✦ When Should the Follower (Muqtadī) Say the Takbīrāt al-Intiqāl? ✦
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amonpuri
❖ The Question
When should a follower (muqtadī) recite the takbīrāt al-intiqāl (the transitional takbīrs during prayer)?
❖ The Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
For the muqtadī, following the imām is obligatory. Therefore, he should recite the takbīrāt al-intiqāl only after the imām has said them, not before. Saying them before the imām contradicts proper following (iqtidāʾ).
❀ Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إذا كبر فكبروا
“When the imām says Allāhu Akbar, then you also say Allāhu Akbar.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 404)
❀ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله (d. 544H) said:
يقتضي أن تكبير المأموم لا يكون إلا بعد تكبير الإمام لأنه جاء بفاء التعقيب وهو مذهب كافة العلماء ولا خلاف أنه لا يسبقه المأموم بالتكبير والسلام
“This ḥadīth implies that the takbīr of the follower should only be after the takbīr of the imām, because it is mentioned with the particle of sequence (faʾ al-taʿqīb). This is the position of all scholars. There is no difference of opinion that the follower should not precede the imām in saying takbīr or in saying salām.”
(Ikmāl al-Muʿlim, 2/298; al-Mufhim by Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī, 2/37; Sharḥ Abī Dāwūd by Ibn Ruslān, 5/237)
❖ Conclusion
The muqtadī must say the takbīrāt al-intiqāl after the imām, never before. Preceding the imām in takbīr or salām is unanimously against the Sunnah and invalidates proper following.
✿ ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب ✿
