The first view is that no recitation is required of the follower at all; thus, if the follower were to stand silently throughout all the units of prayer, his prayer would be valid. This is a very weak view.

The second view is that it is obligatory for the follower in every prayer, whether silent or audible. This is the opposite of the first view.

The third view is that it is obligatory for the follower in silent prayers but not in audible prayers (1), because when the imam recites aloud, his recitation counts as the follower’s recitation. The evidence that his recitation counts as the follower’s recitation is that the follower says Amin to it: when he says, “nor of those who go astray,” the follower says, “Amin.” Were it not a recitation on his behalf, it would not be valid for him to say Amin to it, for the one who says Amin to a supplication is like the one making the supplication.

This is evidenced by the fact that when Moses, peace be upon him, said:

“Moses said, ‘Our Lord, You have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in this worldly life, our Lord, so that they may lead people astray from Your way. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.’ He said, ‘The supplication of you both has been answered.’” [Yunus: 88–89]

The one making the supplication was Moses, as the verse explicitly states, so why was the dual form used? The scholars said: Moses was supplicating while Aaron was saying Amin; thus, Allah attributed the supplication to both of them, even though the one supplicating was only one. Yet because the other was listening attentively to him and saying Amin to his supplication, the supplication became his supplication as well.

Accordingly, we say: when the imam recites al-Fatihah, and you listen attentively to him and say Amin to it, it is as though you have recited it. Therefore, recitation is not obligatory for the follower in an audible prayer when he hears the imam’s recitation of al-Fatihah. This was the view preferred by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him.