Written by: Abul Rayan Naeem ur Rahman
Several authentic and good narrations about saying "Ameen" aloud are listed below:
This means that the Prophet (peace be upon him), after reciting 'Wala ad-Daalleen', would say 'Ameen' and raise his voice with it. [Sunan Abi Dawood, Volume 141, 142, Hadith: 932, Chapter on Saying Ameen behind the Imam]
This narration is also found in Musnad al-Darimi [Vol. 1, Page 284, Hadith: 1250] with the phrase "and he would raise his voice," and the translation is written accordingly.
➋ Sufyan bin Said al-Thawri is a central narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and needs no introduction. A discussion on his tadlees (deliberate omission in the chain) follows later.
➌ Salamah bin Kuhail is a central and trustworthy narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. [Taqreeb, Page 202]
➍ Hajr Abi Al-Anbas is considered trustworthy. [Al-Kashif by Al-Dhahabi, Vol. 1, Page 150] He has been declared reliable by Khateeb Baghdadi and others.
➎ Wa'il bin Hajar is a well-known Companion.
It is evident that this Hadith is authentic, praise be to Allah.
Answer:
➊ Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding Sufyan bin Said al-Thawri:"I do not know of Sufyan al-Thawri from Habib bin Abi Thabit, nor from Salamah bin Kuhail, nor from Mansur and mentioned many scholars; I do not know of Sufyan from these doing tadlees (it is) very little tadlees." [Al-Ilal al-Tirmidhi al-Kabir, Vol. 2, Page 966]Meaning, Sufyan al-Thawri did not practice tadlees from Salamah bin Kuhail.
➋ In the view of the followers of Taqlid (adherence to a school), tadlees here is not harmful.Zafar Ahmad Thanwi Deobandi said:"Tadlees and transmission of the three generations does not harm us." [I'la al-Sunan, Vol. 1, Page 313]
➌ Sufyan al-Thawri is the primary narrator of the Hadith attributed to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the abandonment of raising hands and he narrates it from him. What do Deobandi and Barelvi scholars think about Sufyan's tadlees here? Also see "Gift to Ahl al-Hadith" Part Two by Abubilal Muhammad Ismail Jhangvi Deobandi [Pages 154, 155].
Due to brevity, other answers, such as the narration from Yahya bin Sa'id al-Qattan to Sufyan al-Thawri, are omitted. Alaa bin Saleh is not in our chain of narration, and calling Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Abdi weak is rejected as mentioned earlier. It is crucial to consider a narrator's teachers and students for identification. In a narration, Imam Abu Dawood said:"Narrated to us by Muhammad bin Kathir from Sufyan about Mansur," to which Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri Deobandi said:"Narrated to us Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Abdi, Abu Abdullah Al-Basri... Ibn Ma'in did not consider him trustworthy, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy, and Ahmad bin Hanbal said: Trustworthy." [Effort of the Major Jihad, Vol. 1, Page 139, Hadith 55]
Ibn Ma'in's criticism is rejected as previously mentioned.The practice of the Companions and the lack of evidence from opponents on saying "Ameen" aloud indicate that this Hadith provides continuous evidence. Praise be to Allah.The criticism of Alaa bin Saleh is also rejected, and the majority of scholars have deemed him trustworthy, making his Hadith good in itself.
In support of these narrations, it is noted that one of the reasons for this envy is the Muslims' practice of saying "Ameen" loudly behind the Imam in prescribed prayers ["Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib", Vol. 1, pp. 328-329, "said: With a good chain", "Majma' al-Zawa'id", Vol. 2, p. 113, "said: Its chain is good"].
In light of these narrations, it is evident that Imam Muslim's claim that "The Prophet’s practice of saying 'Ameen' loudly is established through numerous authentic hadiths" is indeed correct. The objections presented by others are unclear, weak, unsourced, and therefore rejected when compared to the authentic and recurrent narrations.
In summary, it is clear that the practice of saying "Ameen" aloud during congregational prayers is well-established through authentic narrations and the consensus of the Companions, and any dissenting views or weak narrations are to be disregarded.
