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When we perform our Salaah behind the Imam and
he recites“Waladdaalleen” loudly we say Amin quietly. This
is because Amin is a dua and it should always be read quietly. Some
people say thatwhen performing Salaah behind the Imam you should say
Amin loudly with rhythm.
We argue that there is no such
Hadith, which mentions that, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and
grant him peace) ordered this action and He (May Allah bless him and
grant him peace) never encouraged anyone to do this.
The people who follow this
action put forward one Hadith, which says that the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) said Amin loudly in the Salaah.
We claim that it is true by saying that the
Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said Amin loudly a
few times. The Prophet used to carry out actions only to educate
people, for example, in Salaah-ul-Zuhr part of the Qur’an was
recited loudly.
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim write:
When the Prophet (May Allah
bless him and grant him peace) was performing his Zuhr and Asr
prayers, he recited part of the Qur’an loudly, which we could hear. (Bukhari
and Muslim, chapter on Qiraat, Zuhr and Asr)
After reading this Hadith no one
in the whole Ummah says that the Imam should recite any part of the
Qur’an loudly in the Zuhr and Asr Salaah. This is because everyone
knows that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
only did this to educate the people. In the same way, the Hadith
that mentions that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace) said Amin loudly does not mean that it is Sunnah to say Amin
loudly. There is also proof from the Qur’an and Sunnah that Amin
should be said quietly behind the Imam.
Proof from the Qur’an
to say Amin quietly behind the Imam
Hafidh Ibn Kathir writes:
When someone finishes
reciting surat-ul-Fatiha, it is preferable to say Amin.
Amin
means “Oh Allah, accept our du’a”
There is proof from the Qur’an that Amin is a
du’a. For example, Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an that Prophet Musa
(May Allah be pleased with Him) prayed to Allah by saying:
"Oh Allah, destroy the wealth of Pharaoh"
(Surah Yunus: Verse 87)
The Prophet Musa’ brother Haroon (May Allah be
pleased with Him) was standing beside him and said Amin. Allah
accepted their du’a by saying:
"I except both of your du’as" (Surah
Yunus: 89)
The Prophet Musa (May Allah be pleased with
Him) supplicated to Allah whereas Haroon only said Amin. But Allah
attributed the du’a to both of them.
This proves that Amin is a du’a.(Tafsir
Ibn Kathir. Under Surah Fatihah)
Qadhi
Shawkani and Imam Qurtubi also write, in the interpretation of Surah
Fatihah, that Amin is a du’a.
(Qurtabi and Fathul Qadeer under surah Fatiha)
Now that it has been proved that
Amin is a dua, we should supplicate quietly to Allah. Proof from the
Qur’an and Sunnah show that du’a should be recited quietly.
Proof from the Qur’an and
Sunnah that du’a should be recited quietly
Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an:
“Invoke your lord with
humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors.” (Surah al-a’raf:
55)
It is proved from the above
verse that all should supplicate to Allah with humility and secrecy.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And remembering your lord by your tongue and
within yourself, humbly and with fear without loudness in words.”
(Surah al-a’raf: 205)
Qadhi Shawkaani writes:
In the above verse the word
“remember” means du’a and du’a should be said secretly.
(Fath ul qadeer. Under verse 205 Surah al-a’raf)
Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an:
“This is a mention of mercy
of your Lord to his slave Zakariyya. When he called out his Lord
(Allah) – a call in secret.
(Surah Maryam: 2-3)
Proof from Hadith for doing
du’a secretly
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal writes:
The Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) said that Allah Ta’ala is pleased with
those who remember him secretly.
(Musnad Ahmad, narration of Saad
bin Abi Waqqaas, volume 1 p.172)
It is proven from the Qur’an
and Sunnah that du’a should be supplicated to Allah quietly and as
Amin is also a du’a so it should be said quietly also. That is the
reason why all du’as are read silently. For example Thanaa, Takbeer,
Ta’awwudh, Tasbeeh, Tashahhud, salutation and the final sitting’s
du’a are all read silently, so Amin should also be included in the
above. The reason why the Imam says the Takbeer loudly is only to
inform his followers that he is moving from one position to another.
Proof from Hadith to say Amin
quietly
Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari
write:
The Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) said that when the Imam says
“Waladdaalleen”then you must say Amin because the Angels also say
Amin and whosoever’s Amin coincides with that of an Angel, their
past sins will be forgiven.
