It is agreed upon (4). From Anas, that he prayed and recited 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' audibly, and said: 'I am following the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)' (5). And due to what has preceded from the hadith of Umm Salamah and others, and because it is a verse of the Fatiha, the Imam should recite it audibly in a prayer where recitation is audible, just like the rest of its verses. As for our evidence, it is the hadith of Anas (6) and 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mughaffal (7). From 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to begin prayer with takbir and the recitation with 'All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds'. Agreed upon (8). Abu Hurayrah narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: 'Allah the Almighty said: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and for My servant is what he asks. So when the servant says: {All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds}, Allah says: My servant has praised Me.' He continued the report. Recorded by Muslim (9). This indicates that he did not mention 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful', nor did he recite it audibly. The hadith of Abu Hurayrah which they cite as evidence does not contain that he recited it audibly, and it is not impossible for him to hear it from him during silent recitation, just as he heard the opening supplication (istiftah) and the seeking of refuge (isti'adhah) from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) despite his reciting them silently. Abu Qatadah has narrated that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would sometimes let them hear a verse in the Dhuhr prayer. Agreed upon (10). The hadith of Umm Salamah does not contain that he recited it audibly, and the rest of the reports regarding audible recitation are weak, for their narrators are the same as the narrators of the silent recitation, and the chain of transmission for the silent recitation is authentic and established without dispute, which indicates the weakness of the report of audible recitation. It has reached us that al-Daraqutni said: 'No hadith concerning the audible recitation has been authenticated.'
(4) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on Recitation in the Fajr Prayer, from the Book of Adhan. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/195. And by Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Obligation of Reciting the Fatiha in Every Rak'ah... etc., from the Book of Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/297. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Said Regarding Recitation in Dhuhr, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/184. And by al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on Daytime Recitation, from the Book of Opening the Prayer. al-Mujtaba 2/126. And by Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 2/258, 273, 285, 301, 343, 348, 411, 416, 435, 446, 487. (5) Recorded by al-Daraqutni, in: The Chapter on the Obligation of Reciting 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' in Prayer and Reciting it Audibly, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Daraqutni 1/308. (6) Which preceded on page 142. (7) That which his son narrated from him, and which preceded on page 148. (8) Thus the author mentioned. The hadith is recorded by Muslim, in: The Chapter on What Summarizes the Description of Prayer... etc., from the Book of Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/357. And by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on One Who Does Not See Audible Recitation of 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful', from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/180. And by Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on Opening the Recitation, from the Book of Establishing the Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/267. And by Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 6/31, 171, 194, 281. See: Tuhfat al-Ashraf 11/386. (9) Preceded on page 142. (10) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on Recitation in Dhuhr, the Chapter on Recitation in 'Asr, the Chapter on Reciting the Opening of the Book in the Last Two [Rak'ahs], and the Chapter on When the Imam Hears the Verse, from the Book of Adhan. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/193, 197. And by Muslim, in: The Chapter on Recitation in Dhuhr and 'Asr, from the Book of Prayer. Sahih Muslim 1/333. It was also recorded by al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on Lengthening the Standing in the First Rak'ah of the Dhuhr Prayer, the Chapter on the Imam Letting the Verse be Heard in Dhuhr, the Chapter on Shortening the Standing in the Second Rak'ah of Dhuhr, the Chapter on Recitation in the First Two Rak'ahs of the Dhuhr Prayer, and the Chapter on Recitation in the First Two Rak'ahs of the 'Asr Prayer, from the Book of Opening the Prayer. al-Mujtaba 2/127, 128. And by Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on Reciting the Verse Audibly Sometimes in the Dhuhr and 'Asr Prayers, from the Book of Establishing the Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/271. And by Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 5/295, 297, 300, 301, 305, 307, 309, 310, 311.