Several authentic and good narrations about saying "Ameen" aloud are listed below:
First Hadith:
❀ Imam Abu Dawood (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Narrated to us by Muhammad bin Kathir: Informed us Sufyan from Salamah from Hajr Abi Al-Anbas Al-Hadrami from Wa'il bin Hajar who said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recited 'Wala ad-Daalleen' (not the path of those who have gone astray), he would say 'Ameen' and raise his voice."This means that the Prophet (peace be upon him), after reciting 'Wala ad-Daalleen', would say 'Ameen' and raise his voice with it. [Sunan Abi Dawood, Volume 141, 142, Hadith: 932, Chapter on Saying Ameen behind the Imam]
This narration is also found in Musnad al-Darimi [Vol. 1, Page 284, Hadith: 1250] with the phrase "and he would raise his voice," and the translation is written accordingly.
Introduction to the Chain of Narrators:
➊ Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Abdi Al-Basri, a narrator of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim:◈ He has over sixty [60] narrations in Sahih Bukhari. [Key to Sahih Bukhari 156]◈ His narration is present in Sahih Muslim [Vol. 2, Page 244, Hadith 2269, Book of Dreams, Chapter in the Interpretation of Dreams].◈ Criticism by Imam Yahya bin Ma'in is rejected. Ibn Hajar said he is trustworthy and those who weakened him are incorrect [Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb, Page 468].◈ The criticism by Ibn Ma'in pertains to Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Masisi, who is a different individual. [Footnote of Mizan al-I'tidal, Vol. 4, Page 18] Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Abdi's reliability is confirmed by Abu Dawood Al-Hafari [Sunan al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi, Vol. 4, Page 57] and Al-Firyabi [Sunan Dar Qutni, Vol. 1, Page 333], praise be to Allah.➋ Sufyan bin Said al-Thawri is a central narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and needs no introduction. A discussion on his tadlees (deliberate omission in the chain) follows later.
➌ Salamah bin Kuhail is a central and trustworthy narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. [Taqreeb, Page 202]
➍ Hajr Abi Al-Anbas is considered trustworthy. [Al-Kashif by Al-Dhahabi, Vol. 1, Page 150] He has been declared reliable by Khateeb Baghdadi and others.
➎ Wa'il bin Hajar is a well-known Companion.
It is evident that this Hadith is authentic, praise be to Allah.
An Objection:
Primary Master: Muhammad Amin Safdar Okarvi Deobandi, wrote: "The Hadith of Sayyiduna Wa'il bin Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him), as presented from Abu Dawood, is neither authentic nor clear because it includes Sufyan who is known for tadlees, Alaa bin Saleh who is Shia, and Muhammad bin Kathir who is weak." [Collection of Essays, Vol. 3, Page 331, First Edition, Non-Muqallidin's Unauthorized Prayer, Reference Number 87, Manifestations of Safdar, Vol. 5, Page 470]Answer:
➊ Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding Sufyan bin Said al-Thawri:"I do not know of Sufyan al-Thawri from Habib bin Abi Thabit, nor from Salamah bin Kuhail, nor from Mansur and mentioned many scholars; I do not know of Sufyan from these doing tadlees (it is) very little tadlees." [Al-Ilal al-Tirmidhi al-Kabir, Vol. 2, Page 966]Meaning, Sufyan al-Thawri did not practice tadlees from Salamah bin Kuhail.
➋ In the view of the followers of Taqlid (adherence to a school), tadlees here is not harmful.Zafar Ahmad Thanwi Deobandi said:"Tadlees and transmission of the three generations does not harm us." [I'la al-Sunan, Vol. 1, Page 313]
➌ Sufyan al-Thawri is the primary narrator of the Hadith attributed to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the abandonment of raising hands and he narrates it from him. What do Deobandi and Barelvi scholars think about Sufyan's tadlees here? Also see "Gift to Ahl al-Hadith" Part Two by Abubilal Muhammad Ismail Jhangvi Deobandi [Pages 154, 155].
Due to brevity, other answers, such as the narration from Yahya bin Sa'id al-Qattan to Sufyan al-Thawri, are omitted. Alaa bin Saleh is not in our chain of narration, and calling Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Abdi weak is rejected as mentioned earlier. It is crucial to consider a narrator's teachers and students for identification. In a narration, Imam Abu Dawood said:"Narrated to us by Muhammad bin Kathir from Sufyan about Mansur," to which Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri Deobandi said:"Narrated to us Muhammad bin Kathir Al-Abdi, Abu Abdullah Al-Basri... Ibn Ma'in did not consider him trustworthy, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy, and Ahmad bin Hanbal said: Trustworthy." [Effort of the Major Jihad, Vol. 1, Page 139, Hadith 55]
Ibn Ma'in's criticism is rejected as previously mentioned.The practice of the Companions and the lack of evidence from opponents on saying "Ameen" aloud indicate that this Hadith provides continuous evidence. Praise be to Allah.The criticism of Alaa bin Saleh is also rejected, and the majority of scholars have deemed him trustworthy, making his Hadith good in itself.
