When the prayer is one in which the recitation is audible, the congregant must listen to the imam’s recitation; he may not recite—whether al-Fātiḥah or anything else—while the imam is reciting. Allah the Exalted says, “When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and be silent so that you may be shown mercy” (Q 7:204).

Imam Aḥmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “The scholars are unanimous that this verse concerns the prayer.”

Had the follower been obliged to recite, he would not have been commanded to forgo his own recitation for the Sunnah of attentive listening. Besides, if the follower were occupied with his own recitation, the imam’s raising his voice would serve no purpose. Furthermore, the follower’s “Āmīn” to the imam’s recitation takes the place of his own recitation. Allah said to Moses and Aaron, “Your supplication has been answered” (Q 10:89). Moses is the one who prayed—“Our Lord, You have indeed given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of this world…”—while Aaron merely said “Āmīn” to his brother’s prayer; yet Allah declared, “Your supplication has been answered.” This shows that whoever says “Āmīn” to a supplication is, in effect, the one who uttered it.

If, however, the prayer is silent, or the follower cannot hear the imam, he must recite al-Fātiḥah in that circumstance. Thus the evidences are reconciled: the follower is required to recite al-Fātiḥah in silent prayers but not in audible ones. Allah knows best.

Among the important rulings of congregational prayer is that the follower must emulate the imam with complete conformity, and it is forbidden to precede him, for the follower is commanded to follow his imam and take him as his example; one who follows may not move ahead of the one he follows and emulates,