The Voice of Prayer
I was looking up a ruling regarding the volume of voice involved during the recitation of surahs during prayer and ended up reading all of the relevant rulings from Sayyid Sistani on the topic in both the English and Persian versions of Islamic Laws (Tawḍīh al-Masā’il). I found them quite fascinating and decided to summarize a few of the main rulings in the following fictional story.
Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a definitive discussion on Islamic rulings. Although an attempt has been made to reference every ruling mentioned in the story, every duty-bearing Muslim should consult with the rulings of their own marja’ directly.
Ali finished his Maghrib prayer and turned to face his friend, Kumayl, who was sitting next to him. Kumayl was just finishing his prayer as well.
“Well, Kumayl!” said Ali. “I don’t know whether you just finished your Maghrib prayer or a nāfilah prayer.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Kumayl.
“Well,” said Ali, “you finished at the same time I did, and we were both praying at around the same speed, and I was praying Maghrib. So I guess you also prayed three rakā’ah, which would make it a Maghrib prayer. On top of that, unlike the nāfilah of the morning and midday prayers, the nāfilah of Maghrib isn’t prayed until after the Maghrib prayer is performed, and I didn’t see you praying Maghrib separately before this, so it wouldn’t make sense for this to be a nāfilah prayer.”
“Well reasoned,” said Kumayl, scratching his chin. “Yes, in fact, it was my Maghrib prayer. So why did you have any doubt?”
“Oh!” said Ali. “But I was quite sure that I heard you reciting the surahs in your first two rakā’ah quietly!”
“I did,” said Kumayl.
“But don’t you know that the surahs are supposed to be recited loudly in Fajr, Maghrib, and ‘Ishā prayers?” asked Ali.
“I wasn’t leading a congregational prayer,” replied Kumayl, picking up his tasbīh.
“This rule is not just for congregational prayer,” explained Ali. “There is no difference between praying alone or in a congregation. Men must recite the surahs in these prayers loudly, as per obligatory precaution1, although I don’t know of any marja’ that has issued a fatwa saying otherwise. You have to be careful to recite them out loud, even to the last letters of the verses.2”
“I haven’t heard anyone else recite them loudly,” said Kumayl, looking worried. “I mean, aside from you just now.”
“Maybe they don’t know the ruling,” suggested Ali. “Did you?”
“No,” said Kumayl. “I didn’t. Do I have to pray again?”
“No, you’re fine,” said Ali. “If you had intentionally recited quietly while knowing the ruling, then you would have to pray again. But if you simply forgot to apply the ruling, or if you were unaware of it altogether, then there’s no problem.3”
Kumayl sat silently for a moment, fiddling with the beads on his tasbīh. Ali gave him a gentle pat on the back. “You know,” he said with a smile, “having these rules about praying loudly and quietly in certain prayers can be quite helpful sometimes.”
“What do you mean?” asked Kumayl.
“Well,” said Ali, “one time I went to the Masjid on a Friday afternoon for Jumu’ah prayer, but I was a bit late and the prayer had already started. I didn’t know whether the congregation was in the middle of the Jumu’ah prayer or if it had already moved on to ‘Asr prayer. Then they rose from sajdah and I heard the Imam start to recite Surah al-Fātiḥah, and that’s when I knew exactly what they were praying.”
Kumayl pondered for a second, and then said: “Of course. The fact that you heard the surah being recited out loud meant that it wouldn’t have been ‘Asr prayer, since the surahs in Dhuhr and ‘Asr are recited quietly4. It must have been the Jumu’ah prayer.”
“Precisely!” said Ali. “It was the start of the second raka’at. The recitation out loud tipped me off.”
“Good one!” chuckled a familiar voice from behind them, and Ali and Kumayl turned around to see that some of their friends had arrived and were now sitting behind them. It was Miqdad who had spoken, and he went on: “Wait until you hear what happened to me, though!”
“What happened?” asked Kumayl.
