Source: Fatāwā Amaanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri
What is the ruling on saying Āmīn aloud (Āmīn bil-Jahr) in prayer?
In audible prayers (jahriyyah), it is Sunnah for both the Imām and the followers (maqtadīs) to say Āmīn aloud. This practice is supported by mutawātir aḥādīth, the reports of the Companions, and the explicit statements of the leading ḥadīth scholars.
❀ Sayyiduna Wā’il ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه) said:
“I heard the Prophet (ﷺ). After reciting ﴿غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾ he said Āmīn aloud.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 248, Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 1/334, Ḥadīth 1269, Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī: 586 — with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
❀ ‘Ikrimah, the freed slave of Ibn ‘Abbās (رحمه الله), reported:
“I met the people (Companions) and they would say Āmīn in the mosques such that their voices would resound, when the Imām recited: ﴿غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾.”
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/425 — chain is ḥasan)
❀ Imām Muslim (رحمه الله, d. 261 AH) said:
“The narrations on this matter are mutawātir that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Āmīn aloud. The ḥadīth of Sayyiduna Wā’il ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه) indicates this explicitly.”
(al-Tamyīz, p. 181)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله, d. 456 AH) wrote:
“There are mutawātir aḥādīth from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that when he was leading prayer, he said Āmīn in such a way that the followers heard him. This was also the practice of the Salaf.”
(al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār: 2/294)
The authentic Sunnah is to say Āmīn aloud in the audible prayers. This is the way of the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and the righteous predecessors.
❀ Live with love for the Sunnah — therein lies success in both worlds. Rejecting the Sunnah under the guise of sectarian bias is true misfortune.
Question:
What is the ruling on saying Āmīn aloud (Āmīn bil-Jahr) in prayer?
Answer:
In audible prayers (jahriyyah), it is Sunnah for both the Imām and the followers (maqtadīs) to say Āmīn aloud. This practice is supported by mutawātir aḥādīth, the reports of the Companions, and the explicit statements of the leading ḥadīth scholars.
❀ Sayyiduna Wā’il ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه) said:
“I heard the Prophet (ﷺ). After reciting ﴿غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾ he said Āmīn aloud.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 248, Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 1/334, Ḥadīth 1269, Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī: 586 — with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
- Imām al-Tirmidhī and Ḥāfiẓ al-Baghawī (رحمهما الله) graded it ḥasan.
- Imām al-Dāraquṭnī (رحمه الله) graded it ṣaḥīḥ (1267).
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) in I‘lām al-Muwaqqi‘īn (2/396) and Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) in Taghlīq al-Ta‘līq (1/236) also authenticated its chain.
❀ ‘Ikrimah, the freed slave of Ibn ‘Abbās (رحمه الله), reported:
“I met the people (Companions) and they would say Āmīn in the mosques such that their voices would resound, when the Imām recited: ﴿غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾.”
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/425 — chain is ḥasan)
❀ Imām Muslim (رحمه الله, d. 261 AH) said:
“The narrations on this matter are mutawātir that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Āmīn aloud. The ḥadīth of Sayyiduna Wā’il ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه) indicates this explicitly.”
(al-Tamyīz, p. 181)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله, d. 456 AH) wrote:
“There are mutawātir aḥādīth from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that when he was leading prayer, he said Āmīn in such a way that the followers heard him. This was also the practice of the Salaf.”
(al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār: 2/294)
Conclusion:
The authentic Sunnah is to say Āmīn aloud in the audible prayers. This is the way of the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and the righteous predecessors.
❀ Live with love for the Sunnah — therein lies success in both worlds. Rejecting the Sunnah under the guise of sectarian bias is true misfortune.
