It was also narrated (1) from ʿUbādah ibn al-Sāmit, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, led us in one of the prayers in which the recitation is aloud, and his recitation became confused. When he finished, he turned to face us and said, ‘Do you recite when I recite aloud?’ Some of us replied, ‘We do indeed.’ He said, ‘Then do not. I was wondering, “Why are others competing with me as I recite the Quran?” So do not recite any of the Quran when I recite aloud, except the Mother of the Quran.’”

It was reported by Abū Dāwūd, whose wording this is, al-Nasāʾī, and al-Dāraqutnī. Al-Dāraqutnī also reports:

“No prayer is valid in which a man does not recite the Opening of the Book.”

He said, “Its chain of transmission is good, and all its narrators are trustworthy.”

This hadith makes clear that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not know whether they were reciting anything behind him. It is evident that, had recitation been obligatory for those praying behind the imam, he would have instructed them to do so, since clarification may not be delayed beyond the time when it is needed. Had he explained this to them, most of them would have done it, rather than just one or two, and he would not have needed to ask about it.

This therefore shows that he had not required them to recite behind him while he was reciting aloud. Then, when he learned that they were reciting, he forbade them to recite anything other than the Mother of the Book. The confusion in his recitation mentioned here results from others reciting along with him while he recites aloud, whether they recite al-Fātihah or anything else. Thus, the underlying reason applies to both, for anything that makes the imam’s recitation difficult or confuses it is forbidden.