(Bukhai and Muslim Chapter on
Ta’meen)
There are two ways in which Amin
can be similar to the angels’ Amin:
1) To say Amin with the Imam
2) To say Amin silently because the angels say Amin with the Imam
and also silently.
If someone proclaims Amin loudly it would not
be similar to the Angels’ as no one hears the Angels.
Imam Muslim writes:
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that when the Imam says
“Sami’allaahu liman Hamidah” you should say “Rabbanaa lakal Hamd”.
Whoever’s Tahmeed becomes similar to the Angels’, their past sins
would be forgiven.(Muslim
Bab Ta’meen)
The Hadith of Amin and Tahmeed
are written under the same chapter.
Both of these Hadith mention that whosoever’s
Amin or Tahmeed coincides with that of the Angels’ their past sins
will be forgiven. It is clear now that Amin should be said as
“Rabbanaa lakal hamd” i.e. silently and individually, without
rhythm.
Imam Nasaa’ee writes:
The
Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that when the
Imam says “Waladdaalleen”, you should say “Amin”. This is because
the angels and the Imam also say Amin. Whosoever’s Amin coincides
with the Angels’, his past sins would be forgiven.(Nasaa’ee,
Ibn Maajah, Daarimi, chapter Tahmeed, musnad Ahmad narration of Abu
Hurairah)
This Hadith proves that Amin
should be said as the Imam says his Amin. No one hears the Imam’s
Amin, so no one should hear the follower’s Amin. The Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) has also ordered us to follow
the Imam, so we should say Amin quietly.
One doubt
Some people claim that the Imam should say Amin
loudly.
Imam Dar Qutni writes:
Wyle said that the Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) led the Salaah and read Amin loudly.
(Tirmidhi and Dar Qutni, chapter Ta’meen)
This Hadith provides evidence that Amin should
be said loudly. There is also another Hadith which Imam Dar Qutni
wrote:
It is reported by Abu Hurairah that The Prophet
(May Allah bless him and grant him peace) led the Salaah and said
Amin loudly.
(Dar Qutni, chapter Ta’meen)
There is also a third Hadith
which is reported by Umm Haseen:
She said that the Prophet (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace) read the Salaah and said Amin loudly.(Zalee,
Chapter on Ta’meen)
All the above narrations prove that the Imam
should say Amin loudly and the followers should also say Amin
loudly.
We clear this doubt by saying
· That
Bukhari or Muslim did not write the above narrations.
·
Secondly, all these narrations prove that the Imam says Amin loudly
sometimes.
·
Thirdly, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said
Amin loudly sometimes.
·
Fourthly, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said
Amin loudly so that his followers would know that after “Waladdaalleen”,
“Amin” should be said.
·
Fifthly, these narrations cannot be used as evidence because they
are not authentic.
Examining the
Narrators
The first narrator was called
Muhammad bin Kathir.
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh
Asqalani write:
Imam Ahmad said that Muhammad
bin Kathir is weak. Imam Nasaa’ee said that he is not reliable in
the science of Hadith. Abdullah bin Ahmad said that he narrates
false narrations of Hadith, which is why the scholars of Hadith
reject his narrations and say that Muhammad bin Kathir is weak. Imam
Bukhari, Imam Abu Dawood, Imam Salih, and Hafidh Jazrah say that he
made many mistakes in his narrations, all his narrations are weak
and that his narrations are difficult to understand. Imam Ibn Adhi
mentions his unknown narrations in his book Kamil. Imam Ibn Habbaan
said Muhammad bin Kathir is authentic but made many mistakes. Imam
Laith and Ibn Mu’een praised him.
(Meezan ul I’tidaal, Tahdheeeb-ut-tahdheeb, biography of Muhammad
bin Kathir)
The other narrator of these
narrations is Muhammad bin Khalid.
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani write:
Muhammad is a truthful man but is unknown. Imam
Ibn Abi Khatim said that I asked my Father about Muhammad but he
replied that he was unaware of his existence.
(Meezaan ul I’tidaal, biography of
Muhammad bin Khalid)
Another narrator of these
narrations is called Abdul Jabbar bin Wyle.
