Question: The Imam says Allahu Akbar loudly while the followers say it softly, the Imam سمع الله لمن حمده says it loudly while the followers say it softly, if you claim to be followers of the Quran and Hadith, then prove this from the Quran or authentic Hadith?
Answer: Prayer is one of the most important acts of worship, and its method was taught to us through the Noble Messenger, peace be upon him. When the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, led the prayer, he would say the Takbir aloud, as Saeed bin Al-Harith bin Al-Mu’alla narrates:
صلي لنا أبو سعيد فجهر بالتكبير حين رفع رأسه من السجود وحين سجد وحين رفع و حين قام من الركعتين
“Abu Saeed Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, led us in prayer. When he raised his head from prostration, when he went into the second prostration and raised his head, and when he stood up from two units of prayer, he said the Takbir aloud and said: I saw the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, do the same.”
Saeed bin Al-Harith says:
اِشْتَكَي أَبُوْهُرَيْرَةَ أَوْ غَابَ فَصَلَّي لَنَا أَبُوْسَعِيْدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ فَجَهَرَ بِالتَّكْبِيْرِ حِيْنَ افْتَتَحَ الصَّلَاةَ وَحِيْنَ رَكَعَ وَحِيْنَ قَالَ سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ وَحِيْنَ قَامَ بَيْنَ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ حَتّٰي قَضَي صَلَاتَهُ علٰي ذٰلِكَ فَلَمَّا صَلّٰي قِيْلَ لَهُ قَدِ اخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ عَلٰي صَلَاتِكَ فَخَرَجَ فَقَامَ عِنْدَ الْمِنْبَرِ فَقَالَ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ! وَاللهِ مَا اُبَالِي اخْتَلَفَتْ صَلَاتُكُمْ أَوْ لَمْ تَخْتَلِفْ هٰكَذَا رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي
“Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, was either ill or absent, so Abu Saeed Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, led us in prayer. When he started the prayer, went into bowing, and then stood up straight from bowing, he said سمع الله لمن حمده: and when he raised his head from prostration, performed the second prostration, raised his head, and stood up from two units, he said the Takbir aloud until he completed his prayer. It was said to him: ‘Indeed, people have differed regarding your prayer.’ Abu Saeed, may Allah be pleased with him, came, climbed the pulpit, and said: ‘O people! By Allah, whether your prayer differs or not, I do not care. I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, pray exactly like this.’”
From this narration, it is clear that there was a difference among people regarding saying the Takbir aloud or silently, and the people of Marwan and others from Banu Umayyah used to say the Takbir quietly. Because of this, Abu Saeed Khudri’s prayer was disputed, so he prayed with loud Takbirs and did not care about the people, stating that this was how the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, prayed. This hadith is very clear on this issue that the Imam will say the Takbirs aloud, and Imam Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him, also established a chapter on the Imam’s loud Takbir based on this hadith.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates:
“When the Prophet, peace be upon him, became ill with the illness in which he passed away, a man came to inform him about the prayer. He said: ‘Order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’ I said: ‘Indeed, Abu Bakr is a tender-hearted man; if he stands in your place, he will cry and will not be able to maintain the recitation.’ He said: ‘Order Abu Bakr to lead the prayer.’ I repeated the same, and he said for the third or fourth time: ‘You are the companions of Yusuf; order Abu Bakr to lead the prayer.’ He led the prayer, then the Prophet, peace be upon him, went out supported by two men, as if I am looking at you, your feet were drawing lines on the ground. When Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, saw him, he began to step back, but the Prophet, peace be upon him, gestured to continue the prayer, yet Abu Bakr stepped back, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, sat beside him.
وَاَبُوْبَكْرٍ يُسْمِعُ النَّاسَ التَّكْبِيْرَ
“And Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was making the Takbir audible to the people.”
Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates:
اِشْتَكَي رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَصَلَّيْنَا وَرَاءَهُ وَهُوَ قَاعِدٌ وَأَبُوْبَكْرٍ يُسْمِعُ النَّاسَ تَكْبِيْرَهُ
“The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was ill, and we prayed behind him while he was sitting, and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was making the Takbir audible to the people.”
Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, also narrates:
صَلّٰي بِنَا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الظُّهْرَ وَأَبُوْبَكْرٍ خَلْفَهُ فَإِذَا كَبَّرَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَبَّرَ أَبُوْبَكْرٍ يُسْمِعُنَا
“The Prophet, peace be upon him, led us in the Zuhr prayer, and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was behind him. When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said the Takbir, Abu Bakr would make it audible to us.”
