“In its chain appears Maslama ibn Ali, and he is weak.” In sum, taking all the routes together the hadith is sahih, and through the line of Ibn Ishaq it is hasan. The discrepancies found among those who follow him in transmitting it do not harm its soundness, as is obvious. The report, therefore, constitutes evidence for the permissibility of reciting behind the imam in audible prayers; it does not, however, establish an obligation—rather, only a concession, as will be explained shortly. Al-Khattabi states in al-Maalim (1/205): “This hadith is an explicit text declaring that the recitation of Fatihat al-Kitab (Surah al-Fatiha) is obligatory for anyone who prays behind an imam, whether the imam recites aloud or silently.” He then adds (p. 206): “The scholars have differed on this question. A number of Companions held that the follower must recite behind the imam, while others reported that they themselves would not recite. The jurists ultimately split into three positions: • Mak‘hul, al-Awza‘i, al-Shafi‘i, and Abu Thawr say that the follower must recite both in prayers where the imam raises his voice and those in which he is silent. • Al-Zuhri, Malik, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Ishaq maintain that he should recite only in the silent prayers, not in the audible ones (1). • Sufyan al-Thawri and the Iraqi jurists hold that no one should recite behind the imam, whether the imam recites aloud or quietly. They support their view with the mursal report transmitted by ‘Abd Allah ibn Shaddad from the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Whoever has an imam, the imam’s recitation suffices for him.’ ” _________ (1) Benefit: The opinion that one should recite behind the imam in silent prayers but not in audible ones was adopted by al-Shafi‘i in his early view, by Muhammad—Abu Hanifa’s disciple—in one narration preferred by Shaykh ‘Ali al-Qari and some Hanafite authorities, and it is likewise the stance of al-Zuhri, Malik, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, a number of hadith scholars, and others; it was also the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya.