"One day when he-the Prophet (ﷺ)- was still among us, he took a nap, then he raised his head, smiling. We said to him: 'Why are you smiling, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Just now this Surah was revealed to me: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Verily, We have granted you (O Muahmmad) Al-Kawthar. Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only). For he who hates you, he will be cut off.' Then he said: 'Do you know what Al-Kawthar is?' We said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: 'It is a river that my Lord has promised me in Paradise. Its vessels are more than the number of the stars. My Ummah will come to me, then a man among them will be pulled away and I will say: "O Lord, he is one of my Ummah" and He will say to me: 'You do not know what he did after you were gone."
"I prayed behind Abu Hurairah and he recited: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, then he recited Umm Al-Qur'an (Al Fatihah), and when he reached: not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray, he said: 'Amin and the people said 'Amin. And every time he prostrated he said: 'Allahu Akbar and when he stood up from sitting after two Rak'ahs he said: 'Allahu Akbar'. And after he had said the Salam he said: 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! My prayer most closely remembers the prayer of the Messenger of Allah.'"
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in prayer, and we did not hear him recite: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And Abu Bakr and Umar led us in prayer and we did not hear it from them either."
"I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, and I did not hear any of them say out loud: In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful."
"If Abdullah bin Mughaffal heard any one of us recite: 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful', he would say: 'I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and behind Abu Bakr and behind Umar-may Allah be pleased with them both- and I did not hear any of them recite: 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
"I heard Abu Hurairah say: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Whoever offers a prayer in which he does not recite Umm Al-Quran (Al Fatihah), it is deficient, it is deficient, it is deficient, incomplete." I (Abu As-Sa'ib) said: 'O Abu Hurairah, sometimes I am behind the Imam.' He poked me in the arm and said: 'Recite it to yourself, O Persian! For I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: "Allah says: "I have divided prayer between Myself and My slave into two halves, and My slave shall have what he has asked for.'" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Recite, for when the slave says: All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists, Allah says: 'My slave has praised Me.' And when he says: The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Allah says: 'My slave has extolled Me.' And when he says: The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection), Allah says: 'My slave has glorified Me' . And when he says: You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help (for each and everything), He says: 'This is between Me and My slave, and My slave shall have what he has asked for.' And when he says: 'Guide us to the straight way, the way of those on whom You have bestowed Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray, He says: 'This is for My slave, and My slave shall have what he asked for.'"
"When Jibril was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he heard a sound from above like a door opening. Jibril, peace be upon him, looked up toward the sky and said: 'This is a gate in Heaven that has been opened, but it was never opened before." He said: "An Angel came down from it and came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: 'Receive the glad tidings of two lights that have been given to you and were never given to any prophet before you: The Opening of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last verses of Surat Al-Baqarah. You will never recite a single letter of them but you will be granted it.'"
The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by him when he was praying, and called him. He said: "I finished praying, then I came to him, and he said: 'What kept you from answering me?' He said: 'I was praying.' He said: 'Does not Allah say: O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life? Shall I not teach you the greatest surah before I leave the masjid?' Then he went to leave, and I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what about what you said?' He said: "All praise and thanks be to Allah, Lord of all that exists. These are the seven oft-recited that I have been given, and the Grand Quran.'"
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, did not reveal in the Tawrah or the Injil anything like Umm Al-Quran (Al-Fatihah), which is the seven oft-recited, and (Allah said) it is divided between Myself and My slave will have what he asked for.'"
"The Prophet (ﷺ) prayed Zuhr and a man behind him recited: Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High. When he had finished praying, he said: 'Who recited: Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High?" A man said: 'I did.' He said: 'I realized that some of you were disputing with me over it'".
Chapter 27: Not reciting behind the imam in prayers where he does not recite loudly - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated from Imran bin Husain that:
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ زُرَارَةَ بْنِ أَوْفَى، عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَلَّى صَلاَةَ الظُّهْرِ أَوِ الْعَصْرِ وَرَجُلٌ يَقْرَأُ خَلْفَهُ فَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ قَالَ " أَيُّكُمْ قَرَأَ بِـ { سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الأَعْلَى } فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ أَنَا وَلَمْ أُرِدْ بِهَا إِلاَّ الْخَيْرَ . فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " قَدْ عَرَفْتُ أَنَّ بَعْضَكُمْ قَدْ خَالَجَنِيهَا " .
The Prophet (ﷺ) prayed Zuhr or Asr, and a man was reciting behind him. When he had finished he said: "Which one of you recited: Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High?" A man among the people said: "I did, but I did not intend anything but good." The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "I realized that some of you were disputing with me over it."
Chapter 28: Not reciting behind the imam in a rak'ah where he recites out loud - كتاب الافتتاح
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah:
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ أُكَيْمَةَ اللَّيْثِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم انْصَرَفَ مِنْ صَلاَةٍ جَهَرَ فِيهَا بِالْقِرَاءَةِ فَقَالَ " هَلْ قَرَأَ مَعِي أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ آنِفًا " . قَالَ رَجُلٌ نَعَمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ " إِنِّي أَقُولُ مَا لِي أُنَازَعُ الْقُرْآنَ " . قَالَ فَانْتَهَى النَّاسُ عَنِ الْقِرَاءَةِ فِيمَا جَهَرَ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْقِرَاءَةِ مِنَ الصَّلاَةِ حِينَ سَمِعُوا ذَلِكَ .
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished a prayer in which he recited out loud, then he said: 'Did any one of you recite with me just now?' A man said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'I was wondering what was distracting me in reciting Quran.'" So the people stopped reciting in prayers in which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited out loud when they heard that.
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in one of the prayers in which the recitation is done out loud, and he said: 'None of you should recite when I recite out loud, apart from the Umm Al_quran (Al Fatihah).'"
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'The Imam is appointed to be followed, so when he says the takbir, say the takbir, and when he recites, be silent, and when he says: "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him)," say: "Allahumma rabbana lakal-hamd (Our Lord, to You be praise)."
He heard Abu Ad-Darda say: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked: 'Is there recitation in every prayer?' He said: 'Yes.' A man among the Ansar said: 'Is that obligatory?' He (Abu Ad-Darda) turned to me (Kathir), as I was closest of the people to him, and said: 'I think that if the Imam leads the people, that is sufficient for them.'"
"A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: 'I cannot learn anything of the Quran; teach me something that I can say instead of reciting the Quran.' He said: 'Say: SubhanAllah, wal-hamdulilah, wa la illaha ill-Allah, wa Allahu Akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa Billahil-aliy al-azim (Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Allah is Most Great, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah the Exalted and Magnificent ).'"
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'When the reciter says Amin, then say: "Amin" too, for the angels say Amin and if a person's Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels, Allah will forgive his previous sins"
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "When the reciter says Amin, then say: "Amin" too, for the angels say Amin and if a person's Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels, Allah will forgive his previous sins"
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'When the Imam says: Not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray, say: 'Amin' for the angels say Amin and the Imam says Amin, and if a person's Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels, his previous sins will be forgiven.'"
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "When the Imam says Amin, say Amin, for if a person's Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels, his previous sins will be forgiven.'"