Saying Rabbana wa lakal-ḥamd Aloud or Quietly After Rukūʿ – Hadith-Based Ruling
Source: Fatāwā Rāshidiyyah, p. 285
❖ Question:
When the imam says “Samiʿallāhu liman ḥamidah”, should the followers (muqtadīs) say “Rabbana wa lakal-ḥamd ḥamdan kathīran ṭayyiban mubārakan fīh” aloud or quietly?
Some Ahl-e-Ḥadīth scholars argue, based on a hadith, that during the Prophet’s ﷺ time a Companion said these words aloud, after which the Prophet ﷺ stated that over thirty angels hastened to record them. They deduce from this that saying these words aloud is preferable. Is this reasoning correct?
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد!
- The correct and balanced view is that these words should be recited quietly by the followers.
- If someone occasionally says them aloud, there is no harm, but making it a regular practice or considering it superior is not established.
✿ Evidence and Reasoning
- Practice of the Companions رضي الله عنهم
- Generally, the Companions used to say “Rabbana wa lakal-ḥamd” quietly.
- The fact that the Prophet ﷺ asked: “من المتكلم آنفاً؟” (“Who just said these words?”) indicates that saying them aloud was unusual.
- If it had been common practice, the question would not have been asked.
- Lack of Consistent Reports
- After this incident, there is no report in the entire hadith corpus that the Companions regularly began saying these words aloud.
- On the contrary, narrations confirm that they said Āmīn aloud after Sūrah al-Fātiḥah — to the extent that the mosque would echo. But no such description exists for “Rabbana wa lakal-ḥamd.”
- This proves that raising the voice was not a consistent practice.
- Purpose of the Hadith
- The hadith highlights the immense reward of these words, not the manner (aloud vs. quietly) of recitation.
- The Companion’s unique state of devotion led to angels competing to record his words, but the Prophet ﷺ did not command the others to repeat this aloud.
✿ Supporting Incidents
① Narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – A man joined the prayer breathless and instead of the opening duʿā, said aloud:
“Al-ḥamdu lillāhi ḥamdan kathīran ṭayyiban mubārakan fīh.”
The Prophet ﷺ later asked who said it and praised the words.
➡ If this narration is used to prove loud recitation after rukūʿ, it would also prove that the duʿā al-istiftāḥ (opening supplication) should be read aloud — yet no scholar has ever said this.
② Narration of Rifāʿah ibn Rāfiʿ رضي الله عنه (Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī):
After sneezing in prayer, he said aloud:
“Al-ḥamdu lillāhi ḥamdan kathīran ṭayyiban mubārakan fīh mubārakan ʿalayh, kamā yuḥibbu rabbunā wa yarḍā.”
The Prophet ﷺ later praised his words and informed him that more than thirty angels competed to record them.
➡ Yet, no scholar deduced from this that such words should be said aloud whenever sneezing occurs in prayer.
Conclusion
- The hadiths highlight the virtue of the words but do not prescribe loud recitation.
- The Companions’ general practice was to recite quietly.
- Therefore, it is better and preferred to say “Rabbana wa lakal-ḥamd” quietly.
- If one occasionally says it aloud, there is no sin, but making it a practice or considering it superior has no basis.
