Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (4/174)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

in the Quran, namely His saying, Exalted is He:

“When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent.” [al-A‘raf: 204]

And the hadith is the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning the imam: “When he recites, then remain silent.” (1) Do these indicate that silence is required in all cases, whether during al-Fatihah or anything else?

The answer is: Yes, this is correct. It is general in its application to al-Fatihah and to other than al-Fatihah: when the imam recites, the follower is to remain silent. However, this general ruling is qualified by the general wording of: “There is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said this after he had finished the Fajr prayer. He had recited during the Fajr prayer, and the recitation had become burdensome for him. When he had concluded the prayer, he said: “Perhaps you recite behind your imam?” They replied: “Yes, by Allah.” He said: “Do not do so, except with the Mother of the Quran, for there is no prayer for one who does not recite it.” (2)

This is an explicit text concerning an audible prayer, since the Fajr prayer is audible. Accordingly, the recitation of al-Fatihah in prayer is an exception to His saying, Exalted is He:

“When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent.” [al-A‘raf: 204]

For this is a general text, and general texts admit specification. The same applies to the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “When he recites, then remain silent.” (3)

This is the well-known position of the school of Imam al-Shafi‘i, may Allah have mercy on him. Ibn Muflih, a student of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, said: “It is more apparent.” That is, the obligation for the follower to recite al-Fatihah, even in the audible prayer, is more apparent. And he was right, for it is more apparent than the view that recitation is not obligatory upon the follower at all, or that it is not obligatory in the audible prayer. These are two opposing views. The views, then, are as follows:

(1) Its source has been cited earlier (3/98). (2) Its source has been cited earlier (3/296). (3) Its source has been cited earlier (3/98).

في القرآن وهي قوله تعالى: ﴿وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا﴾ [الأعراف: ٢٠٤] والحديثُ قولُ النَّبيِّ ﷺ في الإِمامِ: «إذا قرأ فأنصِتُوا» (١) يدلُّ على عمومِ الإنصاتِ سواءٌ عن الفاتحةِ أو غيرِها؟ فالجواب: نقول: هذا صحيحٌ، وأنَّه عامٌّ في الفاتحةِ وغيرِها، وأنَّ المأمومَ إذا قرأَ الإمامُ فإنَّه ينصتُ، ولكن هذا العمومُ مقيَّدٌ بعموم: «لا صلاةَ لمَنْ لم يقرأ بفاتحةِ الكتابِ» حيث قالَه النَّبيُّ ﷺ بعدَ أنْ انفتلَ مِن صلاةِ الفجرِ؛ حينما قرأ في صلاةِ الفجرِ، وثَقُلت عليه القراءةُ، فلما انصرفَ قال: «لعلَّكم تقرأون خلفَ إمامكم؟ قالوا: إي والله، قال: لا تفعلوا إلا بأُمِّ القرآن، فإنه لا صلاةَ لمَن لم يقرأ بها» (٢) وهذا نصٌّ صريحٌ في الصلاةِ الجهريةِ، لأنَّ صلاةَ الفجرِ صلاةٌ جهريةٌ. وعلى هذا؛ فتكون قراءةُ الفاتحةِ في الصلاةِ مستثناةٌ مِن قوله: ﴿وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا﴾ [الأعراف: ٢٠٤] لأنَّ هذا عامٌّ والعامُ يدخله التَّخصيصُ، وكذلك قولُ النَّبيِّ ﷺ: «وإذا قَرأَ فأنصِتُوا» (٣) وهذا هو المشهور مِن مذهبِ الإمامِ الشافعي ﵀، قال ابنُ مفلح تلميذ شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية: «وهو أظهر» أي: أن وجوبَ قِراءةِ الفاتحةِ على المأمومِ حتى في الصَّلاةِ الجهريَّةِ أظهرُ، وصَدَقَ، فإنَّه أظهرُ مِن القولِ بعدمِ وجوبِ القِراءةِ على المأمومِ مطلقاً، أو في الصَّلاةِ الجهرية، فهذان قولان متقابلان، فالأقوال كما يلي:

(١) تقدم تخريجه (٣/ ٩٨). (٢) تقدم تخريجه (٣/ ٢٩٦). (٣) تقدم تخريجه (٣/ ٩٨).