Authenticity of the Hadith “The Imam Should Recite Taʿawwudh, Basmala, and Āmīn Quietly”

Question:
What is the authenticity of the narration: “The Imam should recite Taʿawwudh, Basmala, and Āmīn quietly”?


Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri

✿ Answer:​

The narration attributed to Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه states:


Arabic Text:
يخفي الإمام ثلاثا، التعوذ وبسم الله وآمين
Translation:
“The Imam should recite three things quietly: Taʿawwudh (Aʿūdhu billāh), Bismillāh (In the Name of Allah), and Āmīn.”
(Al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār by Ibn Ḥazm: 2/280, Issue no. 363)

❀ Analysis of Authenticity:​

The chain of narration is weak (ḍaʿīf).
The narrator Abū Ḥamzah al-Aʿwar al-Qaṣṣāb has been consistently declared weak by the scholars of ḥadīth.


① ʿAllāmah al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله wrote:


هو متفق على ضعفه
“There is a consensus on his weakness.”
(ʿUmdat al-Qārī: 8/237)


② Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:


ضعيف وذاهب الحديث
“He is weak and his narrations are discarded.”
(Al-ʿIlal al-Kabīr by al-Tirmidhī: 322)


③ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله also called him weak in hadith.
(Al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl: 4528)


He has been criticized by other major authorities as well, including Imām al-Tirmidhī, al-ʿUqaylī, Abū Ḥātim, and Ibn Ḥibbān رحمههم الله.


④ Imām Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله stated:


“It is impossible to find a reliable corroboration for his narration from Ibrāhīm (al-Nakhaʿī).”
(Al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl: 8/156)


This narration also passes through Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, who was a known mudallis (one who conceals narrators), making the report even weaker.

❀ Additional Note:​

It is also reported (in Al-Bināyah fī Sharḥ al-Bidāyah by al-ʿAynī 2/226 and Al-Muḥallā 2/280) that:


Arabic Text:
إن عمر بن الخطاب قال: يخفي الإمام أربعا، التعوذ، وبسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، وآمين، وربنا لك الحمد
Translation:
“ʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said: The Imam should recite four things quietly — Taʿawwudh, Bismillāh, Āmīn, and Rabbana laka al-ḥamd.”


However, this statement is without any chain of narration (bila isnād) and thus has no reliability or weight in scholarly evaluation.

Conclusion:​

• The narration “The Imam should recite Taʿawwudh, Bismillāh, and Āmīn quietly” is weak due to unreliable narrators, especially Abū Ḥamzah al-Aʿwar.
• The additional report attributed to ʿUmar رضي الله عنه is unsupported by any chain and cannot be considered evidence.
• Therefore, no authentic hadith establishes that the Imam must recite Taʿawwudh, Basmala, or Āmīn silently