Al-Bukhārī also said: Mūsā narrated to us: Dāwūd ibn Abī al-Furāt narrated to us, from Ibrāhīm al-Sāʾigh, from ʿAtāʾ, from Abū Hurayrah:

“Every prayer includes recitation, even if only the Opening of the Book. Whatever the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) recited aloud for us, we recite aloud; whatever he recited silently, we recite silently.”

It was also narrated through two chains from Abū al-Zāhiriyyah: Kathīr ibn Murrah narrated to us that he heard Abū al-Dardāʾ say:

“The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked, ‘Does every prayer include recitation?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ A man from the Ansār then said, ‘This has become obligatory.’”

These hadiths have the same meaning as his statement:

“No prayer is valid for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.”

For someone who listens attentively and remains silent counts as reciting; indeed, he is superior to someone who recites for himself. This is indicated by the statement:

“No prayer is valid without the Opening of the Book and some additional recitation,”

and the statement:

“We were commanded to recite it and whatever else we could easily recite.”

For someone who listens attentively and remains silent is not commanded to recite the additional passage.

Furthermore, Abū Hurayrah’s statement, “Whatever he made us hear, we make you hear; whatever he recited silently, we recite silently,” indicates that the imam is meant, since a person praying behind an imam does not make anyone hear his recitation.

As for the question, “Does every prayer include recitation?” and the statement, “No prayer is valid without the Mother of the Quran,” the prayer of someone who listens to the imam’s recitation does include recitation. Indeed, most scholars say that the imam bears responsibility for that person’s prayer: his prayer is encompassed within the imam’s prayer, and thus includes recitation. The majority of them also say that someone able to recite may not follow an imam who is unable to recite properly. Thus, if the imam’s recitation did not suffice for