Is It Disliked to Say the Bismallah behind the Imam?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
Is saying all of Bismillah before Fatiha behind Imam by mistake makruh tahrimi?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states. According to the Hanafi school, it is prohibitively disliked (Makruh Tahrimi) for a follower to recite the Quran behind the Imam. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
This ruling is based on the following verse of the Quran, ”When the Qur’an is recited, listen to it and be silent, so that you may be blessed.” [Quran, 2:204]
The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) also said: ”The one who has an Imam then the recitation of the Imam is deemed a recitation for him also.” [Ibn Majah]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
