Question: What’s the ruling on reciting dhikr aloud after farḍ prayer?
Answer
Loud dhikr generally is permissible, if ostentation and showing off isn’t intended, and it is done with pure intentions to seek the pleasure and proximity of Allah, the Most Exalted. It must not become a reason for distraction of anyone who is praying, or a reason for any harm to any patient. Additionally, it must not be inexpedient or impractical from a religious point of view. (Fatāwa Raḍawiyyah, v. 6, p. 234, Issue. 447)
In Rūh al-Bayān, under the exegesis of Verse 191 of the Chapter Āl-ʿImrān, it is mentioned:
الذکر برفع الصوت جائز بل مستحب اذا لم یکن ریاء
Dhikr with loud voice is permissible and recommended as long as there is no ostentation.
Those who join the prayer late and stand up to complete their remaining rakāʿats after the salām will be distracted and affected by the loud dhikr. It will make pronunciation and concentration difficult for them, thus it will be harmful for them. In such a situation, stopping this dhikr is wājib or necessary.
In Fatāwa Raḍawiyyah, Sayyidī Aʿlā Haḍrat, Imām Aḥmad Riḍa Khān Al-Barelwi has mentioned:
If the people offering Salah get distracted by loud dhikr and recitation of Quran, and it causes them to forget what they are reading, then stopping from this loud dhikr is not only permissible but also wājib. The extent of this wujūb (plural of wājib), or necessity can be understood by the blessed Hadith in which the master of the universe ﷺ has elucidated:
عن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: من رأى منكم منكرًا فليغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه وذلك أضعف الإيمان((رواه مسلم کتاب الایمان بات کان النہی عن المنکر من الایمان))
Whoever from you sees a munkar(something not stipulated by sharīʿah) he must stop that with his hand, if he can’t do that then at least he should stop that with his words, or if he still can’t do that then let him detest it with the heart and that is the lowest level of faith. (Fatāwa Raḍawiyyah, v. 8, p. 99. Issue. 1151)
It is mentioned by Fatāwa al-Shāmi that:
أجمع العلماء سلفاً وخلفاً على استحباب ذكر الله تعالى جماعة في المساجد وغيرها من غير نكير، إلا أن يشوش جهرهم بالذكر على نائم أو مصلّ أو قارئ قرآن(ج ۱ ص ۴۳۴، مطلب فی احکام المسجد)
The scholars throughout the history have had a consensus upon the excellence of the dhikr of Allah in groups, in the houses of Allah without any denial, except when it becomes a concern for someone sleeping, or reciting, or praying. (Radd al-Mukhtār, v. 1, p. 434)
Sayyidī Aʿlā Haḍrat has mentioned in Fatāwa Raḍawiyyah:
No dhikr should be read with a loud voice when it can potentially become a nuisance for someone who is praying or who is sick. If any such harm is out of question only then it is permitted. However, ikhfā(reading quietly), is still preferable, as the blessed ḥadīth mentioned that the best of the dhikr is the quietest. (v. 6, p. 233, Issue. 447)
Additionally, in all those farāʾiḍ (plural of farḍ) where there are sunnan after them, the gap between sunnah and farḍ is disliked and isn’t recommended. Delaying the sunnah becomes a reason for a decrease in the reward as it is delayed from the masnūntime (time established by sunnah). It is recommended to stand for the sunnah prayers straight after the farḍ. If one did his sunnah prayers after the duʿā and other litanies, then this time of sunnah will be lost. The sunnah of the prayer will still be permissible and accepted but with a reduction in the reward.
The question of reading sunnah at home shouldn’t be raised as that is also sunnah and the time spent in journey home is also spent in a sunnah, hence it isn’t disliked. (Fatāwa al-Shāmi, v. 1, p. 247)
Another question can arise as to the narration of Bukhari, it is narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās ـ رضى الله عنهما
عن مَوْلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ،أَنَّ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ رَفْعَ الصَّوْتِ بِالذِّكْرِ حِينَ يَنْصَرِفُ النَّاسُ مِنَ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ كَانَ عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم. وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ إِذَا انْصَرَفُوا بِذَلِكَ إِذَا سَمِعْتُهُ۔ (بخاری، حدیث۸۴۱)
When people used to offer prayers in the times of the Prophet ﷺ, they would raise their voice with the dhikr and through this, I would come to know that they have finished the prayer.
