Saturday, August 28, 2010

Dzikir following Obligatory Solat

The issue raising voice in dzikir after Solat

(I acquire article and this like to share it with you; so much has been debated about it by certain quarter. I found it is indeed a non-issue at all, and that if done accordingly with a voice of normal pitch)


The rule on raising the voice in dzikir after the Solāt

Some brothers raise their voices in dzikir after the solah, especially Fajar prayer, based on the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas and others, to such an extent that they disturb other worshippers. When they are reminded about it they say: They are following the Sunnah we would not be disturbing others. Are they correct? Should the others raise their voices when among them there are uneducated people and elderly people who cannot keep up with the group? How much the voice should be raised?

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All the praise and Thanks are due to Allāh, the Lord of al-ā’lamīn. There is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His Messenger.

The Fuqahā’ states that Dzikir after the obligatory Solāt it is a Sunnah; but differs in opinion with regard to the issue of raising the voice. Indeed Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) narrated: “I used to know when they had finished (the prayer) by that, when I heard it [the voice of dzikir]”. [Al-Bukhari (805) and Muslim (583)] One view hold it is a Sunnah, albeit not doing too loud but in low voice; and some regarded it as makruh and hold that the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did not do that all the time; Rasūlullah (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did it in order to educate the sahābah, then he would stop doing it.

The difference of opinion stemmed from the sahih hadith narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) that people used to raise their voices in dzikir when they completed an obligatory prayer at the time of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).

Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) said: “I used to know when they had finished (the prayer) by that, when I heard it [the voice of dzikir]”. [Al-Bukhari (805) and Muslim (583)] According to another report from Ibn ‘Abbas who said:”I knew when the prayer of the Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) had finished from the voice of the takbir ( zikir)”. [Recorded by al-Bukhari (806) and Muslim (583)].

They also differed as to whether this indicated something that was done all the time or otherwise.

Allāh Says: “And remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and with fear and without loudness in words in the mornings and in the afternoons, and be not of those who are neglectful” (al-A’raf 7:205).

But among those who favoured raising the voice in dzikir after prayer were al-Tabari, Ibn Rejab, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Hazam, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and others. And among those who were of the view that it was for teaching were al-Shafi’e and the majority.

Imām Al-Shāfi’e (rahimahullāh) said:

"My view is that the imām and the person praying behind him should observe dzikir after they conclude the solat, but doing it in a low voice unless he is an imām who is to be learned from, in which case he should recite in a loud voice until he thinks that it has been learned from him, then he should recite quietly, because Allāh says: “And offer your solāh neither aloud nor in a low voice” [al-Isra’ 17:110] , meaning – and Allāh knows best–it is the du‘ā; “neither aloud” means do not raise your voice and “nor in a low voice” means, so low that you cannot hear yourself.

I think that what Ibn al-Zubayr (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) narrated is about the tahlil (i.e reciting “Lā ilāha ill-Allāh wahdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadīr.Lā hawla wa lā quwwata illa Billāh Lā ilāha ill-Allāh, wa lā na’budu illā iyyāh. Lahu’l-ni’mah wa lahu’l-fadl wa lahu’l-thanā’ al-hasan.Lā ilāha ill-Allāh, mukhlisīna lahu’l-dīna wa law kariha’l-kāfirūn.Allāhumma lā māni’ lima a’tayta wa lāmu’ti lima mana’ta wa la yanfa’ dza’l-jadd minka al-jadd”) of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam), and what Ibn ‘Abbas narrated about his takbir (i.e saying Lā ilāha ill-Allāh) like what we have mentioned above."

Al-Shāfi’e also said:

“I think he only raised his voice a little in order to teach the people, because most of the reports that we have quoted do not mention reciting tahlil or takbir after saying the taslim. Some hadiths say that dzikir was recited after the prayer, as I have described, and some say that he (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) did not recite any dzikir after solat.

Umm Salamah (radiyallāhu ‘anha)  stated that the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam)  would stay after the prayer and she did not refer to any dzikir out loud, and I think he (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) only stayed to recite some dzikir that was not done out loud.”

[Al-Umm (1/127)]

Imām An-Nawawi (rahimahullāh) also agrees with the conclusion of Imām al-Shāfi'ie (rahimahullāh). Refer to al-Majmu’ Sharh al-Muhadzab.

Imām al-Baihaqi (rahimahullāh) has stated that: “That dzikir  and du‘ā after solāt ought to be done in sirr (low) form except where the imām would like to teach the dzikir to the people, then ‘jahar’ (amplified) would be done to teach  members of the jama’ah. When the jama’ah had acquired it, the dzikir and du‘ā should be done in ‘sirr’ (slowed down) form.” [Book of Dzikir and Du‘ā of The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), Sunan al-Kubra]

Imām Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (rahimahullāh) said: “Dzikir and du‘ā in loud voice is not favoured. Such is also the opinion of the salaf from the companions and tabi'en.” ( Fathul-Bāri, Sharh Sahih Bukhari)

Al-Bahuti said in referring to Ibn Taymiyyah view regarding reciting dzikir out loud as mustahabb: Ibn Taymiyah said: It is mustahabb to recite tasbih, tahmid and takbir out loud following every prayer. [Kashshaf al-Qina’ (1/366]

A contemporary scholar Shaikh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullāh) was asked about the ruling on this issue and he replied:

It is a Sunnah to raise voice saying the dzikir following the obligatory solāt. This is indicated by the report from the hadith of ‘Abdallāh ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallāhu ‘anhu), that the people used to recite dzikir out loud when they finished obligatory prayers at the time of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam). ‘Abdallāh ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) said: “I used to know when they finished (the solat) by that, when I heard it”. [Narrated by al-Bukhari; Imām Ahmad and Abu Dawud]

In al-Saheehayn it is narrated that Al-Mughirah ibn Shu’bah (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) said: I heard the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) say when he finished the prayer: “Lā ilāha ill-Allāh wahdahu lā sharīka lah… (There is no god but Allāh alone, with no partner or associate…).” [Al-Bukhari, Muslim]

It should be noted from the above hadiths that words cannot be heard unless the speaker says them out loud.

Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (rahimahullāh) and a number of the earlier and later generations favoured this view, based on the hadiths of Ibn ‘Abbās and al-Mughirah (radiyallāhu ‘anhum). Reciting out loud is general and applies to every dzikir that is prescribed after solāh, whether it is tahlil (saying Lā ilāha ill-Allāh (there is no god but Allāh), tasbih (saying Subhān Allāh (Glory be to Allāh), takbir (saying Allāhu akbar (Allāh is Most Great) or tahmid (saying Al-hamdu Lillāh (praise be to Allāh), because of the general meaning of the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas. There is no report from the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) to suggest differentiating between tahlil and other dzikir, rather in the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas it says that they would know that the solat of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) had ended from his takbir (reefing to zikir). Thus, the view of those who say that the voice should not be raised in tasbih, tahmid and takbir is refuted.

With regard to those who say that raising the voice in these dzikir is an innovation (bid‘ah), they are wrong. How can something that was known and practiced at the time of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) be a bid‘ah?

Shaikh Sulayman ibn Sahman (rahimahullāh) said: It has been proven that the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did that and approved of it, and the Sahabah used to do that at the time of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) after he taught it to them, and he approved of them doing it, so they acted upon the teachings of the Messenger (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam); they did it and he approved of that after teaching them and he did not criticize them.

As for the argument that reciting out loud is disapproved because of the verse “And remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and with fear and without loudness in words in the mornings and in the afternoons” [al-A’raf 7:205], we say: the one who was enjoined to remember his Lord within himself, humbly and with fear, was the same one who used to recite dzikir out loud following obligatory prayers. Does the one who says this know better what Allāh meant than His Messenger did? Or does he believe that the Messenger (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) knew what was meant but went against it? Moreover, the verse speaks of dzikir at the beginning and end of the day (“in the mornings and in the afternoons”), not the dzikir that is prescribed following prayers.

In his Tafsir, Ibn Kathir interpreted reciting out loud as meaning too loud or extremely loud.

As for the argument that reciting out loud is disapproved because of the words of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) : “O people, take it easy”, the one who said “O people, take it easy” is the same one who used to recite dzikir out loud following the prescribed prayers. There is a place for each situation, and truly following means following every text when appropriate.

Moreover, the context of the phrase “take it easy” indicates that they used to raise their voices in a manner that caused them hardship, hence he said “take it easy”, i.e., be kind to yourselves and do not exhaust yourselves; there should be no hardship or undue effort in reciting dzikir out loud.

As for the one who says that it disturbs others, it may be said to him: If you mean that it disturbs those who do not have the habit of doing that, once the believer understands that it is Sunnah, it will no longer disturb him. If you mean that it disturbs other worshippers, then if there is no one among the worshippers who joined the prayer late and is making up what he missed, then the raising of voices will not disturb them at all, which is what actually happens, because they are all taking part in it. But if there is someone among them who joined the prayer late and is making up what he missed, if he is so close to you that you will be disturbing him, then you should not recite so loudly as to disturb him, so that he will not become confused in his prayer, but if he is far away from you then he will not be disturbed by your reciting out loud.

It is clear that the Sunnah is to raise the voice in dzikir following the obligatory prayers, and that does not go against any sahih text or sound opinion.

When voices are mingled with one another then there will be no disturbance, as you can see on Fridays when the people all read Qur’an out loud, then someone comes and prays and he is not disturbed by that.

What matters most is the correct view. It is a Sunnah to recite the dzikir following the prayers, and it is also a Sunnah to recite it in the manner it would not annoys others. It should always be appropriate. During the time of the Messenger (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam); when the people raised their voices in dzikir during their return from Khaibar, he (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: “O people take it easy.” The hadith indicate that raising the voice which does not cause annoyance is permissible.

[Majmu’ Fatawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (13/247, 261)]

It is clear that the matter Zikir after Solāt is non issue and broad in scope. It is a Sunnah. It should be recited in a somber; moderate manner that does not cause annoyance to others. It should serves as a way of teaching the others. Its effect is noble and enormous: refreshing, seeking peace, tranquility and unity. We must recognise the dividing line of the Sunnah; by performing the Sunnah it would brings benefits than those who refuse it. As An-Nu’man bin Bashir (radiyallāhu‘anhu) reported that the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Du‘ā is worship.” [Abu Dawud].

And Allāh knows best.

[Excerpted with minor modification from Islam Q&A (87768)


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