Second Hadith:
❀ Imam Ibn Majah al-Qazwini said:Narrated to us by Ishaq bin Mansur: Informed us Abdus Samad bin Abdul Warith: Narrated to us Hammad bin Salamah: Narrated to us Suhail bin Abi Saleh from his father from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) from the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said about what the Jews envied you for, "They envied you for nothing as much as they did for your greeting of peace and saying Ameen [after the Imam]." [Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Page 278, Hadith 856]This was deemed authentic by both Mundhiri (died 656 AH) and Busiri in their works [Encouragement and Intimidation, Vol. 1, Page 368 and Supplements to Sunan Ibn Majah by Busiri].Introduction to the Chain of Narrators
- Ishaq bin Mansur bin Bahram al-Kosaj, Abu Ya'qub al-Tamimi al-Marwazi, Resident of Nishapur: He is a narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and is considered reliable and established [Tahdhib al-Kamal by al-Mizzi, Vol. 2, pp. 74-75, Taqreeb, p. 38].
- Abdus Samad bin Abdul Warith bin Said al-Anbari: A narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, known as truthful and established in the chain. However, Abdul Baqi bin Qani' (who is considered weak) criticized him as 'reliable but makes mistakes' [Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, Vol. 6, p. 292]. This criticism is rejected.
- Hammad bin Salamah: A narrator in Sahih Muslim, considered trustworthy by the majority of scholars. Any criticism against him is rejected. The narration by Abdus Samad from Hammad is found in Sahih Muslim [Book of Jihad, Chapter on the Recommendation of Supplication When Meeting the Enemy, Hadith 1743], proving that Abdus Samad's hearing from Hammad was before any confusion or alteration occurred. See [Introduction by Ibn al-Salah with explanation by al-Iraqi, p. 366, Type: 26]. Therefore, any claims of alteration are also rejected. Khalid bin Abdullah al-Tahan also narrates this hadith from Suhail [Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Vol. 1, p. 288, Hadith 574].
- Suhail bin Abi Saleh: A narrator in Sahih Muslim, considered truthful though he became forgetful later. Bukhari has narrated from him, both connectedly and as detached reports [Taqreeb, p. 215]. The narration by Hammad bin Salamah from Suhail is present in Sahih Muslim [Book of Piety and Maintaining Good Relations, Chapter on Prohibiting Saying 'People are doomed', Hadith 2623], which proves that Hammad's hearing from Suhail was before any forgetfulness affected him. Hence, any criticism related to his later forgetfulness is rejected here.
- Abu Salih Dhakwan: A narrator in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, considered reliable and established [Taqreeb, p. 151].
- Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): A well-known Companion.
Third Hadith
❀ Narrated by Khateeb Baghdadi in his history [11/43] and Ziya' al-Maqdisi in "Al-Mukhtarah" [5/107, Hadith 17129, 1730] from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:"Indeed, the Jews are envious of you regarding the greeting of peace (Salam) and saying Ameen."This hadith's chain is considered authentic, and all its narrators are deemed trustworthy and truthful.In support of these narrations, it is noted that one of the reasons for this envy is the Muslims' practice of saying "Ameen" loudly behind the Imam in prescribed prayers ["Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib", Vol. 1, pp. 328-329, "said: With a good chain", "Majma' al-Zawa'id", Vol. 2, p. 113, "said: Its chain is good"].
In light of these narrations, it is evident that Imam Muslim's claim that "The Prophet’s practice of saying 'Ameen' loudly is established through numerous authentic hadiths" is indeed correct. The objections presented by others are unclear, weak, unsourced, and therefore rejected when compared to the authentic and recurrent narrations.
In summary, it is clear that the practice of saying "Ameen" aloud during congregational prayers is well-established through authentic narrations and the consensus of the Companions, and any dissenting views or weak narrations are to be disregarded.