This means he wouldn’t attend prayers as he was too young. This ḥadīth establishes the sunnah of doing loud dhikr after the prayers, but it doesn’t specify which dhikr was done. The ḥadīth of Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, in the Book of Dhikr After the Prayer, mentions the ḥadīth which indicates that the Prophet ﷺ, would often say لا الی الا اللہ وحدہ لا شریک لہ loudly. Similary, the word of ‘Takbīr’ is also used in the narration.
عنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ انْقِضَاءَ صَلَاةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم بِالتَّكْبِيرِ ( مشکاۃ باب ذکر بعد الصلاۃ حدیث ۳۸۲)
Although these aḥadīth (plural of ḥadīth) establish the dhikr after prayer being a sunnah, it still needs to be understood that the companions were the best people to have ever walked on the earth. They would never be masbūq(or left behind) in the prayers, so they would not miss any units of prayer. The only people who would miss rakāʿats in those days were the munāfiqīn(hypocrites). The noble ṣaḥāba used to come long before the salah and sit there waiting for the noble Messenger ﷺ to arrive for the congregation. Therefore, at the end of the congregation, there would be none who would have to complete their remaining salah. So, there was no such need of doing dhikr in a muted voice.
With the change of time, we see that when congregations finish, on a majority of the occasions, there will be someone who would have missed some rakāʿats. Now, in such a case, dhikr in a loud voice will definitely be a distraction and a nuisance for them. As cited above, it will be wājib to stop such a dhikr.
Since dhikr is sunnah, and not distracting the one praying is wājib, so how do we act upon both? The answer is simple; if one does muted dhikr which according to ḥadīth is the most superior, or finest form of dhikr, they can get reward of the sunnah whilst acting upon the wājib of not distracting the one praying.
Furthermore, the fiqh issues cited above also highlight that after the farāʾiḍ, the litanies and supplications are recommended, however when there are sunnan to be performed after the farḍ, then a short supplication is better, and a long gap is makrūh (disliked). The best method is to do istighfār (seeking forgiveness) three times, kalima tayyiba, and a very short supplication, as is mentioned in the blessed ḥadīth, ، اللھم انت السلام و منک السلام ، تبارکت یا ذالجلال والاکرام, (
After completing the sunnan, one can recite the other adhkār (plural of dhikr) as much as they like. All the adhkār mentioned in ḥadīth are to be read after the sunnan, as specified in Fatāwa al-Shāmi.
وأما ما ورد من الأحاديث في الأذكار عقيب الصلاة فلا دلالة فيه على الإتيان بها قبل السنة، بل يحمل على الإتيان بها بعدها؛ لأن السنة من لواحق الفريضة وتوابعها ومكملاتها فلم تكن أجنبية عنها، فما يفعل بعدها يطلق عليه أنه عقيب الفريضة ( رد المختار ج ۱ص ۲۶۴))).
Those brothers who avoid dhikr after the salah due to the reasons cited herewith, should be appreciated and encouraged. One must not cast any doubt on such an action which is based upon sunnah. Those friends from the Ahl al-Sunnah who do dhikr after the salah and want to remain firm on that, we should also practice ḥusn al-ẓan (keeping good thoughts) about them, believing that it’s their love for the dhikr or their eagerness to get the reward that makes them do that. May Allah grant us the ability to adopt the most correct teachings of Islam in both belief and actions.
واللہ عزوجل ورسولہ الکریم ﷺ اعلم بالصواب
Written by: Mufti Syed Siraj Ul Arifeen Shah
St. Ives (Cambridgeshire, UK)
22/05/2024, 03:08 AM 13 Zulqa’da, 1445 Hijri