Hafidh Asqalani writes:
Imam Bukhari, Imam Tirmidhi and Imam ibn
Habbaan said that bin Wyle had never heard any Hadith from his
Father. The other scholars of Hadith say that he was born after his
Father's death that is why it’s not possible that he would have
heard any Hadith from his Father. Imam Ibn Sa’ad said that ibn Wyle
has only narrated a few Hadith.(Tahdheeb
ut-tahdheeb, biography of Abdul Jabbar bin Wyle)
Abdul Jabbaar’s narrations
cannot be used as evidence because he said that he narrated directly
from his Father whereas his Father had died before his birth.
Is-haaq bin Ibrahim az Zubedi was another
narrator of these narrations
Imam Dhahabi writes:
Imam Dawood and Imam Nasaaee said that he had
no knowledge of Hadith and he was not authentic. Imam Atee said that
he was a liar.(Meezaan
ul I’tidaal, biography of Is-haaq bin Ibraaheem uz Zubaidi)
Another narrator of these
narrations is called Abdullah bin Salim.
Imam Dhahabi writes:
He was a NAasbee (from a
misled sect), Abdullah bin Salim contempted Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu
anhu) and he used to say that Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) helped
those people who killed Hadrat Abu Bakr (Radiall hu anhu) and Hadrat
Umar (Radiall hu anhu).
(Meezaan ul ‘itidaal, biography
of Abdullah bin Salim)
Another narrator of these narrations is Isma’il
bin Muslim Makkee.
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani
write:
Imam Ahmad, Imam Abu Zurah, Imam Nasaaee, Imam
Ali, and Imam Bukhari say that he is weak and that he narrates
unknown Hadith. This is why the scholars of Hadith began to avoid
his narrations. Imam ibn Mo’een said that he combined the text from
one Hadith into another.
(Meezaan ul I’tidaal, tahdheeb
ut-tahdheeb, biography of Isma’il bin Muslim Makkee)
How can the above narrations be
used as evidence when the narrators of these Ahadith have been
highly criticized by the scholars of Hadith. The Ahadith that have
been narrated by these narrators cannot be authentic; they can only
prove that “Amin” is to be said loudly by the Imam, not that the
followers say Amin loudly together with the Imam. If this was the
case, the narrators of these Ahadith who are the companions of the
Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) should have said
“When the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said
Amin loudly, we also said Amin loudly. But they only reported that
the Prophet said Amin loudly.
It is established that the Imam says Amin
loudly sometimes. The way of the companions was to follow this and
to listen to the Amin quietly, not to read Amin loudly themselves.
Secondly, there are other Ahadith that mention that the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to say Amin silently.
Imam Ibn Abi Shaibah writes:
Wyle reported that he
performed Salaah behind the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) and he said Amin silently.
(Musannaf ibn Abee Shaiba.
Chapter Ta’meen)
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal writes:
Wyle reported that the
Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) led the Salaah and
said Amin silently.
(Musnad Ahmad bin Hambal,
narrations of Wyle bin Hajjar)
Both of the above narrations
prove that when the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace) led the Salaah, he said Amin silently.
Imam Abu Dawood writes:
When the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) led the Salaah, after saying “Waladdaalleen”, he became
silent.
(Abu Dawood. Chapter Al Qiraa’t)
The above narration proves that
when the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) became
silent, it was to say Amin silently. If the Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) was to say Amin loudly then, there was no
point in Him remaining silent after saying “Waladdaalleen”.
Let us now examine the evidence
of those people who say Amin loudly behind the Imam.
First Evidence
Imam Bukhari writes:
Ata bin Rubah said that “Amin”
is a du’a. Abd Allah and the people who were behind him said Amin
loudly and this sound echoed throughout the masjid.
(Bukhari. Chapter on ta’meen)
They conclude from this Hadith
that Amin should be said loudly so that the sound echoes throughout
the masjid. We argue that although this narration is written in
Bukhari, but he did not write the chain of this narration. Imam
Bukhari was born at the very end of the 2nd century after
Hijrah and Abdullah bin Zubair died in the 73rd year of
Hijrah. This means that Imam Bukhari was born 125 years after the
death of Abdullah bin Zubair. How could Bukhari know that the masjid
echoed with the sound of Amin, at the time of Abdullah bin Zubair?
Ta’leeq (To Suspend)
When a scholar of Hadith writes
a Hadith without mentioning the chain between himself and the
Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), or he mentions a
little part of the chain, a Hadith such as this is called Hadith
Mu’allaq (suspended Hadith). This is because this type of Hadith is
chain-less. The scholars of Hadith call it a suspended Hadith.
