Aameen must be Said Softly
In the Hanafi school
of jurisprudence, every person who is offering Salah, be it the Imam (the
person leading) or Muqtadi (the one following the Imam) or someone offering
Salah individually, and whether the Salah is Jahri (in which the worshipper
recites the Quran loudly) or Sirri (in which the worshipper recites Quran in a
low voice), whatever the situation may be, Aameen will be recited softly.
The arguments made in favor of this claim are as follows:
Reciting Aameen in a low voice is in conformity with the command of
Almighty Allah and His Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ, whereas
reciting it loudly is against the orders of the Holy Quran as well as Hadith
and Sunnah. Almighty Allah states in the Holy Quran:
اُدْعُوْا
رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَّ خُفْیَةًؕ-
“Supplicate
to your Lord in humility and softly.”
(Aa`raf 7:55)
And Aameen is
also a form of prayer. Therefore, it should be recited softly.
Imam Bukhari,
Muslim, Ahmed, Malik, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Nasai and Ibn-e-Maja have narrated
the following Hadith on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah رَضِیَ اللہُ
تَعَالٰی عَنْہ that the Holy Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ said:
إِذَا أَمَّنَ الإِمَامُ فَأَمِّنُوا فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ وَافَقَ
تَأْمِينُهُ تَأْمِينَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
“When
the Imam says Aameen, say Ameen, for the person whose Aameen is similar to the
Ameen of the angels, his previous sins will be forgiven.”
We learn from this
Hadith that forgiveness of sins is for that person whose Aameen is similar to
the Aameen of the angels and it is obvious that the angels say Aameen softly as
we have never heard them say it. Hence, our Aameen should also be in a low
voice so that it is similar to that of the angels and our sins are forgiven.
Imam Bukhari,
Shafi’ee, Malik, Abu Dawood and Nasai have reported on the authority of Abu
Hurairah رَضِیَ
اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہ that the Noble Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ said:
إِذَا قَالَ الإِمَامُ
غَیْرِ الْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَ۠فَقُولُوا آمِينَ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ وَافَقَ قَوْلُهُ قَوْلَ
الْمَلاَئِكَةِ غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
“When the Imam
says:
غَیْرِ
الْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَ۠(۷)
say: Aameen, for the
one whose Aameen is similar to the Aameen of the angels, his previous sins will
be forgiven.”
The aforementioned
Hadith proves two rulings: The first one is that the Muqtadi is not supposed to
recite Sura Fatiha behind the Imam. If Muqtadi were meant to recite it, then
the Holy Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ would have
said, “When you say وَ لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَ, say Aameen”.
Hence, we come to know that we only say Aameen, while the Imam does the
recitation.
The 2nd
principle proved by this Hadith is that Aameen must be recited softly,
because correspondence to the angels does not refer to correspondence in time, rather,
it means correspondence in the manner of saying Aameen. Because the time of
saying Aameen is already the same for both the angels and the worshipper i.e.
when the Imam finishes reciting Sura Fatiha because our guardian angels
accompany us in our Salah and say Aameen at the same time.
Imam Ahmed, Abu
Dawood Tayalisi, Darqutni and Hakim in his Mustadrak have reported this Hadith
on the authority of Sayyiduna Waa’il Bin Hajar رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہ:
عَن وَائل ابنِ حجر انہ
صلی مع النبی صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ فلما بلغ غَیْرِ
الْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَقال آمین واخفی بھا صوتہ
“Sayyiduna
Waa’il Bin Hajar offered Salah with the Holy Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ
تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ. When the Holy Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ
تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ recited “وَ
لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَ”, he said Aameen and he kept his voice low while saying
it.”
The above-mentioned
Hadith clarifies that saying Aameen softly has been proven from the Holy
Prophet صَلَّی
اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ and saying it loudly is against
the Sunnah.
Imam Tabrani in
Tahzeeb -ul- Aasaar and Imam Tahawi have narrated on the authority of Sayyiduna
Waa’il Bin Hajar رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہ that he said, “Sayyiduna Umar
and Ali رَضِیَ
اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُمَا did not use to recite بِسْمِ اللہِ and Aameen loudly.” This Hadith shows that
saying Aameen softly has also been the practice of the blessed
companions of the Holy Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ
تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ.
This position of the
Ahnaf that Aameen should be said softly is also backed by logic and
common sense because Aameen is neither a verse of the Holy Quran nor a
word from the Quran nor was it brought by Sayyiduna Jibreel عَلَیْہِ السَّلَام and nor has
it been written in the Glorious Quran. In fact, it is a supplication and
invocation similar to Sana, At-Tahiyyat, Durood-e-Ibrahimi and other
supplications which have been stated in the blessed Ahadith. Therefore, as all
these are recited softly, similarly, Ameen must also be recited softly. Moreover,
we have come to know that saying it loudly goes against the teachings of the
Holy Quran and the action of the Holy Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ and his blessed companions رِضْوَانُ اللہِ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِمْ اَجْمَعِیْن.
May Almighty Allah
enable us to act upon the true teachings of Islam and offer Salah properly!
