a single hadith supporting its audible recitation. Such reports are transmitted only by those who lack discernment in assessing hadith, including Quran commentators such as al-Tha‘labī and others like him, and some hadith scholars who have written on this subject. Some jurists also cite them in their works on jurisprudence.

The view that it should be recited aloud has been attributed to Ahmad and others on the basis of one of the two reports from him: that it forms part of al-Fātihah and should therefore be recited aloud like the rest of the surah. This, however, is not his position. Rather, according to him, it is recited quietly, even if he holds that it forms part of al-Fātihah.

In his view, however, it is recited aloud when doing so serves an overriding benefit—for example, when the worshippers do not recite it at all, so that reciting it aloud teaches them that its recitation is Sunnah. Similarly, Ibn ‘Abbās recited al-Fātihah aloud in the funeral prayer, and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb recited the opening supplication aloud. It is also reported that Abū Hurayrah recited the opening formula and then the Mother of the Book, saying:

“Of all of you, my prayer most closely resembles that of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

This was narrated by al-Nasā’ī, and it is the strongest evidence they have cited.

Some of Ahmad’s followers likewise explained his differing position as referring to his reciting it aloud when those praying behind him objected to anyone who did not recite it aloud, and in similar circumstances. Both reciting it aloud and reciting it quietly are Sunnah. Thus, if someone who normally recites it quietly were to recite it aloud, his prayer would undoubtedly be valid.

The majority of scholars, including Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, Ahmad and al-Awzā‘ī, do not favour reciting it aloud. Some of them, such as Abū Hanīfah, Ahmad and others, recite it quietly, while others, such as Mālik, recite it neither quietly nor aloud.