Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the meaning of the narration:
“People refrained from reciting behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the audible prayers”?
Sayyidunā Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ once led the Fajr prayer. After completing it with salām, he said:
هل قرأ معي منكم أحد؟
“Did any of you recite (Qur’ān) along with me?”
A man replied: “Yes, I did.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إني أقول: ما بالي أنازع القرآن؟
“I wonder, why am I being contended with in the recitation of the Qur’ān?”
(Musnad al-Ḥumaydī: 983 – chain is authentic)
At the end of this ḥadīth, there is an additional statement:
فانتهى الناس عن القراءة، فيما جهر به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
“Then people stopped reciting behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the audible prayers.”
This addition is a madrāj (inserted statement) from Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله, not part of the Prophet’s ﷺ words. Its meaning is that after hearing this ḥadīth, the Companions رضي الله عنهم stopped reciting after Sūrah al-Fātiḥah in the audible prayers.
Hence, using this as evidence to prove that al-Fātiḥah itself should not be recited behind the Imām is incorrect.
Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله said:
قال الزهري: قال أبو هريرة: فانتهى الناس.
“Al-Zuhrī said: Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه said — people stopped (reciting behind the Imām in audible prayers).”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, under ḥadīth: 827)
This statement is munqaṭiʿ (disconnected) because Imām al-Zuhrī did not meet Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه; thus, the chain is incomplete.
ليس فى هذا الحديث ما يدخل على من رأى القراءة خلف الإمام، لأن أبا هريرة هو الذى روى عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم هذا الحديث.
“This ḥadīth contains no evidence against those who hold the view that one must recite (Sūrah al-Fātiḥah) behind the Imām, because the narrator of this very ḥadīth is Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه himself — and he used to give the fatwā that reciting behind the Imām is necessary.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 312)
Conclusion:
The statement that people refrained from reciting behind the Prophet ﷺ refers only to the recitation after al-Fātiḥah in the audible prayers, not the omission of al-Fātiḥah itself. Therefore, it does not serve as evidence for those who deny the recitation of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah behind the Imām.
❖ Question:
What is the meaning of the narration:
“People refrained from reciting behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the audible prayers”?
✿ Answer:
Sayyidunā Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ once led the Fajr prayer. After completing it with salām, he said:
هل قرأ معي منكم أحد؟
“Did any of you recite (Qur’ān) along with me?”
A man replied: “Yes, I did.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إني أقول: ما بالي أنازع القرآن؟
“I wonder, why am I being contended with in the recitation of the Qur’ān?”
(Musnad al-Ḥumaydī: 983 – chain is authentic)
At the end of this ḥadīth, there is an additional statement:
فانتهى الناس عن القراءة، فيما جهر به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
“Then people stopped reciting behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the audible prayers.”
This addition is a madrāj (inserted statement) from Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله, not part of the Prophet’s ﷺ words. Its meaning is that after hearing this ḥadīth, the Companions رضي الله عنهم stopped reciting after Sūrah al-Fātiḥah in the audible prayers.
Hence, using this as evidence to prove that al-Fātiḥah itself should not be recited behind the Imām is incorrect.
Clarification:
Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله said:
قال الزهري: قال أبو هريرة: فانتهى الناس.
“Al-Zuhrī said: Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه said — people stopped (reciting behind the Imām in audible prayers).”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, under ḥadīth: 827)
This statement is munqaṭiʿ (disconnected) because Imām al-Zuhrī did not meet Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه; thus, the chain is incomplete.
❀ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله stated:
ليس فى هذا الحديث ما يدخل على من رأى القراءة خلف الإمام، لأن أبا هريرة هو الذى روى عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم هذا الحديث.
“This ḥadīth contains no evidence against those who hold the view that one must recite (Sūrah al-Fātiḥah) behind the Imām, because the narrator of this very ḥadīth is Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه himself — and he used to give the fatwā that reciting behind the Imām is necessary.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 312)
Conclusion:The statement that people refrained from reciting behind the Prophet ﷺ refers only to the recitation after al-Fātiḥah in the audible prayers, not the omission of al-Fātiḥah itself. Therefore, it does not serve as evidence for those who deny the recitation of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah behind the Imām.
