and this is the position explicitly stated by Ahmad: only two pauses are recommended, the second coming at the end of the recitation, to rest briefly and separate the recitation from bowing. As for pausing immediately after al-Fātihah, Ahmad does not consider it recommended, nor do Mālik and Abū Hanīfah. The majority do not consider it recommended for the imam to pause so that those praying behind him can recite.

This is because, in their view, recitation by someone praying behind the imam when the imam recites aloud is neither obligatory nor recommended; rather, it is prohibited. Does reciting along with the imam invalidate the prayer? There are two views within Ahmad’s school. If someone can hear the imam’s recitation, listening to it is better than reciting himself, just as he listens to what is recited beyond al-Fātihah. He thereby attains the purpose of recitation, and listening takes the place of his own recitation. Combining listening with recitation therefore combines the substitute with that for which it substitutes.

For this reason, Ahmad and most of his followers did not consider recitation during the imam’s pauses recommended unless the imam pauses long enough to allow both the opening supplication and recitation. If the pause is too short for both, Ahmad and most of his followers hold that the opening supplication takes precedence over recitation. Indeed, according to one of the two reports from him, he instructs the worshipper to offer the opening supplication even while the imam is reciting aloud.

If the imam pauses after al-Fātihah long enough to allow recitation, then reciting during that pause is better than not reciting. But should it be said that reciting al-Fātihah during it is better, because its obligatory status is disputed, or that reciting another passage of the Quran is better, since he has already listened to al-Fātihah? This is disputed. The explicit statements of Ahmad and most of his followers imply that