“I also went to a Masjid one Friday afternoon, and I also arrived late,” said Miqdad. “Funnily enough, the congregation was also in sajdah at the time I entered. Then they stood up and the Imam started his recitation of Surah al-Fātihah loudly, so I realized it must be Jumu’ah prayer, and I joined in.”
“That’s exactly what happened in my story,” said Ali.
“Wait for it!” said Miqdad. “Something felt off, and when the Imam got up for his third rak’ah, I knew it couldn’t have been Jumu’ah prayer. It turned out that they were actually just praying a regular Dhuhr prayer!”
“But aren’t the surahs supposed to be recited quietly in Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayer?” asked Kumayl, confused.
“Ah, I see,” said Ali. “Actually, specifically on Fridays, it’s recommended to recite the surahs loudly in Dhuhr prayer, even if you are not performing Jumu’ah prayer.5 Not ‘Asr, though; just Dhuhr. It’s an exception.”
“I see,” said Kumayl, although he didn’t really.
“Well,” said Samir, “I once arrived at a congregation prayer one afternoon, and the Imam was reciting the surahs out loud, so I figured he was leading a Dhuhr prayer, since it was a Friday but not a Jumu’ah prayer. So I joined behind him, and was shocked when he ended the prayer after his third rak’ah. It turned out they were actually praying a qaḍā Maghrib prayer! I had to pray the last rak’ah on my own.”
“How odd,” commented Ali.
“I wish that had been my experience,” groaned Sajjad. “But no. My situation started off similarly – I assumed the Imam was leading Dhuhr prayer because he was reciting out loud, and then he ended on his third rak’ah, so I went and finished on my own. But in my case, I found out that the congregation wasn’t even for an outright qaḍā Maghrib prayer… Actually, those brothers weren’t certain about whether they had prayed in a usurped location the night before, so they were making up the prayer as a precautionary measure. Since all of them had the same reason for the precaution, they were allowed to pray in congregation together. But I wasn’t!6 So I had to pray all over again.”
“That’s actually bizarre,” remarked Kumayl.
Samir shook his head sadly. “I’ve got a story too. Once I saw my friend praying on a Friday afternoon and reciting out loud. I figured he was offering Dhuhr prayer, so I stood behind him and started to follow him. But he finished after just two rakā’ah – it turned out he was offering a nāfilah prayer, and it wasn’t possible for me to follow him.7 I also had to pray again.”
“One time,” said Hussain, “I joined a congregation where the Imam was reciting out loud, although he was supposed to be reciting silently. Turns out it was just an accident and he was reciting loudly out of habit. He remembered halfway through the second surah and abruptly switched to reciting quietly mid-verse, though.”
“He wouldn’t even have had to repeat the verses he recited loudly by accident, in that case8,” Ali pointed out.
“That’s right, he just continued onward, although we coudn’t hear him,” said Hussain. “It sounded as though he forgot how the surah went, or like the microphone got cut.”
“Speaking of microphones,” groaned Asghar, “I once joined a congregation where the Imam was reciting loudly, and I thought it was a mistake, just like your situation. But no, actually, he was reciting quietly, or at least trying to. It’s just that the microphone was too close to his mouth and even his whispers sounded loud!”
“One time, the Imam didn’t even have a microphone,” said Haidar. “He just raised his voice really loud so we could all hear him. After we finished praying, he realized that shouting out the surahs actually makes the prayer invalid. We all had to pray again. Turns out that there really is such a thing as too loud.9”
Miqdad checked his watch. “It’s getting late,” he said. “Shall we start praying ‘Ishā?”
“Don’t you still have to pray Maghrib?” asked Kumayl.
“True,” admitted Miqdad. “But if you two are praying ‘Ishā together, we will follow with our Maghrib, and as you start the final rak’ah of your ‘Ishā, we will join with the first rak’ah of our ‘Ishā.10”
“Sounds good to me,” said Ali. “I don’t mind leading.”
“Don’t forget to recite the surahs loudly in the second rak’ah of your ‘Ishā, once you start praying Furada!” said Kumayl with a grin.
“And don’t forget that if you start your ‘Ishā while I am standing in the fourth rak’ah of my ‘Ishā, as in, before I get to ruku, then you have to recite the surahs for that rak’ah on your own before you go into ruku’,” added Ali. “At least Surah al-Fātiḥah, if you don’t have time to finish both surahs.11”
“Of course,” said Hussain.
“But,” Ali went on, “even though these are surahs that you are reciting for an ‘Ishā prayer, in this situation, you actually are supposed to recite them quietly. Even down to the Bismillah!12”
Ali laughed at Kumayl’s reaction as he stood up to call the Iqamah.
- Ruling 978. Based on obligatory precaution, it is obligatory for a man to recite Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah aloud (jahr) in ṣubḥ, maghrib, and ʿishāʾ prayers. … [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 979. Based on obligatory precaution, in ṣubḥ, maghrib, and ʿishāʾ prayers, a man must be careful that he recites all the words of Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah aloud, even their last letters. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 981. If when one must recite aloud he intentionally recites in a whisper, or when one must recite in a whisper he intentionally recites aloud, his prayer is invalid based on obligatory precaution. However, his prayer is valid if he does this due to forgetfulness or not knowing the ruling. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 978. … And based on obligatory precaution, it is obligatory for a man and a woman to recite Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah in ẓuhr and ʿaṣr in a whisper (ikhfāt). [Source] ↩︎
- مسأله 1285. مستحب است «بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحیٖم» حمد و سورۀ نماز ظهر و عصر بلند خوانده شود و نیز مستحب است حمد و سورۀ نماز ظهر روز جمعه بلند خوانده شود و امّا حمد و سورۀ نماز جمعه بنابر احتیاط واجب باید بلند خوانده شود. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 1389. One can follow the imam of a congregational prayer who is performing the qaḍāʾ of his own or someone else’s daily prayer about which he is certain. However, if he is performing such a qaḍāʾ prayer as a precautionary measure [as opposed to being certain about it being a qaḍāʾ prayer], then it is not permitted to follow him unless the follower is also performing his prayer as a precautionary measure and the reason for his precaution is the same as that of the imam’s; and if the follower has another reason for his precaution as well, he can still follow. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 1387.* Recommended prayers cannot be performed in congregation (in some cases, however, this rule is based on obligatory precaution). … [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 981. … While reciting Sūrat al-Ḥamd or the other surah, if he realises that he has made a mistake [in not reciting aloud or in a whisper as per his duty], it is not necessary for him to repeat what he has already recited. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 982. While reciting Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah, if one raises his voice higher than what is normal, as if he is shouting, his prayer is invalid. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 1388. When the imam of a congregational prayer is leading a daily prayer, one can follow him for performing any of the daily prayers. [Source] ↩︎
- Ruling 1422. If a person joins when the imam is in qiyām of the third or fourth rakʿah, he must recite Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah. If he does not have enough time to recite the other surah, he must complete Sūrat al-Ḥamd and join the imam in rukūʿ. If he does not have enough time to recite all of Sūrat al-Ḥamd, he can discontinue reciting Sūrat al-Ḥamd and go into rukūʿ with the imam. However, the recommended precaution is that in this situation, he should make the intention of performing the prayer on his own and complete the prayer. [Source] ↩︎
- مسأله 1891. اگر رکعت اوّل یا دوّم مأموم، رکعت سوّم یا چهارم امام باشد، وظیفۀ مأموم خواندن حمد و سوره است و باید آن را آهسته بخواند حتّی «بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحیم» آن را هم بنابر احتیاط واجب، آهسته بگوید و چنانچه آن را سهواً یا به علّت ندانستن مسأله .بلند خوانده باشد، نمازش صحیح است [Source] ↩︎
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