” is not part of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement; rather, it is the idrāj of Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله.
