Authenticity of the Hadith “The Imam’s Recitation Is the Follower’s Recitation”

Question:
What is the authenticity of the narration: “Whoever has an Imam, the recitation of the Imam is his recitation”?


Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri

✿ Answer:​

The narration:


Arabic Text:
من كان له إمام فقراءة الإمام له قراءة
Translation:
“Whoever has an Imam (leading him in prayer), the recitation of the Imam is sufficient for him.”


This narration has been transmitted through several chains, but all of them are weak (ḍaʿīf). Below is a summary of scholarly evaluations:


① Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله (d. 256 AH) said:


هذا خبر لم يثبت عند أهل العلم من أهل الحجاز وأهل العراق وغيرهم لإرساله وانقطاعه
“This report is not established among the scholars of Ḥijāz, ʿIrāq, and others, due to its being mursal (missing the Companion) and munqaṭiʿ (disconnected).”
(Juzʾ al-Qirāʾah, p. 8)


② ʿAllāmah Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله (d. 453 AH) declared the narration:


ساقط — “Invalid and baseless.”
(Al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār: 2/273)


③ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله (d. 597 AH) wrote:


هذا حديث لا يصح ولهذا الحديث طرق ليس فيها ما يثبت
“This ḥadīth is not authentic. It has several chains, but none of them are reliable.”
(Al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah: 1/431)


④ Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676 AH) classified it as weak (ḍaʿīf).
(Khilāṣat al-Aḥkām: 1/377)


⑤ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله (d. 852 AH) stated:


حديث ضعيف عند الحفاظ
“This ḥadīth is weak according to the experts of ḥadīth.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/242)


He also said:


له طرق عن جماعة من الصحابة وكلها معلولة
“It is transmitted through several Companions, but all its chains are defective.”
(Al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1/569)


⑥ ʿAllāmah Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 792 AH) wrote:


من طرق، كلها ضعاف
“This narration has many chains, but all of them are weak.”
(Al-Tanbīh ʿalā Mushkilāt al-Hidāyah: 2/592)


⑦ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله (d. 748 AH) said:


الجميع من الدارقطني واهية
“All the chains recorded by Imām al-Dāraqutnī are weak.”
(Tanqīḥ al-Taḥqīq: 1/155)


⑧ ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751 AH) considered it weak.
(Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/235)


⑨ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774 AH) said:


قد روي هذا الحديث من طرق، ولا يصح شيء منها عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم
“This ḥadīth has been reported through several routes, but none of them are authentic from the Prophet ﷺ.”
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 1/109)


⑩ ʿAllāmah al-Manāwī رحمه الله (d. 1031 AH) wrote:


الحديث ضعيف من سائر طرقه
“This ḥadīth is weak from all its routes.”
(Fayḍ al-Qadīr: 6/208)


⑪ ʿAllāmah al-Sindhī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 1138 AH) also graded it weak.
(Ḥāshiyah al-Sindhī ʿalā Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1/278)


⑫ Amīr al-Ṣanʿānī رحمه الله (d. 1182 AH) likewise declared it weak.
(Al-Tanwīr Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr: 10/370)

Conclusion:​

The narration “Whoever has an Imam, the recitation of the Imam is his recitation” is not authentic.
It has multiple chains, but all are weak, disconnected, or defective.
Therefore, it cannot be used as evidence to prohibit the follower (muqtadī) from reciting Surah Al-Fātiḥah behind the Imam.