Authenticity of the Hadith “When the Imam Recites, Remain Silent”

Question:
What is the authenticity of the Hadith: “When the Imam recites (the Qur’an), you should remain silent”?


Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri

✿ Answer:​

Sayyidunā Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:


Arabic Text:
إذا قرأ فأنصتوا
Translation:
“When the Imam recites, remain silent.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Muʿallaqan, under Hadith no. 404)

✿ Analysis of Authenticity:​

• In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, this narration is muʿallaq (suspended) — meaning, its complete chain of narration (isnād) has not been mentioned. Therefore, it does not meet the standard of the Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim criteria for authentic (musnad) ḥadīth.
• The wording of this narration — “When the Imam recites, remain silent” — is not firmly established (ghayr maḥfūẓ).
  The narrator made an error or confusion (wahm wa takhlīṭ) in these words.
• The great Imams of ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth (experts of hidden defects in hadith) have classified these particular words as mistaken (khaṭāʾ).
• Even if the wording were assumed authentic, it would apply to the recitation after Surah Al-Fātiḥah — not to the recitation of Al-Fātiḥah itself.

Conclusion:
The Hadith “When the Imam recites, remain silent” is not authentic in its chain as recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, since it is muʿallaq and not established according to the book’s criteria.
Moreover, the phrase itself is considered an error by the leading scholars of hadith criticism, and even under the assumption of its authenticity, it refers to remaining silent during the Imam’s recitation after Surah Al-Fātiḥah.