Hafidh Asqalani writes:
When a scholar of Hadith
writes a chainless Hadith directly from the Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) or from a companion, or a student of a
companion, this type of narration is not accepted because he never
met the companion of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace) or the companion’s student. It is not known whether the
narrators, which he does not mention, are authentic or weak. The
majority of scholars of Hadith agree that if a scholar, who writes a
chainless Hadith, claims that the narrators are authentic, his claim
will not be accepted until he mentions their names. Both Muslim and
Bukhari contain some chain-less Hadith which cannot be accepted.
(Sharh un nukhbah and muqaddamah
Fath ul Baari. Chapter on Hadith Mu’allaq by Hafidh Asqalani)
According to the majority of
scholars chainless narrations are not acceptable. Ibn Zubair’s above
narration is a chain-less narration and so it cannot be accepted as
evidence. Secondly, it is not clear from Ibn Zubair’s narration if
the followers said “Amin” after “Waladdaalleen” or during the du’a
in the Fajr Salaah. It is also not clear if the followers in the
Salaah said Amin in all their Salaah or just once. Thirdly, it
doesn’t say that the Prophet ordered to say Amin. The above
mentioned Hadith cannot be used to prove that Amin should be said
behind the Imam.
Second Evidence
Imam Ibn Majah wries:
Bishar bin Rafir said that Abu Hurairah’s
cousin Abu Abdullah told me that he heard Abu Hurairah saying that
the people have stopped saying Amin although the Prophet (May Allah
bless him and grant him peace) used to say Amin after Waladdaalleen.
The people in the first row offering Salaah could hear him. The
sound echoed throughout the masjid.
(Ibn Maajah, Chapter Ta’meen)
Examination of the narrators
The first narrator of this
narration is Abu Abdullah.
Imam Dhahabi writes:
He is Abu Hurairah’s cousin,
but is unknown. Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim did not take this
narration from him.
(Meezaan ul I’tidaal, biography
of Abu Abdullah)
The second narrator is Bishar bin Rafir.
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani
write:
Imam Bukhari said that no one could verify his
narration. Imam Ahmad said that his narrations are weak and he has
no knowledge of Hadith. Imam Yahya bin Mo’een said that his
narrations are unknown. Imam Nisaaee said that he is not strong in
the knowledge of Hadith. Imam Ibn Habbaan said that he narrates
false Ahadith. Imam Abu Khatim and Imam Tirmidhi say that he is weak
and that he narrates unknown Hadiths. This is the reason why his
narrated Ahadiths are weak. Imam ibn Abdul Barr said that all the
scholars of Hadith agree that all his narrations should be thrown
away. The scholars of Hadith did not accept his narrations. Imam
Bukhari and Muslim did not take any narrations from him. There were
the only two or three people who praised him.
(Meezaan ul I’tidaal, tahdheeb
ut tahdheeb, biography of Bishar bin Rafir il Harsee)
The above statements show that
the narrators of these narrations have been highly criticized by the
scholars of Hadith.
The Text of Hadith
Abu Hurairah said that the
people had stopped saying Amin.
Abu Hurairah was a famous
companion of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and he died in 59 AH. He complained that the people had stopped
saying Amin. In his time, a large number of the companions were
alive, if it was a sunnah to say Amin loudly behind the Imam, then
the companions would have done so and Abu Hurairah needn’t have
complained.
Abu Hurairah saw this in the
time of the Kulafa but did not mention that they, or their followers
used to say Amin loudly; it has been proven that the khulafa and
their followers did not practice this.
Abu hurairah continued to say
that when the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) used
to say Amin, the people in the first row heard it and the sound
echoed throughout the masjid.
This statement proves that the
Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to say Amin
sometimes to teach the people, but the people behind him did not say
Amin loudly and that
The following sentence “The
sound echoed throughout the masjid” requires attention because the
sound can only echo if the place is made of cement and also has a
dome. The roof of the masjid, at the time of the Prophet (May Allah
bless him and grant him peace), was made from palm-tree branches and
no cement was used. This means that it is not possible for the sound
to have echoed throughout the masjid. The interesting thing is that
Imam Dawood also wrote this narration in his chapter on ta’meen, but
did not mention the above words (i.e. “The sound echoed throughout
the masjid”).
The above narration is not authentic and the
text does not prove that Amin should be said loudly behind the Imam.
This is because in the whole narration there is no proof that the
companions of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
used to say Amin loudly behind the Imam. |