From these authentic hadiths, it is also understood that the Imam will say the Takbir aloud, and the follower will say it quietly. If the follower also said the Takbir aloud, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, would not have needed to make the Takbir of the Prophet, peace be upon him, audible to the people.
In the hadith of Muawiyah bin Hakim Al-Salmi, may Allah be pleased with him, it is narrated:
وبينا أنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فى الصلوة إذ عطس رجل من القوم فقلت يرحمك الله فحدقنى القوم بأبصارهم فقلت واثكل أمياه، ما لكم تنظرون إلى؟ قال فضرب القوم بأيديهم على افخاذهم فلما رأيتهم يسكتوني لكنى سكت فلما انصرف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم دعاني بابي وأمى هو ما ضربنى و لا كهرني و لا سبني ما رايت معلما قبله ولا بعده أحسن تعليما منه قال إن صلاتنا هذه لا يصلح فيها شئ من كلام الناس إنما هو التسبيح و التكبير و تلاوة القرآن
“I was praying with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, when a man sneezed among the people. I said: ‘May Allah have mercy on you.’ The people stared at me. I said: ‘May my mother be sacrificed for you, what is wrong with you that you are looking at me?’ The people began hitting their thighs with their hands. When I saw they were trying to silence me, I intended to argue with them but remained silent. When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, finished the prayer, he called me. May my parents be sacrificed for you, you neither hit me nor scolded me nor spoke ill of me. I have not seen a better teacher before or after you. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ‘Indeed, talking among people during this prayer is not correct; it is glorification, Takbir, and recitation of the Qur’an.’”
From this authentic hadith, it is understood that the duty of the follower is to remain silent during the prayer and not raise his voice. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, did not raise their voices behind the Prophet, peace be upon him. When Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, mistakenly said يَرْحَمْكَ اللهُ loudly to the one who sneezed, the Companions stared at him. This hadith contains يسكتونني, and in some narrations, the words يصمتونني indicate that the follower should remain silent. Yes, it is permissible for the follower to say the Takbir aloud, but only where there is evidence for it.
Similarly, in Sahih Bukhari and others, regarding following the Imam, there is the hadith: فَإِذَا کَبَّرَ الْإِمَامُ فَکَبِّرُوْا “When the Imam says Takbir, you also say Takbir,” which indicates that the Imam will say the Takbir aloud because the follower will only know the Imam’s Takbir if the Imam says it loudly. Also, remember that prayer is performed for the remembrance of Allah, as Allah says:
﴿أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِيْ﴾
“Establish prayer for My remembrance.”
Regarding remembrance, Allah commands:
“Remember your Lord within yourself humbly and with fear and without loudness in words, in the mornings and the evenings.”
From this verse, it is understood that the principle of remembrance is to do it quietly unless there is evidence for saying it aloud.
The evidences for the Imam’s loudness have already been mentioned above. Whoever claims that the follower’s Takbirs should be loud must present evidence. This is also acknowledged by the Hanafi scholars, as written in their book Majmu’ah Rasail, Volume One, in the research on the issue of Ameen: “From these instructions of the Qur’an and narrations, it is established that the remaining remembrances in prayer should be recited quietly.” Then under the second benefit, it is written: “Actually, the rule is that supplications and remembrances should be recited quietly because Allah is aware of the secrets of hearts. However, in some remembrances, it is intended to inform people of the remembrance of Allah, and since a person cannot hear the voice of the heart, the voice is raised to inform people, such as calling people in the Adhan, informing followers in the Iqamah. The Imam says the Takbirs of transition and the Salam loudly because it is intended to inform the followers, but the follower and the individual praying alone do not need this, so they say it quietly.”
Therefore, according to the unanimous Qur’anic principle of the Hanafis and us, the follower will say the Takbir quietly. In any case, it is proven by numerous evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah that the follower will recite the remembrances and recitations quietly and silently, while the Imam will say the Takbirs and recitations aloud. Remember, such tricks and deceptions are sometimes used by some individuals to distance people from the Book and Sunnah, to make them believe that Islam is not fully in the Qur’an and Hadith but entirely in their alleged jurisprudence. Nowadays, many preachers, orators, and ignorant biased people are working hard day and night to make people believe that the Qur’an and Hadith do not provide complete guidance. أَعَاذَنَا اللهُ مِنْهُمْ !
And may Allah grant steadfastness on the path of righteousness, keep us attached to the Book and Sunnah, and protect us from deviation and misguidance.
آمين !
