❖ Question:
During Ḥajj and ‘Umrah, is it permissible for a scholar to recite du‘ā loudly for a group without specifying any particular supplications, and for the group to respond loudly as well — as commonly practiced by Indonesian pilgrims?
❖ Answer by:
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wakīl Nāṣir ḥafiẓahullāh
This method is a newly invented practice by people, where collective remembrance (dhikr) takes place in a specific manner at a specific location.
It has no basis in the Sunnah and has become a ritualized, non-Shar‘i form of group worship.
◈ Since Ṭawāf (circumambulation) is an act of worship, no such collective practice is sanctioned within it.
◈ This form of group dhikr is an inappropriate innovation and has no support from the Sharīʿah.
◈ During Ṭawāf, each person should make du‘ā individually.
◈ If someone does not have supplications memorized, he may read them from a du‘ā book.
◈ If a person is unable to read from a book due to illiteracy or weak memory,
◈ He may quietly repeat the words of a companion, but in a soft voice, like a whisper — not as a public group recitation.
◈ According to the scholars, loud collective dhikr by an entire group is a reprehensible act.
◈ It is not acceptable as a form of worship because there is no Shar‘i evidence supporting this practice.
Therefore, this method of loud group du‘ā during Ṭawāf or Saʿī, led by one person and echoed by others, is an innovation (bid‘ah) with no legitimacy in Islamic teachings, and it should be avoided.
During Ḥajj and ‘Umrah, is it permissible for a scholar to recite du‘ā loudly for a group without specifying any particular supplications, and for the group to respond loudly as well — as commonly practiced by Indonesian pilgrims?
❖ Answer by:
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wakīl Nāṣir ḥafiẓahullāh
✿ A Newly-Innovated Form of Collective Dhikr ✿
This method is a newly invented practice by people, where collective remembrance (dhikr) takes place in a specific manner at a specific location.
It has no basis in the Sunnah and has become a ritualized, non-Shar‘i form of group worship.
❖ Ṭawāf Is a Form of Worship
◈ Since Ṭawāf (circumambulation) is an act of worship, no such collective practice is sanctioned within it.
◈ This form of group dhikr is an inappropriate innovation and has no support from the Sharīʿah.
❖ Du‘ā Should Be an Individual Act
◈ During Ṭawāf, each person should make du‘ā individually.
◈ If someone does not have supplications memorized, he may read them from a du‘ā book.
❖ For Those with Weak Memory
◈ If a person is unable to read from a book due to illiteracy or weak memory,
◈ He may quietly repeat the words of a companion, but in a soft voice, like a whisper — not as a public group recitation.
❖ Condemnation of Loud Collective Dhikr
◈ According to the scholars, loud collective dhikr by an entire group is a reprehensible act.
◈ It is not acceptable as a form of worship because there is no Shar‘i evidence supporting this practice.
✿ Conclusion ✿
Therefore, this method of loud group du‘ā during Ṭawāf or Saʿī, led by one person and echoed by others, is an innovation (bid‘ah) with no legitimacy in Islamic teachings, and it should be avoided.
