Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Can a person praying alone (munfarid) recite aloud during prayer?
Yes, he may recite aloud.
“The Prophet ﷺ went out one night and passed by Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه while he was praying in a low voice. Then he passed by ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, who was praying in a loud voice.
When both came before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said:
‘Abū Bakr, I passed by you while you were praying in a low voice.’
He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I was making my supplication to the One who hears me.’
Then he ﷺ said to ʿUmar: ‘I passed by you while you were praying aloud.’
He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I was waking up the sleepers and driving away Shayṭān.’
The Prophet ﷺ said:
‘Abū Bakr, raise your voice a little, and ʿUmar, lower your voice a little.’”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1329; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 447 – chain ḥasan)
Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1161) and Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (no. 733) declared this ḥadīth ṣaḥīḥ.
Imām al-Ḥākim (1/310) authenticated it on the condition of Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī agreed.
The Prophet ﷺ said to Bilāl رضي الله عنه:
“I heard you reciting some verses from one sūrah and some from another.”
Bilāl replied: “O Messenger of Allah, all of Allah’s words are pure and excellent; Allah combines them as He wills.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “That is correct.”
“While the Prophet ﷺ was observing iʿtikāf in the mosque, he saw some people reciting Qur’an aloud. He ﷺ lifted the curtain of his tent and said:
‘You are all privately conversing with your Lord, so do not disturb one another. Let not one raise his voice over another in recitation or prayer.’”
(Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 4216; Musnad Aḥmad: 3/94; Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1332; Faḍā’il al-Qur’ān by al-Nasā’ī: 117 – chain ṣaḥīḥ)
Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 2116) graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
Imām al-Ḥākim (1/311) declared it ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī concurred.
❖ Question:
Can a person praying alone (munfarid) recite aloud during prayer?
✿ Answer:
Yes, he may recite aloud.
✿ Evidence from the Sunnah:
① Sayyidunā Abū Qatādah رضي الله عنه narrated:
“The Prophet ﷺ went out one night and passed by Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه while he was praying in a low voice. Then he passed by ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, who was praying in a loud voice.
When both came before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said:
‘Abū Bakr, I passed by you while you were praying in a low voice.’
He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I was making my supplication to the One who hears me.’
Then he ﷺ said to ʿUmar: ‘I passed by you while you were praying aloud.’
He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I was waking up the sleepers and driving away Shayṭān.’
The Prophet ﷺ said:
‘Abū Bakr, raise your voice a little, and ʿUmar, lower your voice a little.’”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1329; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 447 – chain ḥasan)
Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1161) and Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (no. 733) declared this ḥadīth ṣaḥīḥ.
Imām al-Ḥākim (1/310) authenticated it on the condition of Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī agreed.
② In another narration (Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1330 – chain ḥasan):
The Prophet ﷺ said to Bilāl رضي الله عنه:
“I heard you reciting some verses from one sūrah and some from another.”
Bilāl replied: “O Messenger of Allah, all of Allah’s words are pure and excellent; Allah combines them as He wills.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “That is correct.”
③ Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه narrated:
“While the Prophet ﷺ was observing iʿtikāf in the mosque, he saw some people reciting Qur’an aloud. He ﷺ lifted the curtain of his tent and said:
‘You are all privately conversing with your Lord, so do not disturb one another. Let not one raise his voice over another in recitation or prayer.’”
(Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 4216; Musnad Aḥmad: 3/94; Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1332; Faḍā’il al-Qur’ān by al-Nasā’ī: 117 – chain ṣaḥīḥ)
Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 2116) graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
Imām al-Ḥākim (1/311) declared it ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī concurred.
✿ Conclusion:
- A person praying alone (munfarid) may recite aloud (jahri) in the prayers in which the Qur’an is usually recited aloud — such as Fajr, Maghrib, and ʿIshā’.
- However, he should not disturb others who are also engaged in worship, Qur’an recitation, or rest.
